Sun
In her recent book, Hot Property: Easy Home Staging to Sell Your House for More Money in Any Market, design writer Alex Newman makes it clear that first impressions count.
Here are five quick and easy tips from her book, certain to dress up your home:
– Clean your windows, inside and out (no, she’s not kidding, and yes, you’ll see the difference).
– Make your front entrance inviting. Create an attractive vignette with an urn, paint your front door or repair crumbling steps.
– Dress up the garden. Remove dead plants, trim back overgrown shrubs and position attractive solar lights or statuary to add interest (gnomes need not apply).
– Power-wash the house’s exterior. Pressure washers can be rented from building supply stores — just go easy with the pressure, to avoid damaging finishes or driving water up behind siding.
– Create an intimate seating area on a porch or deck. Two lounge chairs beside a small table or urn are all you need to say “welcome.”
Newman’s book is available from Wiley and sells for $26.99.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
