How to Make a Good Impression to Potential Buyers During Your First Open House

The way you hold an open house plays a critical role in determining the value of your home. Without the right preparation and plan, you can easily send potential buyers out the door. If this is the first time you’ll be setting up one, here are some of the things you can do to make a very good impression.

Enhance your home’s curb appeal

Your driveway and walkway are as important as what’s inside your home. Since they are the first areas that your potential buyers can see, you have to make sure that they are in top shape.

Freshen up your landscaping by removing dried and dying plants. It’s also a good idea to re-do your exterior paint, particularly if it’s already peeling or extremely faded. If your front and garage door are already showing signs of wear and tear, now is the right time to get them replaced.

It can also help if you can clean your gutters. In case your home’s siding is filled with dirt and grime, you can pressure wash it. A fresh new welcoming mat can make a big difference, too.

Another thing to keep in mind is to make sure that your driveway is clear. You don’t want anything there that can obstruct the view of your home.

Clean your home

This is probably the most important thing you need to do if you want to create a good impression to your potential buyers. A home full of clutter isn’t only visually unappealing, but it can also make your property lose its value. It might even discourage people from buying your property.

Start off by removing most of your personal items from your home. It should be as sparse as possible even before you set it up on the market. Take away as much furniture as possible and leave only those items that you think can boost your home’s aesthetic appeal.

Remove all stains from your walls, mirrors and silverware. You want your home to be as pristine as it can be. If there are hard-to-remove stains, it’s a better idea if you can reach out to the professional carpet and upholstery cleaners in your area. They have the tools, materials and skills to remedy stubborn stains without the risk of damaging your household item.

Let more light in

Whether it’s natural or artificial light, you want your home to be as bright and illuminated as possible. This is to help your potential buyers get a good view of your home’s layout and floor plan. You can open up all your curtains and make sure that all light bulbs are functioning well prior to their visit.

Prepare some refreshments

This is probably one of the most overlooked things when it comes to preparing for an open house. Although not a necessity, offering something for your visitors to eat and drink can help make a good impression. It doesn’t have to involve complex and expensive food items. It can be as simple as serving freshly baked cookies and glasses of cool lemonades.

Add accessories if you can

You don’t need tons of accessories to highlight your home, but adding them where they matter can make a big difference. This includes adding vases of flowers and scented candles in your living room. You can also add extra storage spaces in your bathroom to organize your toiletries and towels.

It’s a good idea if you can replace any broken faucets and cabinet handles, too. You can decorate your kitchen with decorative bottles filled with spices and oils. You can also use recipe books and glasses to add character to the room.

Assemble your furniture

You might be keeping your furniture the way they are for convenience and comfort. However, for open houses, you might want to consider moving them around to maximize your space.

Stage your furniture so that people can move around without bumping into things. Take away large furniture, such as sectional sofas. Make sure that there’s plenty of room for them to walk around but avoid pushing all your furniture to the wall. You want to create a focal point, such as a large window or your fireplace.

Depersonalize your home

Tuck away your family photos as they can be distracting for your potential buyers. As buyers can also look into your cabinets and storage spaces, it’s a good idea to empty them out or organize their contents. Seeing them overflowing can create the impression that your home doesn’t have enough space to keep things neatly tucked in.

Remove your toothbrush and towels from your bathroom. You should also consider clearing your kitchen countertops , especially if you have tons of appliances there. You only need to have the essentials to emphasize your kitchen’s functionality.

from Home My Heaven: UK Home Improvement Blog http://www.homemyheaven.co.uk/2016/10/how-to-make-good-impression-to.html

5 reasons you need a glass staircase in your home

Glass is becoming a hugely popular material for use in interior design as well as part of modern architecture in general – and there are a whole host of reasons as to why this is the case.  Not only does glass bring a touch of luxury to any home or commercial building, but it is also superb for increasing a sense of space and for maximising light – and more and more homeowners are making the leap to installing glass staircases in their home.  But why is this?  We have a few reasons as to why you may consider a glass staircase or series of balustrade installations as part of your new-look home.

Versatility

The flexibility and lightweight nature of glass allows for some truly fantastic bespoke creations – meaning that it’s often a manufacturer’s favourite material to work with.  Glass, unlike wood or metal, is much more open to being formed, shaped and designed in any way you see fit – making it a fantastic choice for a truly unique staircase.  As the staircase is often the first thing many people see when entering your home, you’re going to want to make a spectacular and unique first impression!

Durability

Many may perceive glass to be brittle or incapable of providing for such regularly-used structures as staircases – however, this simply isn’t the case.  Toughened glass is more robust than ever, and with manufacturing allowing for scratch and damage-resistant glass in recent times, it’s becoming more and more of an attractive choice for staircase installations.

Space Creation

The main benefit of installing glass in your home is an aesthetic one – after all, the look of glass walls, glass balustradesand staircases can hardly be equalled!  Further to this, the transparency of a glass staircase allows you to create more space within your home than you could ever imagine – it’s a clever illusion that can really transform the atmosphere in a room almost effortlessly.

Easy Maintenance

Glass staircases are, of course, the easiest to maintain – as they’re not only wipe clean, but are often made of toughened glass to lessen the risk of any long-term damage or scuffing.  Compared to carpeted or wooden staircases, glass models are surprisingly low-maintenance and certainly pay for themselves long term.

Light and Eco-Friendly

Glass staircases are by far the kindest to the environment in their manufacture and composition alone, and in addition to this, they’re extremely lightweight – while at the same time remaining durable and extremely hard to damage.  Taking both of these factors into account of course means that glass staircases are easy to disassemble and can be completely recycled once they’ve lived their course – but why would you ever want to remove a staircase that looks so good?

For more information on having a bespoke design – or to order your own glass staircase or balustrades, contact the team of experts at Elysion on 01629 820030 who are versed in years of the design, manufacture and installation of interior and exterior design solutions for homes and business throughout the UK.

from Home My Heaven: UK Home Improvement Blog http://www.homemyheaven.co.uk/2016/10/5-reasons-you-need-glass-staircase-in.html

10 benefits of having underfloor heating

While you may be aware of underfloor heating, you may not know just what it’s all about.  Why are so many people taking it upon themselves to switch from a standard radiator system to underfloor warmth?  Here are just a few benefits that new underfloor heating users experience regularly.

Direct, instant heat

While traditional radiators connected to a boiler may take considerable time to heat up and even longer to fill a room with warmth, underfloor heating is instantaneous and direct, meaning you’ll get warmer, quicker.

Easy to set up and install

While many plumbing and heating systems of old were considerably difficult to master in terms of maintenance and installation, underfloor heating’s pipework is relatively simple to handle – while it’s recommended that you arrange for an electrician or plumber to connect you before switching on, the pipework can be handled with relative ease.

Versatile options for installation

You can choose to have your underfloor heating supplied via your electricity supply for electric underfloor heating, or via a manifold and a water heater or boiler in your home.  This means that you can be assured of a working system based upon facilities you already have in place.

You can control heat remotely

With certain systems, you can decide how hot your room gets with either a thermostat or a remote panel, meaning that you can have simple, user-friendly control over your heat resources at all times.

You can install underfloor heating in a single zone…

If you only need the one room or facility heating on a timer basis, you can do so by installing a ‘single zone’ system.  This means that you’ll only ever be putting energy and cost into warming one room in your home for a certain amount of time.

…or you can install it in many zones

Alternatively, if you’d like several rooms in your home to benefit from underfloor heating, you can opt for a multi-zone system – meaning that each and every part of your house can benefit from direct, radiant heat.

You can choose which rooms heat up, and when

The beauty of using a smart thermostat or remote control for underfloor heating is in its ability to give you complete access to your entire heating network.  If your kitchen needs to be heated early on a morning, this can be programmed easily – while you can choose to keep the rest of your home cool when none of the rooms are in use.

It’s cost-effective long term

The long-term savings experienced by underfloor heating users are considerable – as you only ever need to heat the rooms that are in use, and as it takes less time for a room to warm up, you’ll spend less time and money on deploying such heat – therefore, your bills will be considerably cheaper than if you are running a more basic system!

It’s ideal for conservatories and garages

There may be rooms in your home or extensions where standard radiators may not be able to reach – meaning that an underfloor heating system can be very helpful in ensuring that even your most remote rooms can benefit from warmth.

There’s always someone on hand

While underfloor heating may be getting more popular, and while the process of setting up and laying down pipework may generally be considered fairly simple, the age of the internet has allowed for numerous video guides and walkthroughs to be set up to ensure that you will always know where you are when installing for the first time.  In addition to this, any good and reputable underfloor heating supplier, such as UK Underfloor Heating, will be able to give you all the assistance and knowledge you need remotely, making for a far less stressful set-up and maintenance procedure than with a standard heating system. If you are looking for more information on underfloor heating types and if you will be able to get it, please call UK Underfloor Heating on 0800 232 1501.

from Home My Heaven: UK Home Improvement Blog http://www.homemyheaven.co.uk/2016/10/10-benefits-of-having-underfloor-heating.html

Autumn Home Improvement Ideas

The time for spending your evenings sat outside in the garden watching the sun set with a nice cool drink has sadly been put on hold until next year. But there is now the chance to make changes to your home with the autumn months in mind. These tips should help you bring in the new season in the best ways possible.

Make Your Home Cosier

The colder nights and shorter days make autumn the perfect time to add some cosiness to your home. You can do this in a variety of ways, ranging from ways which are subtler such as getting adding some new cushions to your home or adding some blankets that can be used to cosy up when you are sat watching your favourite TV program. There can also be bigger ways to do this, such as adding a log burner to your home which maybe wouldn’t be as practical but is a fantastic way to do something that is certainly on trend with autumn décor.

Bring the Outdoors Inside

A large trend over the summer months is always to spend time relaxing in your garden, but why not choose to bring your outdoors inside? Again, this can be done with little effort by bringing your traditional indoor furniture inside in to your conservatory and putting some throws over them. If you fancy getting more creative, you can choose to make a collage with some of the autumn leafs and placing them in a frame on your wall.

Add New Colours

Without a doubt, changing the theme of your room by altering the colours in there is one of the best home improvement choices. To get in with the theme of autumn you want to use pastel colours, and colours such as brown or dark orange. You can do this by changing the paint colour in your home, or you can simply alter some of the smaller décor pieces. For instance, you can change the photo frames or replace the flowers in your vases with decorative acorns as a great way to add some colour that keeps in with the theme of autumn.

Author Bio

Ryan Duffy is a freelance writer who is a recent university graduate in Media Studies. His passion for people and writing has encouraged him to pursue this career full-time. Working on behalf of rattan furniture manufacturer, Dresser & Co, he focuses most of his work towards home improvement and lifestyle sites.

The post Autumn Home Improvement Ideas appeared first on UK Home Improvement Blog.

from UK Home Improvement Blog http://www.ukhomeimprovement.co.uk/autumn-home-improvement-ideas/

Installing a Stove without a Chimney

With gas prices rising every year there have been an increase in people who have alternatively installed wood burning stoves as their main source of heat at home. The only issue of course with doing so is that there must also be an extraction system in place which will vent the smoke. Most people think if your home does not come pre-fitted with a chimney then it is impossible to have a stove but in reality they can be quite simple to erect.

The first step is to look at what type of chimney you require for your stove; this is based on the type of stove and home you have. It is better to have a new chimney flue installed than to use a pre-existing one with a new stove as the opening of the flue has to exactly match the stove. Ideally you will want a metal chimney flue installed as they as insulated with a flue liner and can withstand much higher temperatures. For some the idea of a large metal chimney is a bit of an eye sore so to be more fitting with your homes aesthetic you can also have a brick/masonry chimney as the exterior with the metal flue on the inside.

You will next need to consider where you will place the stove and flue in your home. Ideally you will want somewhere where the chimney is as straight as possible with minimal bends. If your chimney has a lot of bends and turns it won’t be able to function properly and creates more areas within the flue from creosote to build up. It will also make it a lot more difficult for you to see where there is build up and check for any blockages.

Most people like to have their chimney against an exterior wall of their home but this is one of the worst places for it, as the warmth from your home will be lost. It is recommended to place your stove at the most central point in your home, this will allow your home to heat up quicker as it draws the best.

Sooty & Sweeps offers accredited chimney sweep services in London & Kent.

The post Installing a Stove without a Chimney appeared first on UK Home Improvement Blog.

from UK Home Improvement Blog http://www.ukhomeimprovement.co.uk/installing-a-stove-without-a-chimney/

Add Value to your Home with a Wood Burner

You could effortlessly reap double benefits by simply installing a wood burning stove into your home: a noticeable reduction in your heating bill and a boost to the market value of your home. Killing two birds with one stone has to be a great idea!

Many new build properties are sadly lacking a fireplace. Underfloor heating and modern radiators certainly have their plus points but are no substitute for the charm, welcoming atmosphere and pure, unadulterated character that an open fire exudes.

As the nights are now noticeably drawing in, there is really nothing more welcoming than the cosy glow, comforting crackling and wonderful aroma of burning wood. Making money on the deal is simply the icing on the cake!

Advancing technology means there is now more choice than ever when it comes to choosing the perfect stove to complement your home.

DEFRA Approval

Many models now come with DEFRA approval, meaning that you are at liberty to burn smokeless fuels, even in London postcodes. In addition, with protecting the environment rightly becoming an increasing preoccupation amongst many of us, it is really good to know that you are ticking the carbon neutral box by heating in this way. Heating only the room you are currently using is, of course, far more cost effective than simply flicking on the central heating.

More and more people are using a stove as a real focal point in their main living space, and stoves do make a great impact from an aesthetic point of view. They are a far more accommodating option than they used to be, with curved and cylindrical models widely available to fit more awkward spaces and the ability to raise them to the desired height or mount them directly on the wall.

Style & Flexibility

A high quality stove makes a positive statement in any style or period of property. As they can now be placed more imaginatively, stoves are a more flexible beast than ever before and can be used to add a real sense of drama to a space or be used more unobtrusively. The choice is yours.

An open fire or stove is not only a practical addition to your home but also has the capacity to make a property more desirable to future buyers and more enjoyable to live in, with improved home functionality benefiting all the family.

If you wish to know more about stoves or are looking for a new fireplace, fire of fireplace accessories for your home, please visit The Fireplace Warehouse for more information.

The post Add Value to your Home with a Wood Burner appeared first on UK Home Improvement Blog.

from UK Home Improvement Blog http://www.ukhomeimprovement.co.uk/add-value-to-your-home-with-a-wood-burner/

The Best Dehumidifier for Your Needs

The DIY Doctor's Blog
The DIY Doctor's Blog - DIY and Home Improvement Hints, Tips, Help and Advice from The DIY Doctor

Mould and Damp Problems With winter not too far away mould and other damp problems are just around the corner. Not only is black mould unsightly but it is very unhealthy too with respiratory problems being a common result from mould inhalation. Mould starts to grow at a relative humidity level of 65% but did Read on...

The Best Dehumidifier for Your Needs

from The DIY Doctor's Blog http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/blog/2016/10/the-best-dehumidifier-for-your-needs/