Thinking of selling your property? Then make the most of the opportunity by making a real impact on your perspective buyers as they reach for the doorbell.
This is where first impressions really count. According to research, it takes only 20 seconds for a potential buyer to decide whether they might consider a property or not, and that decision-making starts at the front door. By making the most of your entrance, you are setting the scene for what’s to come. Here are a few tips to think about…
Front door. The condition of this is important, as is the colour – neutrals and soft tones work best. Door furniture should be in proportion to the door and will go a long way to indicating the style of the house so decide whether you want to go for a more contemporary or traditional look and choose door furniture to communicate this. If there are railings, make sure these are painted and looking fresh.
If you have room, planters are a great way of presenting your front door and creating atmosphere and style. Make sure they are of decent quality as this also adds to the overall impression. Put thought into the proportion of the planters to the space they are sitting in, too small and they look lost, too big and you will detract from the front door.
Planting the planters. Keep the planting predominantly evergreen with good colour tones such as a mix of greens, creams and burgundy or winter reds. If you have a large front garden, ensuring this is always neat and tidy will help.
Window surrounds should be clean and well painted or oiled/varnished if they are constructed from wood. Above is a project that I tackled last year and as you can see in the ‘before’ picture, the front garden didn’t make the most of this lovely house frontage and left the impression that it was unloved.
By first of all paying attention to the period and architecture of the house I developed the style to compliment this. The streetscape is important too. Whatever you do, you don’t want to directly copy someone else nor do you want to create something that is so outlandish that it doesn’t flow well with the rest of the street. Thinking of smart and elegant solutions rather than overly bright or whacky ideas, will help to sell your property. Good Luck!