Plans from California...

The plans for this property came from California.  The high ceilings, large windows, spacious rooms are just lovely.  I was only called in to take the photos, but of course, couldn't resist changing a few things round. 

In my next blog entry, I will put the photos of the rooms as they were when I arrived that day, so you can see what I changed, and why.

See my photo shoot!

An estate agent called me in to take the photographs of this house for sale. I went yesterday, and spent hours re-arranging their furniture and accessories, taking photos from all angles.  The homeowners found me outside on a stepladder at one point, hanging through the bathroom window to get the best shot!! Dedication! They said they'd never met anyone like me before!!! Mmmm.

More photos to follow on my next blog entry...

Free home makeover

Has anyone seen the new series of 'The Renovation Game'?  My friend and colleague, Debbie, is one of the two interior designers on the show, and you can apply for a free makeover as follows.  Make sure you watch the show, to get an idea of what they can do for you. Channel 4. 11am. Weekdays.

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Does your home look tired and dated? Is your kitchen old and your bathroom avocado? Do your building projects never get done?

Our professional team of qualified builders and an interior designer are looking for houses that are in need of a makeover!

With only three days and a budget of £3,000 (paid by us, not you!) their challenge is to increase the value of your home by £15,000. If they fail... they don’t get paid – simple!

If you think you deserve their help and have a home in need of some professional TLC, get in touch with The Renovation Game today.

Please email photographs of ALL the rooms in your property, with a few lines about you and what needs doing to your home, to renovationgame@presentable.co.uk. Please remember to include your address and phone numbers so that the production team can contact you.
Contributors must be over 18 years of age, a UK resident, homeowner and own the freehold to the property. Your email will be received by the production team at Presentable and, if your application is suitable, they will contact you directly. Presentable will process your personal data in accordance with their privacy policy.

Latest update on my new team member...

So many of you commented on one of my first blog entries in October last year ("New Team Member"), that I thought I'd share another example of how helpful he is to me in my business... 

 

He not only sat in my office chair and tried to 'help' with my accounts, but then he stayed there and fell asleep so I couldn't do them anyway!

The estate agents loved the smallest bedroom the most...

There were so many comments from the estate agents about the smallest bedroom in the house.  I just had some fun with it, and everyone loves it!  And the toy carrot is the most talked-about accessory in the entire house!!

Here are a selection of comments from various estate agents who visited the property:

“A1 presentation” ;
“The presentation even exceeded my expectations”;
“Fantastic finish”;
“The house feels bigger & roomier”;
“Fantastic dining room & conservatory”;
“The bedrooms have a lot of room”;
“Is the bathroom new?” ;
“Unusual kitchen – Very Nice” ,
“Beautiful views from the windows” ;
“Very well presented” ;
“Nice patio area” ;
“Love the motif on the wall" (Kids bedroom);
“Oh the carrot looks nice” ;
“The ladies are going to go 'wow' " (main bedroom);
“You have gone to a lot of effort to present & finish off the property” ;
“The property is so beautifully dressed”

I don't think they would have made these comments if  it hadn't been staged, do you??!

Latest makeover - another bedroom

This is the second bedroom - transformed from a messy teenage boy's room into one that should sell easily.

My next blog entry will show the tiny third bedroom - a child's room - and a selection of estate agent's comments.  Here's the 'before' photo of the child's room...

Latest makeover - Master Bedroom

Here's the Master Bedroom.  The rooms were very narrow in this house, so I had to be careful not to emphasise this.  I'm often asked about lighting in my 'before' and 'after' photos - why do you cheat, and put the lights on for the 'after' photos???  Well, I take the 'before' photos as the room is shown to me.  No-one ever puts any lights on for me, so that's how I take the photo.  I would always turn the lights on for a viewing, it brings the rooms to life, so that's why I have them on for my 'after' photos.  That's not cheating, is it?

There will be another bedroom transformation in my next blog entry - another double room in the same house - here's the 'before':

Latest makeover - kitchen , dining and conservatory

This is our latest makeover, from a rented 'mess' into a lovely home about to go on the market.

The Kitchen:

         

The Dining Room:

The Conservatory:

Photos of the upstairs will be on my next blog entry ... wait for the Master Bedroom transformation- here's the 'Before' photo:

An amazing transformation... from messy rented house into a calm space to buy

This shows a great transformation, from a house being rented out, to one that's been prepared for sale. It shows why trying to sell a house whilst it is still being rented out is not a good idea!!

Hall

Before

After

Living Room (!!)

Before

After

The back garden

Before

After

Before

After

An exciting new makeover...full house...for selling...

We've just finished an amazing makeover... here's a sneak preview of photos to come over the next couple of days. 

Before

After!!

The house was being rented out when I first visited, but the homeowner planned to sell, and wanted it to look better than it ever did.  More photos to follow on my next blog entry...

The master bedroom should look like a Master Bedroom...

In a beautiful home like this, the master bedroom needs to look like a Master Bedroom!!  We just added a headboard, soft bedding and some new lamps, and the room looked great.

This smaller bedroom just needed tweaking for the photographs - re-arranging the furniture and artwork made the room look larger, and the addition of a headboard finished it off beautifully. 

A lovely country bedroom, out in the countryside - look at the view from the window - I took this so the estate agent could show the setting...

 

This was a very subtle makeover.  I've just finished one that's completely the opposite! See my next blog entry for a big 'wow' makeover...