home reporter

Did you see the programme on ITV tonight?

I’d like to say I was shocked, but unfortunately not…..

This goes back to the fundamental point -

Estate agents are not your friend

They make money from selling houses. They will use almost any tactic to get a sale. And if they can earn more by selling no. 52 instead of your house, then that’s the one they’ll be pushing.

Sorry to sound cynical, but its the truth.

(Maybe you need a Call Report?) http://www.homereporter.co.uk/Call_Report.html

Wouldn’t you like to know what your estate agent was saying about your house?

k

estate agent

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year. And 2007 is the year of the pig.

Chinese fortunetellers say it will be a good time to have a baby.

But their other predictions of world turmoil and unrest don’t sound too good!

They also predict that the world economy will continue to boom, but people should also be cautious about their investments, and it could be another year of mortgage rate rises.

In the year of the pig, people like to spend time with their friends, socialising at home, cooking meals for their friends and being comfortable. Think I’ll go with this bit! 

Happy new year! or Kung hei fat choi!

kathryn

feng shui 

Yesterday I got an email from Diane asking me if she could paint her living room walls and ceiling the same colour.

There’s not a simple answer to that!

If you have quite a large room then using the same colour for walls and ceiling can give a very ’cosy’ effect. For home staging, I’d always recommend pale, neutral colours. But darker reds and greens can be very effective in the dining room or a study/library.

In a room with a sloping ceiling - like in a loft conversion, or a dorma bungalow - its often a good idea to paint the walls and ceiling the same colour as it can be quite tricky to decide where the walls end and the ceiling begins! Also if this is done with pale colours, it will make the room look larger and ‘lift’ the ceiling. If you don’t want all the room the same colour, then I’d recommend using one colour for the end walls and the sloping ceiling - the ‘n’ shape - and an accent colour (or wallpaper) on one or both of the side walls.

If you have a period property with picture rails, its very effective to paint the walls up to the picture rail in one colour but then use a different colour for the walls above the picture rail and the ceiling. I’d still recommend a very pale cream or off-white as the ceiling colour.

The other room that works well with the walls and ceiling the same colour is a children’s room. Here you can use quite strong colours throughout (but not when you’re home staging!) This gives the room a strong theme and children enjoy the brighter colours.

If you have a modern home with lower ceilings, then I’d always suggest a very pale colour (doesn’t have to be white!) for the ceilings. You can then use the same colour for the walls, perhaps using another colour or wallpaper on one wall to make an accent wall.

Happy painting!

kathryn

property presentation

Well its the 3rd of February, and even in Manchester, spring is almost here!

The daffodils have have pushed their way up about 9″, my hellebores are out and today the first crocus flowered!!!

Yes, winter is nearly over! Spring is just around the corner.

Now, lots of people put their houses on the market in Spring. The whole ‘New Year, New Start’ thing going on.

I’ll put some tips for home staging in Spring, plus a few specific ‘feng shui for spring tips’ up next week.

bye for now

kathryn

home staging