Our occasional series highlighting the work of businesses Oportfolio works with continues with a look at the impact interior design can have on the sale of your current home and the transformation of your new one. Rush Interiors is run by leading designer, Rushim Pellay.
When it comes to house hunting, are you the sort of person who can see beyond the property as it is now to the home it might become with some thought and care, or are you easily put off by clutter, ill-considered décor and mismatched furniture?
When you open the door on a new house for the first time and you’re confronted by a lot of bare floors and empty walls, do you see a blank canvas, or feel just a little bit overwhelmed by the challenge of where to put everything that’s on the lorry parked on your drive?
The truth is that those of us who lack the sharp eye and limitless vision that are essential to creating great interiors really need a little bit of help to see the potential in a new space.
And let’s be completely honest here, most of us also need a bit of help to streamline the higgledy-piggledy look that tends to develop in our own homes after a few years of accumulated furniture, knick-knacks and instantly-regrettable impulse purchases.
If you’ve decided to move home then it’s likely you’ll want to get top dollar for your current property and it stands to reason that in order to do that you’ll need to help your prospective buyers to see themselves living there.
There’s plenty of advice out there on the best way of making your home attractive to would-be buyers. Most of it seems to come down to keeping things neutral and making obvious repairs. Good and simple advice, no doubt, but not necessarily helpful to someone without the eye to make the right choices.
Rush Interiors is a design agency run by Rushim Pellay. Located in Mayfair, London, Rushim launched the studio a decade ago and in the intervening years has built a deserved reputation as an agency that’s absolutely passionate about interiors.
Rushim Pellay is the founder and owner successful London-based Rush Interiors
With an emphasis on creating thoughtfully impressive interiors with friendly, professional and efficient service, we asked Rushim to offer her own expert opinions on the best approach for homeowners when it comes to buying and selling property.
Here’s her guide to getting the best price out of the home you’re in – and the best life out of the home you’re moving into.
Eye up the competition and stand out from the crowd
With most buyers now using online tools like Right Move to do an initial sift of potential properties, it’s vital to make sure your own home has more going for it than similarly-priced houses available locally.
What’s already on the market in the area in the same price range pretty much identifies which properties potential buyers might also be considering and gives you a good idea of what your home needs in order to not only compete but win.
“A good interior can influence a buyer to lean towards one property over another,” says Rushim.
“It does help to get an interior designer on board who can work within your budget and achieve the right results. There’s a good chance you’ll recover the cost through the added value a designer will give you if the interiors are done well.”
Help buyers to see themselves in the house
One of the many reasons people often move home is to gain more space, so reflecting this in the way a property is presented is crucial.
Rushim says: “Furniture needs to be in proportion to the size of each room and there needs to be enough furniture in the house since too little makes it difficult to visualise how the rooms might be used.
“The layout of the furniture is equally important because the interior design can show buyers how to use their space more effectively.”
Think like your buyers
If you’re planning to be in your home for years, It’s fine to indulge a passion for ‘out there’ fads that have the power to polarise opinion, and there’s nothing wrong with believing that orange and brown will make a comeback one day.
But when it comes to selling it pays to tone it down, neutralising the extremes to appeal to a wider market.
“You need to ask yourself what sorts of people would live in a house like yours,” says Rushim. “If you’re a couple who bought your house ten years ago and the area is now sought after and trendy, it might appeal more to a young couple with a baby and we’d design it to appeal to that type of buyer.”
She adds that to have the best chance of selling at the optimum price, the property must be furnished – even if it’s vacant: “Furniture makes a home more liveable and gives a sense of scale and space, whilst white walls and empty rooms are uninviting and uninspiring!”
Do the little things
Any home worth the name is going to have some wear and tear, so clean and freshen it up with a fresh coat of paint and perhaps new carpets and replace light switches with dimmers to create more ambient lighting options.
Create a sense of style without spending a fortune
There are some relatively simple steps you can take, even on a limited budget, to give your home a makeover, says Rushim:
Spruce up sofas and beds with a new selection of cushions and throws.
Clear shelves and book cases and re organise all the items in a more staged manner to add interest – for example, lay books down with the spine facing outwards next to a photo frame or vase.
Empty one room at a time and bring back furniture piece by piece to see if you can make a cohesive design statement
Remove anything and everything that is personal, shabby, soiled or cluttered – then put back only the pieces that look wonderful. Less is more!
Clean surfaces and floors thoroughly!
Create a timeless look
The secret to enduring interior design is to create a style that won’t look dated overnight.
Rushim says: “Creating a timeless style is the key. That means making interior design decisions that complement the era and architecture of the property, keeping it neutral and using contrasting accents of darker neutrals, white and metallics.
“Don’t be too bold – steer away from painting a feature wall in your favourite colour and instead use moveable items such as placemats, cushions and art to introduce colour if needed.”
Do these three things!
Prioritise the kitchen and any bathrooms as Rushim says they’re often the key rooms in a sale.
Make best use of light. For daytime viewings make sure natural light floods in from all windows, and for evening viewings invest in lamps if you don’t already have them to create ambient lighting.
Keep the door and entrance clear and clutter-free. Invest large new doormat to freshen up the entrance and use an aroma candle or reed diffusers near the entrance and in the kitchen and bathrooms.
Rushim said: “I’d urge people to invest in their interiors before putting a property on the market. That way they’ll avoid having to reduce their asking price.”
Rush Interiors offer an Interior Design Consultation which offers on-the-spot advice given at your home on topics that include, but aren’t limited to, paint colour selection, interior finishes, furniture style, renovation, window treatments, lighting, storage, art, accessories, sourcing and trade referrals.
If you’re interested in having a consultation and would like to find out more, please contact Rush at [email protected]
To find out more about our friendly and professional mortgage service, fees and what we can do to help make sure you’re not paying over the odds for your mortgage, why not visit www.oportfolio.co.uk or give us a call on 020 7371 5063.
Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Oportfolio Ltd fees are payable on application. We charge a broker fee for property purchases of £495 and a remortgage/further advance fee of £395. Our product transfer fee is £295.
