A UNIQUE interior design company established to bring

a personal service to homeowners, landlords,

developers and estate agents

We LISTEN, OBSERVE, DISCOVER,

CONSULT, and RESOLVE

• Wansunt Road was first marketed in March 2010 when it was brought to the market by Park Estates in Bexley with an asking price of £700,000. This was later reduced to £675,000 and reduced further to £645,000 in October 2010.

• At the beginning of October 2010 Village Estates were instructed to joint market the property and recommended an asking price of £645,000.

• There were only a small number of viewings with two in October and November 2010 via Park Estates but none from Village Estates. The level of interest was disappointing throughout the marketing period and no offers were received. The main feedback from viewers was that ‘there is too much work to be done’.

• In November 2010 I instructed my clients to take the property off the market.

• Following this my was brief was to re-launch the property to the market, developing a sale strategy that would increase the level of interest in the property, and ultimately result in an acceptable offer.

• This followed some refurbishment, decoration and home staging.

• The property is now ‘Sold subject to contract’ after only 4 weeks on the market

Wansunt Road, Bexley, Kent4 Bedroom, 3 Reception, 2 bathroom detached property, with drive in, drive out driveway, large garden and detached garage.

Overall Impression

Wansunt Road is one of the premier roads in Bexley. The houses are mostly detached and benefit from large plots all with off road parking.

This is a 1950’s built property, extended by my client when they purchased it some 35 years ago.. Whilst the kitchen has been replaced since then, little re-decoration had been undertaken. The property thus looked and felt dated and tired. In truth every room in this property needed some work to enhance its saleability. Budgets would not allow for the full recommended works so the following key areas were the prime focus.

Lounge | Dining Room | Shower Room | Bedroom 1 | Bedroom 3

All other areas of the house had a ‘House Doctor®’ touch which meant a mass de-cluttering and

fixing of small problems (e.g. changing light switch face plates, boxing in pipe work), which had a great impact. All rooms had a touch of staging for the newly instructed Estate Agents photography during which I was present.

floor plans

lounge

DiagnosisThis room was used as both the main living room and the dining room and consequently looked and felt cramped. Existing items of furniture are not co-ordinated and are overfull with crockery and family photos. The lighting scheme was very dated.

PrescriptionIncrease the sense of space and appeal to a young family along with reducing the perceived amount of work needed

Walls• Plaster breeze block wall (behind TV) and paint. Install skirting board

and paint white. • Paint all walls (Orangerie by Little Greene was used)Flooring• Deep clean carpets and rugs

Furniture• Remove display unit currently positioned on utility room wall• Remove tea trolley• Relocate dining table and chairs to ‘family room’ creating a new dining

room• Reposition sofas and chairs and all other furniture to make better use

of the space• De-clutter including ‘hidden’ storage areas behind the bar

Lighting• Remove all pelmets and tube lighting around the perimeter of the

room, remove spot lights from ceiling, re-plaster ceiling and install 2 light fittings

• Add table lights

Accessories• Artwork – rework existing artwork in the property

• Planting – add new plants and fresh flowers• General – display minimal items in the display units

loungeThe new flat plastered ceiling has two new chandelier light fittings to reflect the existing one in the dining room.An abstract piece of art in just the right colours was found hiding behind a sofa and hung to become a focal point at that end of the large roomThe small side tables were previously scattered around the house but now reunited in the lounge.Soft Furnishings - A splash of extra colour was added with the cushions to bring out the tones in the rugThe curtains were cleaned and repaired where necessary and re-hungNew plants and fresh flowers

dining roomDiagnosisCurrently used as a Sitting Room this room should be redefined as a Dining Room. It was feeling dark and dull but there was no budget to paint the walls and remove the wood panelling.

PrescriptionPresent this room as a dining room

Walls• Clean all walls and woodwork

thoroughly

Flooring• Clean carpet

Furniture• Remove white unit from the

room and introduce the unit from the lounge (storage was needed)

• Add dining table and chairs making repairs to chairs as necessary

• Remove sofa, chair and coffee table to storage

• Relocate 2 black chairs to landing

Accessories• Remove plates from wall• Repair and re-hang curtains• Re-hang artwork• Add mirror above fireplace from

bathroom

landingDiagnosisThis large space is underutilised and has no spatial definition

PrescriptionDefine the use of the open landing by the window creating a ‘reading area’ using a chair from the family room

Walls• Clean all paintwork thoroughly

Furniture• Remove desk to study and dispose

of chairs and wardrobe• Using the 2 black leather chairs

from the previous family room and a bookshelf from one of the bedrooms create a small reading area

Lighting• Clean light fittings and upgrade

bulbs

Accessories• Hang artwork from clients existing

collection

shower room

DiagnosisThis bathroom was very dated and had 5 different tiles on walls and floors. The suspended ceiling was damaged and the lighting above poorly fitted

Prescription• Retain the sanitary ware which is

Duravit, but retile the walls with large white tiles and feature border – as the floor tiles were to remain the colour for the border was influenced by the brown details tile in the floor

• Remove existing ceiling, re-plaster and install spot lights and an extractor fan

• Accessorise with bright and cheerful towels, baskets and plants

• Replace mirror – use existing in dining room

master bedroomDiagnosisThis is the largest of the 4 bedrooms yet it is dated and was not being marketed to its full potential

PrescriptionWalls• Repaint walls and ceiling making

repairs where necessary

Flooring• Replace carpet

Furniture• Reconfigure furniture to maximise use

of space• Remove bookshelf to landing and

dispose of deskLighting• Replace lamp shade and add matching

bedside lamps

Accessories• Create new artwork and add

accessories taking colour scheme from existing items and curtains

bedroom 3DiagnosisThis guest room was full of old and dated furniture and very cluttered cupboards

PrescriptionCreate a lively and light room that could be immediately used by new owners

Walls• Paint in a colour taken

from the marbled effect fitted cupboards – Echo from Little Greene was used

Furniture• Remove desk and

bookcases• Reposition bed• Add bedside tables• Replace knobs on

cupboard doors

Lighting• Change light shade and

add bedside lights

Accessories• New white curtains and

bright tie-backs• Bright bed linen and

cushions• New handmade artwork

other areas within the property

As previously mentioned there was not any area of the house that did not benefit from a ‘House Doctor®’ touch.

The kitchen and study are included here but styling and staging work was also completed in Bedrooms 2 and 4. In addition the bathroom and separate toilet were painted from blue to white, the shower area re-grouted and the toilet itself reinstalled correctly.

kitchenDiagnosisThe kitchen units and appliances are fairly new and well designed however the lighting is poor. The area was cluttered with family mementos

Prescription• Increase sense of space by removing the display unit• Replace the lighting for matching fittings• Remove window dressings to increase amount of natural light• Remove items from work-surfaces that are superfluous• Ensure kitchen units are tidy and ordered inside• Fix drawer runners and level doors where required

studyDiagnosisThere were two desks both of which were dated in style, the shelves were not styled and housed mainly clutter

Prescription• Define the use of the room as a study and music room• Relocate desk from upstairs to under small window• Remove ‘dining chairs’ and other excess furniture• Add a Piano stool and an easy chair to create a reading area• Remove books from window sill and accessorise more appropriately

alfresco dining

The patio and garden are large areas. For the purposes of the Estate Agency photography the table was set to enhance the lifestyle imagery for the marketing material..

project costs

My client spent 1.5% of the last marketed asking price on preparing her property for sale. This is far less than the next price decrease that her agents were pushing for.

Contractors involved included Plasterer, Decorator, Electrician, Handyman and myself as the Project Manager.

Younique Designs pulled together the project team, delivered the results and facilitated the sale of the property.

Are you struggling to sell your home?

Do you know someone trying to sell and yet all they do is reduce the price?

Talk to us before talking to an Agent, save yourself time and fulfil your dreams quickly.

Already on the market? Still talk to us, we can help at whatever stage of the process you are at.

Julie StevensYounique Designs Ltd

1 Castle Hill CourtCastle HillRochester

Kent ME1 1LF

T| 07889 021140E| julie@youniquedesigns.co.ukW| www.youniquedesigns.co.uk

‘after images’ © John MillerOther images © Younique Designs Ltd

Project completed May 2011