“Why do you have so many hairbrushes?”, asked our good family friend yesterday, who is stopping with us for three weeks. I turned around to check what he was talking about and my eyes landed on a familiar yellow glass jug filled with at least 6 hairbrushes.
“Oh, we outgrew this house long time ago!”, was my reply. I think I proceeded by elaborating on when exactly we began to feel the lack of the living space…
Later that evening, when I was passing the ‘famous’ jug of brushes for a hundredth time, I suddenly paused recalling the earlier conversation.
That’s what came out of my introspection on this subject:
It is a weird place to keep the brushes! It makes perfect sense to us to have everyone’s hairbrush stored in the corridor, so that you can get a final ‘hairdo check’ on your way out of the house.
Until recently, it was six of us sharing our well outgrown 3-bedroom house and I believe I started this jug purely for practical reasons: my daughters kept misplacing their brushes and we were getting out of the door later than we should be doing on most mornings.
Now, this jug is not a pretty and exciting décor piece. It is, however, a very noticeable piece upon entering our house. I would not go as far as saying that it creates a focal point, but it definitely cannot go unnoticed.
Except that we don’t notice it anymore. We reach for it and use it every single day. But the truth is…we only notice it when it’s no longer there.
Our homes are full of these ‘jugs’: objects and scenes that are there for practical and habitual reasons. We are using them almost on autopilot. We are immune to them and hardly notice them. Having them where they are now makes perfect sense for us!
But what if a fresh pair of eyes catches the glimpse of these items? Would it make sense to them or puzzle and confuse them?
If it’s your home, you are free to have whatever you like wherever you like décor-wise. That’s your right! Use and enjoy it!
However, if you are trying to sell your property, you need to shuffle your stuff around to make sense (logical, aesthetical, emotional, etc.) for your potential buyer.
Just remember to be savvy about who to ask for feedback and how to approach the whole process of preparing your house for sale.
Let me give you my best tip:
Borrow a fresh pair of eyes! Professional home stagers are great. However, anyone with a flair for interior decorating who is open, honest, opinionated and is totally new to your house would be your second best choice (e.g. a work colleague you trust).
Even if your house has been on a market for a while, it’s not too late to get busy and creative to attract more viewings. If you don’t know where to start or simply don’t have time to do it yourself, consider inviting us to help you!
If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.
