As I continue with my “Messy Room” posts, let’s go to the dining room of our hypothetical house!  When I look at the attached picture, my first thought is that this room is not nearly as bad as some of the other rooms!  But then I take another look at it, and my first thought is “Well, okay, the room isn’t as bad as the others, but does that mean this room will stand out (positively) in the eyes of my potential buyers?”  And my answer is that it won’t!  So again, here are my top 10 ways I would redo this dining room to make sure it stands out for all the potential buyers!

• First, repaint the walls!  A deep red may be a color that you love, but not everyone will!  So why not invest a small amount of money in a paint color that is not only neutral, but will make the room feel light & bright!

• Second, remove much of the items on the shelves!  The shelves look overcluttered with lots glasses and other items!  Removing these and only leaving a few things on the shelves will make it look so much cleaner & less cluttered!

• Third, better yet – remove the white storage unit!  The unit does not appear to be built in, and may not even go with the décor of the dining room!  So why not just remove this unit and place it elsewhere in the house!

• Fourth, replace the tablecloth!  The tablecloth not only looks tired & worn, but looks very much like an afterthought!  So why not invest a little bit of money on some nice place mats, napkins & tablecloth to put on the table.  And if your table has a unique look to it, you may wish to just leave off the tablecloth all together!

• Fifth, put out some nice place settings!  Even if you never use your dining room to eat in, why not set a welcoming table with some dinnerware & a nice centerpiece!  It will remind people that a dining room is a place to eat in!

• Sixth, replace the curtains!  The curtains appear to be nothing more than long white panels!  Why not make this room pop by putting on some nice plantation shutters, or a nice swag, or even some colorful panels!  With the neutral paint you have repainted this room with, adding some color with new curtains will go a long way towards making this room a showstopper!

• Seventh, add some pictures to the walls!  When the room is repainted a nice neutral color and the curtain panels are replaced with some colorful panels, and the shelf system is removed, adding some pictures where the shelving unit was before will make this room seem much larger and not as cluttered as it now seems!

• Eighth, make sure the wood floors shine!  If the wood floors are in good shape but the shine is starting to wear, invest in some polyurethane and put a coat or two on the floors to make sure they shine to perfection!

• Ninth, make sure the adjoining rooms show to perfection!  When your buyers are standing in the dining room, they are naturally going to be viewing the kitchen & the living room!  So make sure that those rooms are ready for the pickiest buyer to look at!

• Tenth, make sure everything sparkles & the lights are on for showing! It doesn’t take much to put some pop into this room, and all the others!  Keeping in mind that your home should show better than your competition, not only do you want to make the changes suggested above (which won’t really cost a lot of money) but you also want to make sure it sparkles & shines! 

In today’s challenging real estate market, it can sometimes take a lot to convince the buyer that your home is the one for them!  Many buyers have a hard time looking beyond what they see in front of their eyes!  So why not help them envision the home that they could be living in!  And remember, the quicker you can sell your home, the quicker you can get back to living your normal lives in the next home of your dreams!

I would certainly love to hear what others have to say and any other suggestions you can think of!  And, as always, feel free to call or email me if there are any questions I can answer for you!