2 June 2020
Turn your house into a winter wonderland
Don’t put off listing your home until the weather warms up – instead, dress it for the season. Selling in winter is a great opportunity for buyers to get a feel for the place and assess how winter-proof a property is.
Get ahead of the competition and attract eager buyers by transforming your home into a winter wonderland with these five tips.
A warm welcome
Start warming things up at the entrance to your home with a nice, inviting welcome mat. Not only does it serve a practical purpose, it also signifies the transition from outdoors to indoors. Define your entrance area by creating a dedicated space to leave your shoes and outdoor jackets, such as a wicker basket and coat rack. It will keep the area neat and tidy as well. Make sure your slippers are nearby to signify your home is a warm and cosy sanctuary.
Add some warm textiles
Nothing says winter warmth like snuggling up with a good book or a loved one. Help facilitate this feeling by placing a throw on your couch or bed to add some cosy textures. While you’re at it, add some scatter pillows to both, to make those spaces softer and cuddlier. This motif can spread into the bathroom with a luxurious robe and bulked up bath towels.
Lighting, lighting, lighting
Days are shorter and nights are longer, so make use of natural light while you have it by allowing it to flood in. However, when the sun does drop and it gets dark and gloomy outside, there is no reason your house needs to feel the same. Instead of turning on the overheads, add some lamps with soft light LED bulbs in communal spaces. A fire seems like an obvious way to warm up a space, but with heat pumps taking over, a small grouping of candles on a coffee table adds beautiful light and ambiance to a room.
Mind the gaps
This practical tip involves ensuring your home is insulated well, when it’s lacking in insulation. Your priorities are your ceilings, underfloor, walls and then windows and any gaps around floorboards, skirting boards, cornices, or fireplaces sealed up. Good quality curtains can contain the chill coming from cold glass. Cool draughts can also come through gaps under doors, but these can be dealt to by draught excluders in funky colours to add a bit of character. Pro tip: Match these to your additional pillows on the bed and couch.
The great outdoors…indoors
We love the outdoors in New Zealand! But often winter is a time where our desire for outdoor living is impacted by southerly breezes, frosty mornings, and cool evenings. A good winter workaround is to bring a little bit of the outside in by adding some robust indoor plants, or brighten the week ahead with some fresh flowers from your local Waikato farmers market.
Contact Lugtons
The supply of properties in the market is low in winter, while the demand among buyers in the Waikato is high. The lack of competing properties in the market leads to highly-motivated buyers, who are willing to push their budget for a house they love.
If you’re considering selling, or looking to buy in the Waikato, contact the team at Lugtons today. We can complete a FREE onsite appraisal to help you understand what your home could be worth and what updates you could make to get on the right track.
