Eleven Interior Design Features that Help You Sell Homes
When it comes to selling a home, interior design features can significantly impact the buyer's perception and overall appeal of the property you’re offering.
Certain design elements can make a home more attractive to buyers and can even increase its market value.
With this in mind, we’ve collated a list of the 11 most effective interior design features to help homes sell.
1. Using Neutral Colours
Neutral colour schemes are generally more appealing to potential buyers because they work like a blank canvas for the décor of the home. As House Digest magazine explains, ‘Neutral colours like grey, white, brown, black, and other muted shades can practically go with anything,’ and it is this versatility that allows the buyer to visualize their own furnishings and personality in the space.
Another benefit of choosing neutral tones is that they help to create a sense of calm and spaciousness. Fantastic Services describe the effect of neutral tones inside the home and how they affect the perceived size of the space, saying, ‘When you pair light, neutral wall tones with furniture of the same or similar colour, it creates the illusion of an open space. This is because the eye can move around freely without any interruptions, therefore making a room look bigger.’ So it is worth sticking to this muted colour palette with the furnishings in the show home as well as the colours you choose for the walls.
2. Open Floor Plan
‘For the last two decades, open-concept floor plans have been a dominant architectural trend,’ reports Karen Zell-Verhelst of Trilogy Real Estate. Homes with open floor plans, where the kitchen, dining, and living areas flow seamlessly, are highly sought after.
This design creates a sense of spaciousness and can encourage interaction among family members and guests. As explained by The Spruce, ‘Open floor plans allow for individual activities and social togetherness to coexist: family members can do their own activities, yet still communicate with one another.’ This sense togetherness can feel more and more important as lifestyles change and we spend a large portion of our time on screens. The physical proximity of those we hold dear is something we can hold onto, even if their attention is distracted by a gadget on the wall or in the palm of their hand.
The Spruce goes on to say that, ‘For entertaining, the kitchen, dining room, and living room blend together into one large social space.’ This makes it easier to host larger groups of people without feeling as if you’re missing your own party by being needed in the kitchen.
3. Modern Kitchen
‘A quality kitchen can add 4-7% more value to a home and is often times a major selling point for potential buyers,’ says Studio M.
The kitchen is widely considered the heart of the home and therefore gains much importance in the overall appeal of the property. It is also a very expensive room to replace should it not meet the homebuyer’s satisfaction in its original design.
It’s important, therefore, to create kitchens in your homes that buyers look forward to using and sharing with family and guests. Offering stainless steel appliances, granite or quartz countertops, and ample storage space are desirable features amongst buyers.
4. Quality Bathrooms
Bathrooms are also crucial areas for homebuyers when considering the purchase of a new home.
‘Bathrooms with lots of storage, plenty of space, and plumbing products with advanced relaxation features were top desires from the 3,247 homebuyers surveyed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) for its 2021 iteration of the What Home Buyers Really Want report,’ reveals Caroline Broderick in Residential Products Online.
So, ensure you are installing quality fixtures, using stylish tiles, and providing a clean and updated look to enhance your homes’ appeal.
5. Natural Light
A bright and airy home is always attractive and has become more prevalent in modern construction, with features such as bi-folding doors, roof lanterns, orangeries and conservatories very popular.
My Modern Home argues that ‘Most people are drawn to bright, well-lit spaces, especially where the light is provided by the sun.’ they go on to explain that this is a partially evolutionary reaction to sunlight, as well as a practical response to its ability to help us see and perform tasks more easily.
They also advise that, ‘Natural light is also linked to better health and mental well-being […] and can even help us save on utility bills by reducing natural gas, heating oil and electricity use in our homes. Not only does this help the environment, it helps our pocket-books too.’
Therefore, it is a good idea to maximize the natural light within your homes by using light-coloured window treatments, strategically placing mirrors, and ensuring windows remain unobstructed.
6. Storage Solutions
Ample storage, therefore, is a highly desirable feature of the property for homebuyers.
Whether you provide that through built-in wardrobes, walk-in closets, wall shelving, or any other storage solutions, they can all help a home feel more spacious and able to stay organized.
7. Energy-efficient Features
With a cost-of-living crisis and worries about sustainability, energy-efficient homes have become very popular amongst homebuyers. This Is Money magazine reveals that ‘The energy efficiency of a home is now deemed either important or very important by almost nine in 10 (88 per cent) of prospective buyers, according to research from Bloomberg Intelligence.’
Homes with energy-efficient features such as LED lighting, smart thermostats, and energy-efficient windows are increasingly popular due to their potential cost-savings and environmental benefits. Buyers also look for fitted appliances to have good energy efficiency ratings, walls to be well insulated and heating and cooling systems that are not gas-fired, such as solar panels or air source heat pumps.
8. Hardwood Floors
Hardwood floors are preferred over carpeting in many cases because they are easier to maintain, hypoallergenic, and considered more elegant.
And they can also prove a more cost-effective option when selling homes, advises Realtor magazine: ‘According to real estate experts, the average ROI for installing hardwood floors is about 70% to 80%, and wood floors can boost the sales price of your home as much as 2.5%.’
If you are worried about losing the cosy feeling of your properties by adding hard floors throughout, you can add rugs and blankets to keep those soft textures and their warm, homey appeal.
9. Smart Home Technology
The rise in smart technology and its popularity amongst consumer applies as readily to today’s housing market as it does to mobile phone shoppers. Security.org reports that ‘7 in 10 homebuyers are looking for a smart home, and 78% are willing to pay more for a home with smart devices.’
Integrating smart home features, such as a smart security system, smart lighting, and smart thermostats, can make a property more attractive to tech-savvy buyers and is something you should really consider when designing the interior features of your homes. In fact, many smart features are quickly becoming the norm, so the next challenge for developers is to find innovative ways to distinguish the average house with a Ring doorbell and a Nest thermostat. This may entail facial recognition technology or real-time monitoring.
10. Outdoor Spaces
Since the Covid-19 pandemic forced so many of us to stay within the confines of our own homes and property, the desire for owning some outside space of our own has grown.
UK Property Finance evidence this through their poll on 1,300 homebuyers and homeowners, which found that, ‘The single most important factor for homebuyers today is outdoor space, with a huge 92% stating that gardens are an ‘important’ or ‘very important’ factor.’
A well-designed outdoor area, such as a patio, deck, or garden, can also work to expand the living space offered within and create a fresh-aired haven to escape to were we to ever face lockdowns again in the future. This is another facet of design that rewards ingenuity, with a square lawn and a small patio arguably not enough to create a lasting impression. Raised planters, a carefully staged entertaining space, a dedicated barbecue area and high fences can all contribute to an inviting space.
11. Home Staging
Home staging involves arranging furniture and decor to highlight the property's best features and create an emotional connection with buyers. For a new home, this might mean laying a table as if about to be used, putting a newspaper on a coffee table or making sure your cupboards contain some typical items for that area, such as jars in the kitchen or clothes in the wardrobe.
These additions make a new home, which have never before been lived in, give the impression of what the lifestyle could look like inside.
The Creative Home Stagers argue that this can significantly improve a new home's marketability, as it levels out the playing field amongst older properties that naturally have a comfortable, lived-in feel: ‘New homes can’t compete with this naturally,’ they argue, adding that, ‘Staging can recreate the sense of homeliness in this area by forming stories through visualization.’
So, take time to imagine how your customers might choose to live in your homes, and make some small touches to give the impression of that life being lived.
And remember, whatever interior features you have added to the home, make sure your buyers understand what they are and how to maintain them by providing comprehensive Completion Manuals that detail all of this information.
