Selling Homes with Amanda Lamb

ash28

eire13 wrote: »

The only thing is Dulux paint is quite expensive. Would anyone recommend Johnstone's paint? It is in my local B and M store and is a bit cheaper.

Can't remember the brand now, but we used Eurodec to mix up a Crown paint in biscotti.....Crown was expensive.

I chose biscotti because it was much warmer than magnolia but still light and it changed with the way the rooms were lit. I used it in all of the downstairs rooms to give continuity and impression of space. (house was big anyway)

We injected more colour through curtains and soft furnishings. One of the reasons I didn't want magnolia and some of the other creams is that they could be a bit yellow and we already had deep red curtains.

https://www.crownpaint.co.uk/en/colours?colourGroup={64FE7F90-49F5-4274-8E3B-BC6516648BC2}

lessonlearned

Doozergirl wrote: »

A nation of magnolia or 'not quite' magnolia houses, just in case the owner decides to sell.

The comment about not using brilliant white, but pure white on the ceilings and not magnolia, but a warm cream made me chuckle. We express our individuality through infinitesimally small differences from magnolia and white.

And the comment about magnolia being too dark in some rooms? Really? With the light off?

When faced with bare plaster walls and specifically decorating a house to sell, it makes partial sense to paint it all magnolia, to some degree. You cannot please everyone. There is little point on outlaying on items that some people may not like and it's easy and cheap to paint in a colour that people inoffensive.

But when you live in a house, then you should just go with what you feel. Showhomes are not painted magnolia with injections of colour in rugs and curtains. They are professionally designed and full of layers of colour, interest and texture.

The most important thing to sell a house for top money, is to be well maintained, clean, but lived in. Using up to date trends through the house helps the impression of it being well maintained and projects a lifestyle to the buyer.

The OP specifically asked for advice on how to present her property for sale without spending an arm and a leg, not how to decorate for her own tastes and preferences.

I agree that when decorating for your own delectation then you can please yourself hence I allowed my teenagers free range with the blacks,purples and navy blues:rotfl::eek:

Actually DS2,s deep blue bedroom looked very smart and sophisticated.

However when we came to sell they had to neutralise their rooms. It took five coats to cover that dark blue.

Re showhouses. Part of my job was dressing showhouses and interior design is a component of my arts degree so yes I fully understand how to use colour, texture and design.

However, the OP didn't want a fancy design solution, she just wanted advice on an easy affordable scheme to make her house ready for sale.

Showhouses design doesn't come cheap. A few gallons of emulsion as part of a diy exercise is a more affordable option for most people.

When the OP settles into her new home she can let her creative juices flow and her imagination run riot, as can her purchasers when they move into her old home.

And yes cheap magnolia paint can look very dark in a North facing room. Better to pay a little more and go for one of the new Light & Space ranges which contain some kind of light reflecting particles. Don't ask - I'm no scientist but they do seem to make quite a difference.

The OP specifically asked for opinions on the Amanda Lamb programme. I only watched a couple of episodes but found the programme rather gimmicky and shallow, but it's just a bit of fun TV.

fairy_lights

Another odd thing about that programme is her insistence that every room has a "purpose", as if people are going to be completely baffled by a spare room unless it's clearly done up as a study or is fully set up as a bedroom. :rotfl:
I saw an episode a few weeks back where a couple had a perfectly fine, neutrally decorated study with a sofa bed in it, but Amanda insisted buyers would be put off by it's lack of "purpose", and because the couple stored a few guitars in the room she made them turn it in to a music room with hideous musical note patterned wallpaper.
I had to turn over at that point because it was just so surreal.

lessonlearned

A designated music room!!!

Did AL think it was Chatsworth House or Blenheim PAlace. Talk about delusions of grandeur.;)

I missed that one, but agree totally Surreal. :rotfl:

A room is a room. You can hAve a street full of identical houses And their owners will be using the rooms in huge variety of ways Ns combinations. Upstairs bedrooms as studies or offices, downstairs rooms as bedrooms - it's just four walls and usually a window.......

I can never understand why buyers are so blinkered but often they cannot see the wood for the trees. A lot of buyers do seem to need to have everything spelt out for them, some people do really need to see a room set up for a specific purpose before they can visualise themselves in the space.

freeisgood

Sorry haven't read the whole thread...but I think rooms should be neutral and the "injection of colour" should be in the furnishings accessories which can be taken with you.
I think this applies with everyones home moving or not. You can completely change a room for a winter or summer look or just because you fancy a change, with different colour cushions/ throw and vases/lampshades etc.
Sometimes after a few months I just jiggle things around at home, put cooler coloured things out in summer and bring out the "reds and plums" out in the winter.

Sorry for waffling!

lessonlearned

freeisgood wrote: »

Sorry haven't read the whole thread...but I think rooms should be neutral and the "injection of colour" should be in the furnishings accessories which can be taken with you.
I think this applies with everyones home moving or not. You can completely change a room for a winter or summer look or just because you fancy a change, with different colour cushions/ throw and vases/lampshades etc.
Sometimes after a few months I just jiggle things around at home, put cooler coloured things out in summer and bring out the "reds and plums" out in the winter.

Sorry for waffling!

This is exactly what I do. I change the rooms with the seasons, warm colours for winter, cool for summer, Christmas themes, speciial occasions. I just swap things around, and ring the changes regularly.

I love jiggling things around, keeps things looking fresh and interesting. I keep spare cushions, throws ornaments etc in an ottoman out of the way.

I can change the look of the house in a couple of hours.

richy999

I'm afraid that I've not time for Amanda Lamb in her capacity as a 'property professional'.

I first came across her in ‘My Flat Pack Home’, which could have been a really interesting/educating series if presented by George Clarke/Kevin McCloud etc. Her added value to this was the usual… ‘ooh, isn’t this lovely’… ‘wow, I’m really generous’.

Along the way she seems to have picked up a few buzzwords but not much else.

Sorry... rant over.

richy999

Sorry, rant not quite over...

Are the homeowners on Phil Spencer: Secret Agent paid to churn out the line… no I’ve really no idea why my house has been on the market for 12 months!

Que a house interior that is a cross between a jumble sale and an episode of Britain’s Worst DIYer.

System

As someone looking to buy (and sell) I haven't seen too many properties but I could definitely tell which ones had been 'staged'. To me it seemed like they were trying to be more clever than they are.

Phil Spencer at least entertains and is bearable in small doses. Amanda Lamb is just thick.

yamsteroo

I'm looking for a house at the moment and if I'm honest, the whole colour scheme thing doesn't really bother me.


Fair enough, if a room is painted completely black I'd maybe think about offering a bit less as it would cost me more in paint and my time to get rid of it but it wouldn't put me off buying it as long as the rest of the house is structurally sound, is the right price, in the right area and otherwise meets my needs.


I'm pretty sure that within the first month I'll have started decorating anyway regardless of colour or d!cor condition as I want to make the house my home - am I alone in this way of thinking?


When I watch some of the property shows, ok there are some right dumps where you can't see how big a room is for all the junk wedged into it, but there are others and they seem to be encouraging people to pretty much makeover their house for someone else to move into ... and probably makeover again.


Is it really worth the expense or do people not actually look beyond the colour of a room or the type of furniture in it?


I sometimes think we get too hung up on what we're TOLD we need to do to sell a house.