Creative ideas please .... calling all wannabe Kirsty Allsops!

JennyP

It's a long story but I am currently living in a flat that I've owned for a few years but have always rented out. Due to personal circumstances, I'm not sure whether I'm going to continue living there (in which case, I'll have to get a lodger) or rent it out again.
Either way, the flat isn't very appealing. It doesn't feel like a home.
I have redecorated and cleaned after the last tenant but now I want to make it more of a home, so that any prospective tenants or lodgers walk in and think, yes, I want to stay here. At the moment,
it's very bland - all magnolia and very little furniture.

I DON'T want to spend a fortune. I don't want to buy lots of furniture only to either leave it for new tenants or find that new tenants don't want it as they have their own. If I do re-let the whole flat, I'll either move onto a boat or back to my old home (told you it was a long story) so I won't be taking bulky new furniture with me.
The flat needs colour and home touches.
So far, I have:
1. The main bedroom is pretty much furnished: bed, wardrobe, chest etc. But it's dull!
2. Bedroom 2 has a wardrobe and a chest of drawers but nothing else. And it's dull.
3. The lounge is big but only has one tiny sofa and a fold up table with two miserable chairs.
I have wallpaper - bought off ebay over the years - so I am going to do a feature wall in each room.
But other than that..... What can I do?
Cheap ideas wanted. Come on, all you Kirsty Allsopp wannabes. What do you think?

Errata

Curtains, cushions, throws, rugs, bookcase, mirrors, pictures, vase+dried flowers, lamps, bean bags(if desparate), cheap electric fire for a focal point, pot pourri.

JennyP

I think it could be a really fun, creative project! But I'm not one of those people with natural talent who can furnish a room beautifully on a shoestring!

Errata

JennyP wrote: »

I think it could be a really fun, creative project! But I'm not one of those people with natural talent who can furnish a room beautifully on a shoestring!

Have a wander around your local B&M store, they charge a shoestring for everything they sell.

Chunks

A Mr Alsop here. What's your DIY skills like? Up-cycling is still 'on trend' and you can source furniture for a project for next to nothing. I would avoid wallpaper (personal hate of mine) but you could go for a feature wall (painted) and pick up the colour in some up-cycled furniture and accessories (avoiding clutter, of course). There is a (new) series on the box currently where armature designers get involved:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04nj4d5

Did beach huts last night (don't laugh). Last week cottages. Might get some inspiration.

Kinski

First time in this part of the forum :T.
Have a look at Pinterest, just put in what you want to find out about and there's bound to be something, sometimes there's tutorials other times it's people selling things they've made https://www.pinterest.com/pinterestuk1/

Fen1

As a renter, bland is good. When I move into a property I can then put my own things in, to my taste. After all, its's me that has to live there, not you.

Your taste and your tenants' will not necessarily be the same. Decorating it may actually put some people off e.g. difference in taste, extra stuff they don't need to clutter the place; the worry of damaging something of yours ( red wine on a cushion cover, a chipped vase etc).

The priorities should be cleanliness and safety. Is everything immaculately clean and in good order? Are the finishings to a high standard and easy to keep clean? I don't give two hoots about co-ordinating cushions, but I do care about mouldy grouting and dripping taps. Quality, quality, quality. Get these fundamentals right and you should have no problem finding tenants.

From the landlord's perspective, I wouldn't want the extra hassle of extra furnishings and decoration. Does everything have the proper kite-mark? Is it fit for use? If it is damaged or breaks, who pays for repair or replacement, and on what time-scale? How big an inventory do you want to check? What if the tenant decides they don't actually want x y z , do they get lumbered with it or you?

JennyP

It's clean. I've always thought that about the blank slate!
But it just looks so bland and dull compared with similar properties to rent in the area that are about the same price. They look like homes. Mine looks like an empty space - kind of unloved!

Fen1

Are you doing professional viewings to get a sense of the market? (A wise move)

Are seeing an an untenanted flat, fully furnished, ready for letting? Or are you seeing flats that have tenants and it is their stuff you are seeing? Or untenanted flats that have been window-dressed and that the soft furnishings will be removed upon letting? Are the landlords professional companies or are they one-property landlords (different budgets, different reasons for furnishing ).

What is your property like when it is tenanted? Is it more homely when lived-in?

Good ventilation and heating make a massive difference as to how homely a place feels. A place that has been empty for a while has that musty smell and can be a bit chilly if the heating has not been on. Opening the windows or cranking up the heating can make an appreciable diffrence to the 'feel' of a place. Another important feature is lighting. Ceiling pendant lights do not convey cosy. Low level table lights are much nicer and more soothing.

Really nice pot plants in good condtion can also make a place homely. ( Not sad spider plants or cactuses,though !)

pinkteapot

Dunelm Mill and The Range are your friend for some inexpensive artwork and ornaments/vases/etc.

For bedroom 2 for example, if it's all very cream then just get a large canvas in a bold colour and a matching vase for the windowsill or bedside table. You can always tell prospective tenants that you'll remove them and they can hang their own thing from the nail instead. That'd be a bonus as most tenancy agreements ban you from putting pictures up.

Eg when you can buy something like this, it's hardly worth the faff of crafting something yourself, and I say that as a keen crafter.
http://www.therange.co.uk/red-roses-canvas-set-of-3//the-range/fcp-product/84852

I tend to use neutrals for paint and carpets, then have a signature colour in each room that I tie in with curtains and decorative bits and pieces. That way it's easy to change when you get bored of it.

pinkteapot

p.s. Having said that, if you decide to rent it out then I wouldn't bother doing any of this. Tenants look for rooms of the size they want for their budget. It's very different to buying a house.

If you want it to be more homely for you then go for it.