Even a room of perfect proportions can look out of shape without the right presentation, which can suppress a home’s value and prolong the time it takes to sell.

Interior designers know this only too well, and their days are spent exploring ways to add value to every room, including the tricky ones, for private clients and new-build show homes.

Positive perceptions and practicality are the keys to selling swiftly at the highest possible price. When they work in perfect harmony, it's far easier to win the hearts and minds of potential buyers.

With that in mind, we've compiled a collection of professional design techniques to add value to every room that needs a helping hand, so you can:

Boost the feeling of space.

Add a sense of height.

Increase natural light.

Widen narrow rooms.

Cosy up in style.

From DIY projects to simple rearranging, our guide has all you need to market your home as a fabulous, functional, and fulfilling place to live, creating genuine excitement for a successful launch.

BOOST THE FEELING OF SPACE

Some rooms can feel smaller than they actually are, and since space is a top priority for buyers, making the most of every inch with these interior design techniques is time well spent.

A room with either too much or overly large furniture instantly shrinks, so look for ways to edit, from moving items to other rooms to eBaying excess pieces.

When it comes to rugs, either opt for a single grand expanse, or remove smaller rugs to create a continuity of floor covering and increase the sense of space.

Use furniture that floats on legs to show more of the floor as it continues underneath. Mirrored legs go even further by reflecting the floor and becoming invisible.

Choose your ideal decluttering method, then keep open shelves tidy to push the walls outwards, and use closed storage units to hide the things you can’t part with.

In a nutshell, clear space is viewed as clear value by buyers, so increasing the visible footprint and removing excess distractions is a winning way to add value to any room.

ADD A SENSE OF HEIGHT

The ceiling heights in your home might be fixed, but their impact is not. If you don’t have tall rooms to work with, you can elevate the sense of height with a range of styling methods, including:

Hanging curtains high and wide by installing the rail closer to the ceiling and dropping those drapes to the floor for a full-height wall of fabric.

Painting in a single colour from top to bottom, including any skirting boards and picture rails, to avoid breaking up the wall height. For wallpaper, pick vertical stripes or patterns.

Adding floor-to-ceiling shelves, or choosing low-profile seating and sideboards to increase the distance between the tops of your furniture and the tops of the walls.
Swapping pendant light fittings for ceiling-hugging tracks to avoid a low-hanging obstacle in the middle of the room where buyers might bang their heads.

By focusing on uninterrupted vertical planes, your rooms will feel higher and airier, giving them an emotional and visual lift that allows buyers to appreciate the full volume of the space.

INCREASE NATURAL LIGHT

Light is such a potent factor for buyers, and a naturally bright home feels clean, modern, and spacious, adding a palpable sense of positivity to viewings. Here’s how to harness it.

Clean your windows inside and out, draw your curtains back as wide as you can, and angle slatted blinds to allow in the light.
Hang a mirror on the wall opposite the window to amplify the natural light pouring through those newly polished panes.

Paint the ceiling a crisp, bright white in a satin or eggshell finish to reflect as much light as possible down into the room.

Choose reflective materials like glass, metal, and glazed ceramic for accessories, such as candlesticks, bowls and vases that bounce light off their surfaces.

Despite these easy fixes, buyers often see poor natural light as a permanent flaw. If your home feels dark on viewings, it’s very unlikely to sell for the best price. In fact, it may not sell at all.

WIDEN NARROW ROOMS

Sometimes, no matter what you do, a narrow room still feels like a corridor. However, a few tweaks can enhance its perception, improve its functionality, and open new visual pathways.

Lay flooring in the direction of the shorter walls to accentuate the width of the room by drawing the eyes across it, rather than along it.

Paint one of the shorter walls in a darker colour, or use a bold wallpaper, to visually shorten the room and counteract the elongated feel.
Create a natural room divider by placing a sofa at a right angle to the longer walls, perhaps with a low-level unit or bookshelf behind it, to make separate spaces.

Use rugs for zones in rooms with multiple functions. Think defined sleeping and dressing areas in a bedroom, or seating, reading, and study spaces in a living room.

That first impression on entering a room is everything, and by staging it correctly, you can remove any sense of a space being tricky to use, and demonstrate instead just how well it works.

COSY UP IN STYLE

Now that you’ve maximised your home’s space and light, the final touch to add value to any room is the feeling of cosiness, so warm up your welcome for buyers with these interior design tips.

Layer textiles in a variety of soft, tactile textures like chunky-knit throws, velvet pillows, and woolly rugs for a dense and luxurious atmosphere.

Use warm-toned or vintage bulbs in ceiling lights, floor lamps, and table lamps to emit a relaxing and inviting glow.

Incorporate rich, deep colours like forest green, terracotta and charcoal grey, or add natural elements like wood, stone and plants.

Group furniture for conversation, instead of pushing it up against the walls. Seating that’s closer together and faces each other creates a snug and social salon.

When a buyer feels cuddled in comfort, they experience a sense of belonging and want more of it, which naturally leads to making an offer and planning their life in your home.

Does your home have untapped price potential?

We’d love to help you add value to every room in your home to ensure your photos turn into viewings, and your viewings turn into a sale.

A premium result starts with preparation, so if you're planning to sell your home in the Wilton and Salisbury area, call us on 01722 580059 or email us at info@piccoloproperty.co.uk to see how we can push up your price together.