A 26x return on your money might sound unbelievable, but this is the real-life story of how one seller did it—and how you can apply her winning strategy to your own home.

Alison's home was valued at £235,000, but she knew her neighbours were selling for closer to £245,000. Determined to close that gap, she decided to invest £1,000 to boost her home’s appeal.

Her friends said she was wasting her time, and even her husband was doubtful, insisting that buyers change everything anyway, and that spending £1,000 wouldn’t add any real value.

Undeterred, Alison pressed on, and after going a tad over budget at £1,109, her home went on the market at £250,000. She had ten viewings over the first weekend, and three firm offers.

The first, of £255,000, gave instant vindication. Second came a cash bid of £266,000, followed by a third offer at a staggering £275,000 - £40,000 above the initial valuation - from a buyer with a home to sell.

Alison accepted the £266,000 cash. She was moving to Italy, liked being chain-free, and the extra £29,000 was enough to take time out of work to focus on managing builders in Florence.

So, how did Alison achieve such a massive return on her spend? Let’s take a room-by-room journey around her home for a remarkably simple lesson in the art of styling to sell, covering:

Alison’s big five takeaways
Living room largesse

Crafting a cook’s kitchen

Big and blissful bedrooms

From bathroom to spathroom

In just a few minutes, you'll discover how Alison's clever combination of what she already owned and a thoughtful shopping list can work just as well for you, no matter the value of your home.

ALISON’S BIG FIVE TAKEAWAYS

Alison proved that you don't need to spend a fortune on styling your home to make a huge impact.

As she says, “It's about understanding who your potential buyer is and seeing your home through their eyes to suggest a lifestyle and create an emotional connection.”

We couldn't have put that any better, so here are Alison's big five takeaways, in her own words:

Give each room a theme or context, even if it’s only subtle. It helps when shopping for props, or finding things you already own to use, move or repurpose.

Keep it simple and clutter-free. Most of the homes I saw on TV property shows didn’t have many belongings, but we had lots of ‘stuff’. So we took it out to make our rooms feel larger and lighter.
Use your friends! One of ours had space in their garage, so we stored some things we wanted to take to our next home in there.
Sell the things you’re not going to keep now, rather than wait. It makes your home look bigger, and removes a job for later. We sold items on local Facebook pages or donated to charity.

Have a pre-viewing grooming routine. Make the beds, plump cushions, tidy dishes, squeegee the shower, let in some air… I even fluffed up the rugs, making my husband think I’d lost it!

Having done so well, Alison proved the effort was easily worth it. “We got so much more than we ever dreamt we would; it’s transformed our finances and the possibilities of our move.”

LIVING ROOM LARGESSE

Alison chose a theme of big, bright, and light. She focused on showcasing as much of the lovely parquet floor as possible, and keeping the window clear - it spans the full width of the room and gets lots of sun.

First, Alison emptied the overcrowded shelves, replacing books with a few pieces of glassware, then put a vintage hat box in the chimney recess and loaded it with candles for a cosy glow.
Next, she sold a couple of sideboards that she wasn’t intending to keep, then brought in a large picture from the hallway and stood it on the floor to fill a space without taking up any room.

Finally, she moved the dining table from the centre of the room and over to one side, creating a clear sightline from the door to the window, and placed a large vase of fresh-cut tulips on top.

Alison’s living room was a simple rectangle without many features, so she decided to simply let the size and the light do the talking, with the minimum of distractions.

CRAFTING A COOK’S KITCHEN

Alison’s kitchen had a checkerboard floor and cupboards with rounded edges, so she played on a mildly 1950s vibe in staging her theme of competent and enjoyable cooking. Some of the main steps were:

Dressing the windowsill with herbs in terracotta pots and vintage cookware, then treating the worktops to a big wire basket of lemons and glass jars of pasta and coloured lentils.
Taking a big 1970s plastic orange lobster from her mum’s house, then pairing it with an orange Le Creuset pot, a retro-style enamel bread bin, and an apron with a vintage print design.

Creating a coffee station with espresso cups, an Italian Moka pot and a cafetiere next to the kettle, then grouping oils and condiments on a tray alongside stacked wooden chopping boards.

All of this gave the kitchen a genuinely fun and usable feel - somewhere you’d look forward to making coffee in the morning or pulling out a recipe book and making a big evening meal together.

BIG AND BLISSFUL BEDROOMS

Alison’s home had two bedrooms, and she gave one a Victorian glam theme based on its 19th-century wardrobe, and the other a mid-century modern look, riffing off the Danish teak wardrobe in there.

To promote the Victorian glam, Alison dug through her jewellery for anything reminiscent of the era, then displayed it in trinket pots with gold and silver lids on the chest of drawers.

For the mid-century feel, she bought a rug, bedspread and cushions with a retro print, then added some storage boxes she already had that resembled a 1950s filing cabinet when stacked.

Then she bought Dunelm’s ottoman boxes for bedside tables in both bedrooms so she could hide things away in them, and made them cosy with a lamp on top.

The one big change was selling her luxuriously huge bed, which dominated the main bedroom: it wasn't going to Italy, so she sold it and bought a standard-sized double, making the room feel twice as big.

FROM BATHROOM TO SPATHROOM

Alison’s bathroom was the weakest spot in her home, but the cheapest quote she’d had to refurbish it was £10,000. So, she rolled up her sleeves to see if she could create a luxury bathing zone on her own.

First, she cleaned out the grouting with Mould Magic from Must Have Ideas (a website she raves about). Then, she replaced the sealant by watching a YouTube video, finding it oddly therapeutic.
Next, she bought a new bath shower screen for £71 from Argos, added coloured body scrubbers and a wooden bath shelf, and decanted soaps and lotions into old gin bottles for display.
Finally, she learnt that IKEA laminate cupboards CAN be restored. By using very fine sandpaper and polishing with BriWax, she fully revived the colour and sheen that had faded in sunlight.

At the end, Alison was asked if her bathroom was brand new! That's quite a result and proves that scrubbing and staging can save thousands of pounds.

Are you getting ready to sell your home?

We’d love to help you maximise your sale price and find a buyer fast by perfecting your presentation with some practical and effective staging tips.

We’ve helped many people selling their homes in the Wilton and Salisbury area to do the same, so call us on 01722 580059 or message us at info@piccoloproperty.co.uk for a friendly chat to get things started.