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Add Value to Your House by Creating Visual Space

by: Sharon Wong

All homebuyers want as much house for their money as they can get. Many buyers are looking for a larger home because they've outgrown their current one, and especially desire more closet and cupboard space as well as larger rooms.

Visual space makes your home appear larger by allowing the buyer's eye to move from one side of the room to the other without interruption, giving the illusion of more space and openness. In contrast, a cluttered room stops the eye repeatedly and gives the illusion of less space.

In order to make your home appear larger, decluttering and removing unnecessary furniture is essential. The goal is to create a comforting atmosphere in which buyers can imagine their furniture and belongings easily fitting in. Once a buyer has this image in their mind, you're one step closer to a sale!

Follow these easy tips to add space and openness:

1. Pack away family photographs and small accessories. Family photographs make your house personal, but you want the buyer to see the house as theirs, so pack away all family pictures and mementos, including awards, trophies, plaques, etc. Small accessories (knickknacks, collections, figurines) distract the buyer by focusing on many small items instead of large, open spaces. These items should also be stored away.

2. Take small pictures off the walls. Small pictures break up the space of a wall and cause the buyer to stop and look at the pictures instead of allowing their eyes to see the wall without interruption. Keep large pictures above areas you want to highlight, such as over the bed, fireplace or sofa.

3. Leave accessories that add color and interest. A room without any accessories feels cold and sterile. Large accessories such as books, chunky candles and silk flowers should be left to give the room warmth and character.

4. Store small and unnecessary furniture. Many pieces of furniture, such as TV trays, end tables, and magazine racks can be put in a storage facility or at a friend's until you move. This immediately creates space between the larger pieces and makes the room appear more spacious. Now is a good time to decide what you'll take with you when you move and what you want to get rid of. Keep larger pieces of furniture in place (sofas, dining room tables) so the buyers can get a better idea of how their furniture will look in the space.

5. Clear off countertops. Remove all personal items in the bathrooms and kitchen. Items such as makeup, medicine and toothbrushes can be left in baskets on a shelf, to be brought out when you need them. In the kitchen, remove salt and pepper shakers, the dish rack, and small items on windowsills and on top of the stove. Clear countertops of all but large items such as canisters, a colorful cookie jar or a decorative plate. Have as few items as possible on the countertops to give the illusion of extra space.

6. Show off your closets. Perhaps number one on the buyer's "must have" list is more closet space. To make even small closets appear large, show shelf and clothes pole space by packing up and storing out-of-season clothes and sporting equipment, and donating unneeded items to charity. Now is the time to sort through all that clutter and decide what to keep and what to discard. You'll be amazed at how big your closets will look to you and your buyers!

You may think after all these changes that your house doesn't look like your own, but remember, the house you sell is not the same as the house you live in. By creating visual space, you are allowing the buyer to easily imagine integrating their life into your home - the first step to selling your home faster and for more money!

About the author:
Sharon Wong is President of Ready Set Sell(r) and an accomplished interior designer. Since 1991, her company has helped home sellers get the quickest sale and the highest price for their homes. Sharon also teaches Realtors(r) how to ready their customers' homes for a fast and profitable sale. Her company offers in-home consultations, seminars, videos and articles to help in the home selling process. For more information about her services and products, visit her website at

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Principles of Interior Design
by: Kathy Iven

Whether you are working with existing furnishings and fabrics or �starting from scratch� with an empty room, you should always use the elements and principles of design as a guide in choosing everything. The elements are your tools or raw materials, much like paints are the basics to a painter. The elements of design include space, line, form, color, and texture. The principles of design relate to how you use these elements. The principles of design are balance, emphasis, rhythm, proportion and scale, and harmony and unity.

Principle #1: Balance

Visual equilibrium in a room is called balance. It gives a sense of repose and a feeling of completion. A well-balanced room gives careful consideration to the placement of objects according to their visual weight. The elements of line, form, color and texture all help determine an object�s visual weight, which is the amount of space it appears to occupy. Balance also refers to how and where you place the elements (line, form, color and texture) within a room. To maintain balance, try to distribute the elements throughout the room.

� Formal balance, often referred to as symmetrical balance, creates a mirror image effect.

� Informal balance uses different objects of the same visual weight to create equilibrium in a room. It is more subtle and spontaneous and gives a warmer, more casual feeling.

Principle #2: Emphasis

Emphasis is the focal point of the room. The focal point should be obvious as you enter the room; it is the area to which your eye is attracted. Whatever is featured, as the center of interest �a fireplace, artwork or a window treatment framing a beautiful view � must be sufficiently emphasized so that everything else leads the eye toward the featured area. You can add emphasis to a natural focal point or create one in a room through effective use of line, form, color and texture.

Principle #3: Rhythm

Rhythm supplies the discipline that controls the eye as is moves around a room. Rhythm helps the eye to move easily from one object to another and creates a harmony that tells the eye everything in the room belongs to a unified whole. Rhythm is created through repetition of line, form, color or texture. It can also be created through progression. Progressive rhythm is a gradual increasing or decreasing in size, direction or color.

Principle #4: Proportion and Scale

Size relationships in a room are defined by proportion and scale. Proportion refers to how the elements within an object relate to the object as a whole. Scale relates to the size of an object when compared with the size of the space in which it is located.

Principle #5: Harmony and Unity

A well-designed room is a unified whole that encompasses all the other elements and principles of design. Unity assures a sense of order. There is a consistency of sizes and shapes, a harmony of color and pattern. The ultimate goal of decorating is to create a room with unity and harmony and a sense of rhythm. Repeating the elements, balancing them throughout the room, and then adding a little variety so that the room has its own sense of personality accomplishes this. Too much unity can be boring; too much variety can cause a restless feeling. Juggling the elements and principles to get just the right mix is a key to good design.

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