Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder. Your home is no exception.
Individual Styles & Tastes
People are all different in their style and taste. South Africa is a country rich in cultural diversity, which makes this fact even more true. This diversity is what makes South Africa such a beautiful, interesting and vibrant place, and what makes buying or decorating a home a little scary too.
It is no secret that most home buyers prefer a neutral colour scheme and lots of open spaces. Home buyers need to be able to imagine themselves living in the current owner's home - essentially someone else's living space.
Most buyers find it hard to like or even look past bold colour combinations, unfamiliar cultural influences and cluttered rooms. This is true even if they themselves decorate with bold colour combinations, cultural influences and lots of furniture and ornaments!
When decorating your home, don't ever feel pressured to tone down your personality, even though some strangers might not approve. It is your home. You need to feel at home in it.
Remember, you can always tone it down slightly when it becomes time to sell!
Beauty and the Budget
A budget for your home decorating is very important. You don't want to buy a house and then end up spending the farm, do you?
There is always an expensive way to do something, and if you have the money, why not take advatage of all the professional help you can get? But if you are like the rest of us, broke or almost broke, especially after buying a new home, you need to keep an eye on the costs and find theless expensive ways to achieve your style.
Inexpensive Beauty
I have to confess: I am cheap! I cringe at the thought of prices for new furniture and home decorations. It would pain me to fork out R3000 for a white-washed pine closet. It may sound like I'm sitting an a beer crate while writing this, but I truely do own furniture. For instance; I was able to pick up a lovely three section angle-desk, two desk chairs, two oregon pine coffee tables and a 12V air compressor to inflate car tires for just under R600 at a public auction. The desk just needed a damp cloth, and the desk chairs, some re-upholstering. (Oh, and although it works, I've never really used the compressor.)
My mother told me long ago: "My boy, there is nothing new under the sun. What has been will be again."
Now, Mom didn't know much about computers and stuff back then, but where fashion is concerned, be it clothing, hair styles or inerior decorating, it turns out that she was right! Think about it: Victorian was in, then out, then in and out again. Art Deco was in, then out, then in and out again (although it is still one of my favourites).
Fashion changes quicker than people can change their minds. Is it then totally inconceivable that one could stylishly furnish a home using furniture and home decorations that someone else has discarded or sold for next to nothing?
Remember; If you don't have the cash, be prepared to spend some effort.
Home Improvements
Home improvements are often seen as a way to get a higher price for a home when selling, but is that right?. Home improvements should be aimed at making your home more comfortable and enjoyable for your family and yourself, not some maybe buyer. Every buyer may not see extra value in your home improvements.
If that addition is added, or those tiles installed, there is a possibility that it has not added as much value for every potential buyer as you had hoped. People differ in their tastes. Simply pointing out a potential improvement that the buyer will value can raise his valuation of your property on it's own.
Some home improvements have an almost universal appeal and consistently add more value to a property than others. Read more aboutHome Improvements That Pay Off here.
Home Beauty
Home beauty does not have to be a matter of cash. Use your imagination to express your personality through your home.
If you think about it, sometimes the beauty of a home has nothing to do with the furniture and colour schemes. The memories of those beautiful moments with your loved ones overshadow any memories of decor!
