My mentor, Clear Englebert, has just published his latest book, Feng Shui for Real Estate. I am looking forward to reading it but am lucky to have his wisdom at hand. He has guided me through the different countries and places we have lived in. So I went back to his books to look at how best to sell our upstairs apartment.
For once, we are being zen about selling- something that doesn’t come naturally to me! We are not in the usual rush of selling to leave a country and enter another. We understand that our likely buyer hasn’t been able to travel here yet and are happy to have had some interest so far. Some friends think we have finally lost our senses until we explain that all of this was supposed to happen three years from now and we had bought both apartments to combine with the idea to sell in about four years time. However; life sends us interesting messages, experiences and moments that propel us forward in our plans. So, here we are selling the original place we bought which is beautiful and it has been hard to choose which one to live in. The one below suits our day to day living with both of us working from home and it will be with sadness that we sell the more traditional one as we love the French charm it offers.
Furnished or Unfurnished
Most real estate agents would say to sell furnished but others say unfurnished gives people a sense of what they can do. The key point is not to do too much of either to give the potential buyer time to think how they would use the space. We have tried unfurnished and had a couple of visits in spite of the pandemic. We sort feedback from the agent to see if we needed to make any changes and ours was generally that it was a bit small for their needs but is charming. Not much we can do about making it bigger. However, we decided to revitalise the apartment and put some furniture back. It has been a bit like saying hello again and we have enjoyed the quick exercise including making sure Feng Shui practices were still in place.
The Lounge
The IKEA sofa and a couple of small side tables and a TV cabinet were still in the living room. We put back the two French Louis chairs and added a cotton rug and some of our books. Art work was put back up and we bought a lovely console from a cheap and cheerful store nearby. For bargains, check out places such as flea markets or brocantes and look on Facebook Marketplace. Stick to a colour theme, we chose earth tones, ivory and a touch of blue. Being the Relationship corner, two bowls were placed on one of the small tables and two Art Deco prints of couples were put back up.
The Dining Room
This is in the Wealth sector and needed revitalising. We bought a second hand table which is actually an old card table and had thought of painting the top. Surprisingly, a touch of wood oil and wax cleaned it up. It is a bit musty so bicarbonate of soda has been put inside the drawer and a fine layer on the table top. Another tip is to put coffee grounds and newspaper in drawers and cupboards to get rid of any old smells. A rug was hard to find and this is what changed the theme from a tropical style. A tablecloth that is padded was found in a souvenir shop! The pattern is of olives, lemons and old tiles and it has a traditional French style. What to put on the walls for something to look at that wouldn’t cost too much? I found two lovely prints of fruit and olives being grown. They had been reprinted for good quality wrapping paper and in two contrasting frames, they speak about bearing fruit and wealth. It is all about thinking outside of the box. The cocktail cabinet was brought back and I will get some lovely good quality, cream notebooks to add the final touch to a new office/dining space. Might as well use the space while we can.
On a Budget
As with the wrapping paper, you don’t always have to spend a whole lot of money but spend as much as you can in the Wealth sector, it should pay you back. Look in second hand shops for lovely ceramics that can be used for vases and pots. Reuse furniture by painting or revarnishing, a friend carefully repainted a frame with nail polish and it looked glossy and chic. We are replacing the blue seats on the dining chairs once I can find some bottle green fabric. Buy some lovely cards and frame them, throw a tablecloth over a sofa or seat, there are lots of ways to start again or revitalise a space. Then happy selling!
