It's high time I put pen to paper...or fingers to keys...and got to grips with starting my blog, seeing as there's quite a lot to chat about that needs more than a social media post!
I thought I would start with answering one of the questions I am asked most often: What should I do to get my property ready for the photos? This will vary from property to property but I'll take you through the basics of how to prepare your property for photos:
ENTRANCE HALL
Considering this is the first area potential buyers, or tenants, will see of your property, and are likely to form their first impressions within 8 seconds of walking through the front door, it's vital that this area creates a good feeling. Keep it as free from clutter as possible, tidy shoes and coats away (cloakrooms and garages aren't often photographed so you can hide as much as you like in these areas), clear surfaces of keys, clean mirrors, hoover/mop the floor, clean skirting boards etc, all of which will help to give that all important great first impression.
KITCHEN
We spend so much time in our kitchens these days, it's hardly surprising that they are notorious for collecting a multitude of household items, so, and you will start to notice a theme here, clear away the clutter as much as possible, leaving worktops (mostly) clear. Bulky kitchen items such as airfryers can be distracting so if you can, hide them in a cupboard, along with bins, including food and recycling bins. Kettles and toasters are absolutely fine to have on show and bowls of fruit and/or a vase of fresh flowers go a long way to add pops of colour.
If you normally keep any food on your worktops, pop it in a cupboard for the photoshoot and hide washing up brushes/sponges etc in the sink and if you have any lists/kids artwork attached to the fridge, temporarily hide this away too.
Once your surfaces are clear....clean! You don't need to go industrial here, but a simple wipe down of surfaces, oven tops/doors, sinks and taps to remove spills and splashes as well as mopping the floor is a great idea.
If you have blinds, open them up and clean doors and windows.
SITTING ROOM
Being the room we most often use to relax in, sitting rooms usually benefit from a bit of 'plumping'. Plump up sofa and chair cushions, fold throws and blankets and tidy away excess magazines, although a well-placed coffee table book can help to complete the look. If you're concerned about family photographs being in the shot, feel free to move these. Straighten pictures/mirrors and again, clear the clutter, too many ornaments and books can overwhelm an image, so if necessary, tidy some of these away, leaving a few of your favourites on display.
Make sure all your bulbs in lamps etc are working, replacing any as necessary and give the whole room a light dust and hoover, open the blinds and clean the windows.
If you have a fireplace, remove the fireguard and, if possible, place a basket of logs in front to enhance the area.
DINING ROOM
If you have a separate dining room, treat it the same way as the sitting room/kitchen and clear the table of any items that have collected there. Minimise ornaments on display, straighten pictures etc.
A vase of flowers on the table will work well here and again, replace any lightbulbs that have blown.
BATHROOMS
In my opinion, there is nothing more distracting in a bathroom photo than hundreds of bottles of products, so remove most of them for your photoshoot. Leaving two or three of your favourites on display is absolutely fine, you still want your house to look lived in, after all! House plants work well in bathrooms, so if you have any in the house, migrate one or two to the bathroom for the photos.
Remove bathroom bins, excess loo rolls, loo brushes (the less left to the imagination the better! ;) ) and other personal items such as toothbrushes/paste, flannels, sponges and razors.
If you keep kids bath toys in the bathroom, tidy them away and remove bath towels/mats from radiators/towel rails.
Once surfaces are clear, get your scrubbing brush out again for a good old clean! Next to kitchens, bathrooms can collect their fair share of...marks, shall we say, so buff shower screens, sinks, bathtubs and taps. Mops floors and clean skirting boards and clean mirrors and windows.
BEDROOMS
Naturally, beds should be made, with pillows and cushions plumped up to the max! Bedding that's been ironed is also preferable and a throw also helps to complete the look.
Keep bedside tables clear from as many items as possible, i.e. books, tissues, phone chargers, products etc. If you have bedside lamps, make sure the bulbs are working, and the same colour as each other. If you store belongings under your bed/bedside tables, either remove them for the photoshoot or move them as far back as possible under the bed.
Put all clothes/shoes away and keep cosmetics to a minimum, hide them in a drawer if necessary. Tidy away hairdryers/straighteners etc - again, clear the clutter as much as possible.
Have a sweep around the room with a duster and hoover the carpet, straighten any rugs and clean the mirrors/windows and open blinds/curtains.
In childrens' rooms, it's not necessary to hide away all their toys, kids bedrooms are kids bedrooms, however, if they have mountains of toys/teddies, you may want to tidy away some of them. As long as the room is clean and tidy that will be fine for the photos, and again, make the bed, dust, hoover and open blinds/clean the windows.
HOME OFFICE
Whether you have a dedicated home office, or use an area of another room in your home to work from the guidance for the photoshoot is the same, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, clear the clutter. Work often requires a lot of paperwork, but this doesn't need to be in the photos, so clear desks of paperwork, notepads, receipts, pens, excess devices such as tablets/mobile phones etc and remove any sensitive material from the walls or any notice boards you have hanging on the walls.
Tidy away wires as much as possible, remove waste paper bins and and storage boxes/files that are on the floor.
OUTSIDE
The seasons will naturally dictate the level to which you are able to present your garden, however, generally speaking, think of your garden as an additional room of your house.
It's highly unlikely your house will be photographed on a rainy day, so whatever the season, remove covers from garden furniture, BBQs etc and place cushions on garden seating and put up parasols.
Mow the lawn and tidy any unkempt plants. Roll away hosepipes, put away garden tools, sweep up fallen leaves and if you have children, tidy away garden toys/bikes etc, or if these are structures that are too big to put away completely, position them towards the back of the garden if you can.
Tuck recycling bins away and move cars off the driveway. If you have pets, check the lawn for...you know!
PETS
Speaking of pets, we all love our fuzzy friends, however, when it comes to evidence of pets in your photographs, it's best to keep this to a minimum as some people may have allergies towards some animals, so if they see that you have a dog/cat, it could potentially put them off viewing your property. So tidy away pet food/drinks bowls, toys, beds and consider taking the dog for a walk and keeping the cat outside during viewings.
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Hopefully you've found this useful. Basically, in a nutshell, clear the clutter and clean - that's all there is to it!! ;)
If you have booked me to photograph your property, I'm always more than happy to help move things from room to room as necessary, I just draw the line at cleaning your loo!