Living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms and the main bedroom are the most decisive rooms in a home. Generally speaking, their presentation looks reasonably good these days. Of course, tastes and budgets differ, and a home should be furnished as neutrally as possible. Still, sometimes, as a specialist in real estate presentation with a focus on photography and photo styling, I simply have to make do with what's there.

Op foto’s hoef ik niet alles te laten zien en ik kan veel zaken vaak letterlijk achter me laten terwijl ik de meest optimale foto’s schiet. Eerlijk is eerlijk. De ruimtes met de meeste rommel komen over het algemeen niet in de fotopresentatie op Funda. Toch is de presentatie van zaken die niet online komen wel van groot belang tijdens bezichtigingen. Voorlichting geven over vastgoedpresentatie tijdens de bezichtigingen is dan ook vast onderdeel van mijn werk.

Welke zaken worden door verkopers het meest over het hoofd gezien, zie je niet terug op Funda maar zijn wel belangrijk tijdens de bezichtiging?

1. The Entrance

We all know the clichés: no overflowing coat racks, no shoes on the floor, scarves and gloves in boxes. And all of that really does need to be taken care of before the first viewing. So what are the things you absolutely must do before welcoming viewers?

• The very first step indoors is literally onto the doormat. Look at it with a critical eye. Is it worn, stained, or not really a good fit? Replace it with a new one for a few tens of euros, preferably cut to size.
• I personally never mind seeing a few coats on the rack. I'm a fan of a natural approach to real estate styling, and an empty coat rack feels contrived. So do leave a few coats hanging, but make sure they are in a similar colour palette and keep at least three hooks or hangers free so that, if people want to take off their coats, they don't have to wrestle to find a spot.
• Add some decoration. Even a single artwork in a small hallway makes a difference. It gives the impression that care has been taken with the space, and that creates a welcoming feeling. Have more room to play with? Then place a console table with a few beautiful accessories.

Never forget that the entrance sets the tone for the rest of the home.

2. The utility room or laundry room

These spaces are almost always rather joyless, with the focus on large white appliances and, very often, matching melamine cupboards or purely practical open shelving. With a few exceptions, hardly anyone pays attention to the styling of cleaning supplies, drying racks, and ironing boards. Yet there is a lot to gain in a room like this.

• Buy a wooden panel or worktop at the DIY store, roughly 1.25 metres by 70 cm, and place it over the washing machine and dryer to create a clean, continuous work surface. You can take the panel with you to your next home, and your laundry room will instantly look neater there as well.
• Get a few large boxes or baskets to store the packs of detergent. Even if the caps stick out of the box or basket, you'll immediately create more calm by visually containing your supplies.
• A new ironing board cover works wonders, especially if you coordinate the colour and pattern with a few accessories in the same tones. You can also place a neat stack of (new) towels on the washing machine as decoration.

3. Open (book)cases

Whether they're in the kitchen or the living room, open shelving needs extra attention. It quickly looks cluttered because it naturally becomes a dumping ground for everything you need to put somewhere for a moment, and that rarely makes it look attractive.

• In the kitchen, use wall cupboards with glass doors and open shelves exclusively for crockery and glassware that match. Store food in closed cupboards or invest in a few attractive jars to keep your muesli and pasta in (without the packaging!). Avoid all kinds of plastic.
• Bookcases are preferably not filled to the brim. At the very least, make sure there are no items placed in front of the books and that the books are not stacked in multiple layers.
• Alternate books with a beautiful vase, frames and other accessories. This makes the bookcase look much lighter and more airy.
• The same applies to the china cabinets you often see in living rooms: create a pleasant mix of books, crockery and accessories, and remove anything that looks even slightly out of place.
• Buy a few attractive storage boxes and place them strategically in the cupboards so that, just before a viewing, you can quickly tuck away all the receipts, keys, lipsticks and odds and ends from trouser pockets.

4. Built‑in cupboards

Every built-in cupboard that stays with the property must be presentable and must literally show space. My rule of thumb: keep only 60–75% of the cupboard volume filled. Almost every buyer is looking for a home with more space than they currently have. By showing that you have plenty of storage, potential buyers will feel confident they can store their belongings, too.

• Store seasonal clothing elsewhere, and if needed, keep it temporarily at friends' or family.
• Go through your kitchen cupboards and drawers and get rid of everything you never use and are not planning to use anytime soon.
• Bathrooms often contain a huge stock of lotions and soaps you once received as gifts and never used, and probably never will. There are usually also quite a few items you haven't touched in so long that you can't even remember the last time you held them.
• Feel free to throw all of that away. You're not suddenly going to start using kitchen tools you've ignored for two years or a face cream you didn't even like the smell of.

5. Garage and storage room

Garages and storage rooms are rarely photogenic, and during viewings, they usually don't look much better. They often serve as a dumping ground for surplus furniture, a collection of 36 vases and leftover paint from the past 15 years. It can be an expensive mistake not to give the garage a serious makeover before putting the house on the market. For many families, a garage is not just a place to park the car; it's an extension of the home's functional space. Garages and storage rooms need to be clean, bright, well-swept and meticulously organised to maximise their value and appeal. It should be immediately obvious that the whole family's bikes fit into the storage room and that there is genuinely enough space to park the car in the garage, even if you never keep it inside.

Bovenstaande 5 punten gaan allemaal over zaken die een duidelijk functioneel nut hebben voor je vastgoedpresentatie. Laat dus zien hoe je dat nut in zijn volle potentie kunt gebruiken. Bovendien scheelt het je alvast een hoop werk voor de verhuizing als alles wat je toch niet mee zult nemen naar je nieuwe huis al weg is.

Meer lezen? Bestel mijn boek “Turn your house into a home, ready for sale ” en lees alles over de organisatie en presentatie van je woning voor, tijdens en na de verkoopperiode.