How Does Interior Design Impact the Value of Your Home?
Everyone knows just how important “curb appeal” is when it comes to selling your home. If people don’t immediately like how the home looks, they will be much less likely to be enchanted by the other features of the home, such as its location, its layout, or anything else.
But just as curb appeal is extremely important, the interior appeal of your home is something you’ll want to be actively thinking about as well. A home with a well-crafted interior design will not only sell much quicker but you can also expect it to sell at a considerably higher price point.
While you might be tempted to skip changing the interior design of your home during the home selling process, we highly recommend paying attention to these important details. Below, we will discuss the most important things you need to know when it comes to interior design and the home selling process.
How Much Does Interior Design Affect the Value of Your Home?
It’s hard to pinpoint a single figure that can adequately answer this question—there are many different variables that can influence the relationship between interior design and resale value. These variables include things such as the current location of your home, the general state of the housing market, the size of your home, and the type of interior design you choose to invest in.
If your home is in an extremely competitive market—one where you might receive multiple offers the first day you list—interior design will not always be as important. For example, if people are hoping to purchase your home for a renovation project, plan to convert the home into a rental, or are willing to buy the home “sight unseen”, interior design will not be as important. But if the home is in a market where potential buyers will have a lot of other comparable options available to choose from, then the interior design will likely play a much more important role.
You will also need to consider the type of interior design you are currently considering. Interior design that is used to replace outdated, damaged, or completely missing elements from your home will provide a much greater return on your investment than extremely expensive designs. For example, replacing mothball and mold-covered curtains with new, clean $500 alternatives could potentially increase the home’s value by $500—or even more. But replacing adequate $500 curtains with the $5,000 luxury option is a move that will be very unlikely to pay off.
So, while we cannot promise that investing a certain amount in your home’s interior design will always generate a certain return—anyone who promises that is likely being dishonest—at least one principle remains clear: incorporating good interior design features will positively impact the value of your home. And good interior design features will also help your home sell considerably faster, something that (given the time value of money) is inherently valuable on its own.
How Can I Increase the Interior Appeal of My Home?
As suggested, the types and quality of interior design features you incorporate will directly affect how worthwhile your project ends up being. Though you will certainly want to keep any factors that are specific to your home in mind, there are a few basic interior design practices that will almost always pay off.
Make it Look New
It’s not enough to just invest in new interior design features—you’ll also want to invest in features that actually look new, as well. This means you might want to pass on the shag carpeting and go with polished wood floors instead.
Make it Look Clean
There is nothing that will turn a potential buyer away faster than a dirty home. In addition to keeping the home clean, you should choose some interior design features—smooth surfaces, juxtaposed colors, white cabinets, etc.—that can make it look even cleaner.
Make it Look Neutral
You probably love all of the small details you’ve incorporated into your home over the years. But remember, you are not selling the home to yourself, you are selling it to someone else. Using natural colors, muted tones, and minimal artwork will help make your home seem bigger and make it easier for potential buyers to envision themselves living there in the future.
Make it Look Worthwhile
There are a lot of shortcuts you can take to quickly make your home look different. However, for buyers with a keen eye, using these cheap fixes might be worse than choosing not to make any changes to begin with. So if you are going to change the interior design of your home, don’t skimp out on materials.
Conclusion
When utilized correctly, interior design can indeed make a major difference in the home selling process—be sure to ask your realtor if they have any interior design suggestions, and if they have a “go-to” interior design team they’d recommend you work with.
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