Christmas decorating tips when your home is on the market

How do I strike the perfect balance between festive decorating without overwhelming viewers?

For many homeowners, the run-up to Christmas is one of the most atmospheric times of the year with scented candles, twinkling lights, and the warmth of decorations that mark family traditions. But if your property is on the market during the festive season, it’s natural to feel unsure about how much is too much?

You want viewers to feel welcome the moment they step inside your home, not overwhelmed or distracted by decorations, but still enough to ensure you have that perfect last Christmas in your current home before finding your next one.

The good news? You absolutely can embrace Christmas décor and present your home at its best. With a few thoughtful choices, your festive decorating can even enhance the sense of warmth and make your home more appealing to buyers when they come to view.

Here are some tips and ideas to help you strike the right balance this festive season:

Keep the Focus on Space

When selling your home, space and light are two of the biggest things buyers look for. Large Christmas installations such as oversized trees, elaborate villages, or door-blocking garlands, can unintentionally shrink the sense of space.

If it’s not easy for a viewer to look around and navigate your home without worrying about knocking over or damaging your decorations – they’ll be unable to appreciate all that the property has to offer and instead be quick to leave!

Instead, choose a medium or slim-line tree that complements the room rather than dominates it – if your tree topper is touching the ceiling, it might be too much! Sticking to one key “moment” per room rather than multiple competing displays will allow potential buyers to still be able to see your home’s best features, while still feeling seasonally styled and cosy.

Showcase Lifestyle Without Personal Overload

While personal traditions and family decorations are so special, they can also make it harder for buyers to imagine the home as their own. It’s the same principle as standard recommended home staging: depersonalise where you can in order to help buyers visualise themselves living there.

We advise that you aim to keep surfaces fairly clear, particularly in high-traffic areas where side tables for example, may be easily knocked. It’s also suggested to minimise highly personal decorations or large family photo displays which could distract from the bigger picture of all that your home has to offer its next owners.

It can be difficult, but where possible, opting for neutral table settings, and universally appealing ornaments, really does help.

Embrace a Cohesive Colour Scheme

Festive décor doesn’t need to be loud and busy to feel magical. A coordinated colour palette helps keep things elegant and calm, something that potential buyers subconsciously appreciate.

The aim of a property viewing is to allow potential buyers to look around and imagine themselves living in the space. Making your home feel warm and inviting, with cohesive festive touches that enhance but don’t take away from each room, should be your main goal at this time of year.

Some great Christmas decorating palettes include:

• Soft gold, champagne and ivory
• Green, white and natural wood
• Navy, silver and soft grey
• Traditional red, with warm metallic accents

Simple, cohesive colours create a sense of flow throughout the home and help the décor feel intentional rather than cluttered. In addition, touches such as soft fairy lights and even a homemade wreath on your front door, will give that lovely warm welcome that makes such a difference.

Highlight Your Home’s Best Features

Christmas décor can be used strategically to draw attention to your property’s main selling points, as long as you’re not covering them up!

For example, a garland on a beautiful staircase, a simple table arrangement that shows off a large dining space, or even fairy lights that highlight a cosy reading nook. Thinking of decorations as a spotlight, not scenery, is a great tip to keep in mind.

When it comes to the outside of your home, buyers will often form opinions before they even step inside. A restrained, simple exterior display creates a great first impression – think door wreaths and festive potted plants!

We recommend avoiding inflatable displays or bright, flashing lights and they tend to distract more than they delight when your home is for sale.

Preparing for Last-Minute Viewings

Selling at any time of the year can see spontaneous viewing requests come in at the last minute, but during the festive period, we understand that it can make things a bit trickier.

To help you keep it easy to quickly tidy up before the next viewer knocks on the door, we suggest you to:

• Utilise storage boxes for toys and miscellaneous items that can be quickly tucked away
• Keep gift wrapping contained to one space that can be stored away under a bed or in a cupboard
• Choose decorations that are easy to straighten up, switch on/off, or quickly dust before a viewing

Selling a home around Christmas can be a wonderful opportunity, and we want to ensure that you’re still able to enjoy it as much as possible while being conscious of the decorations you choose while your home is on the market.

It’s no secret that buyers are more likely to respond emotionally during this season, and a home that feels warm, inviting and tastefully festive can leave a lasting impression and even contribute to a better sale price.

If you’d like advice on preparing your property for the market this festive season, or at any time throughout the year, Gilson Gray are always happy to help. Get in touch today.

The information and opinions contained in this blog are for information only. They are not intended to constitute advice and should not be relied upon or considered as a replacement for advice. Before acting on any of the information contained in this blog, please seek specific advice from Gilson Gray.