Calling time on the built-in bar. Bad taste DIY could lose vendors £17,500. - 24 August 2004
Millions planning home improvements this Bank Holiday weekend should think twice before reaching for the step ladders and turning ‘do it yourself’ into ‘devalue it yourself’. A Yellow Pages study* released today reveals that 76 per cent of UK adults would reduce their offer on a property if it featured bad taste ‘home improvements’ – losing the average vendor up to £17,500**.The research was conducted by Yellow Pages to support its sponsorship of ITV show ‘The Block’ - where four couples compete to add most value to their Brighton properties with their decorating style and skills – and highlights how significantly a home’s décor affects its perceived value.
A Cocktail of Catastrophes
When it comes to the fixtures and fittings, the UK’s single biggest turn-off is a built-in bar, as seen in Del Trotter’s Peckham high-rise flat and Jack and Vera Duckworth’s front room (33% said built-in bars were the most distasteful ‘home improvements’). Freaky flooring also falls foul of our aesthetic sensibilities with 24 per cent of UK adults citing garish carpets as the ultimate in bad taste, and lino getting six per cent of the vote. Other furnishing faux pas include saloon-style swing doors (12%), shell-shaped bathroom suites (8%) and curtain pelmets (3%). Worryingly, 1980’s throwback, the dado rail, could soon enjoy a renaissance with only two per cent of respondents giving it the thumbs down.
Get the Flock outta here!
As for painting and decorating effects, woodchip paper might be the DIY equivalent of Botox for cracked walls and bumpy plasterwork, but it tops the league of decoration no-no’s, with 28 per cent voting it ‘top of the not’s’. And forget pub-style fake beams and whitewashed plaster too, as the Tudor effect is roundly mocked (26%). One in five (21%) say flock wallpaper is foul, while wallpaper borders are a turn off for five per cent. More than one in ten (13%) loathe the ultimate cobweb magnet - artexed ceilings - and seven per cent rate rag-rolled paint effect borders as the most distasteful decorating debacle.
Slap dash…lose cash
While home decorating should be about adding homely touches and making your personal mark, the ultimate cost could be more than the price of a few rolls of wallpaper when you come to sell. Seventy-six per cent of UK adults say they would consider offering less than a property’s asking price if it featured bad taste furnishing or decorating effects, with more than six out of ten (63%) saying they would try and slash prices by up to ten per cent. Thirteen per cent of potential home buyers stated that they would reduce their offer by more than ten per cent. On an average home in the UK, disaster DIYers could forfeit up to £17,500 off the asking price if they get it wrong.
Commenting on the research findings, TV interior design guru and Yellow Pages’ decoration expert Roo Ryde, said: “As the saying goes, an Englishman’s home is his castle, but thanks to the explosion in TV programmes and magazines dedicated to home interiors and the availability of affordable, stylish accessories and materials, we’ve really embraced the idea of turning that castle into a personal palace. Unfortunately, it’s different brush strokes for different folks, so before you start, think about whether you’re decorating to create your own nest – or a saleable nest egg.”
Turn your weekend into a money-spinner
If you’re looking for inspiration on the best investment of valuable DIY time over the Bank Holiday, here are Roo Ryde’s suggestions for projects you can achieve over the long weekend:
1 Clean up the bathroom grout, remove all mould and get it looking white again – your Yellow Pages has a full list of local bathroom equipment retailers under the listing Bathroom Equipment.
2 While we still have the weather, spruce up your garden, paint up some plastic or terracotta pots for some instant colour – for more inspiration pop along to one of your local Garden Centres listed in Yellow Pages.
3 Take down all your dirty net curtains and freshen up the windows with easy to make muslin panels – just look under Haberdashery, Drapery Retailers or Trimmings in your Yellow Pages.
4 Give your front door a new lease of life with a fresh coat of paint and new numbers, letter box and handle in a contemporary brushed aluminum finish – you’ll find suppliers listed under Ironmongery Wholesalers in your Yellow Pages.
5 Look up local Glass Merchants in your Yellow Pages to commission some large pieces of mirror, custom-cut to your specification that can be cleverly used around the house to reflect light and to open up small, dark areas.
* Tick Box survey August 2004. 1,372 UK people interviewed.
** According to latest Land Registry figures (Residential Property Price Report, April-June 2004, Crown Copyright), the average UK property is worth £175,401.
63% of UK adults would knock up to 10% off the asking price, 13% would reduce their offer by more than 10%.
