I agree with Rosemary. If the interior has been for the most part untouched for a number of years, then I would spend the least amount of money making it clean and tidy that is all.

A professional property stylist in your area will be able to advise to a greater degree with the benefit of an on-site inspection, but I would suggest to you that best approach would be:

1. Pack up and remove all 'personal' items (anything that provides a clue as to who who lives there)

2. Re-position furniture centrally to show size of rooms

3. Remove cafe style curtains and ensure all window coverings are open to let in as much light as possible

4. Ensure that the entire property looks (and smells) as clean as possible (including carpets)

5. Add some fresh flowers & a bowl of fruit and you're good to go!

All the best.

Hi Artrato3,

here's some kitchen concepts you can replicate with tile and laminate paint, some smoke and mirrors ... a quick declutter and accessorize!

And Bam!

House Sold!!

Warm Regards

Liz Thomas

http://www.internationaldesign.vpweb.com.au

Agree - once everything (except perhaps the nice orange flowers) is taken off the benches and the window sill - and once you take the artwork and the plates off the wall - you'll notice a huge improvement. I'd probably even get rid of the stools at the bar.

Get rid of the clutter (seems to be the overall consensious). Possibly some tile paint for the splash back tiles, new handles on the cabinets (take one of the existing ones to the hardware store so you can match the drillings, those curtains and blind have to go. If the view out of the windows isn't good think of possibly putting existing pot plants there or sheers (which are cheap from a discount store). Light makes everything look bigger. The addition of a couple of shelves in the kitchen next to the range hood and breakfast bar would add some detail and cost very little. Paint is also a great way to give a face lift but keep it nutral. Good luck with the sale!

I assumed that you would assume that I would gut the room and then finding a starting point, getting rid of the clutter and cleaning everything up is a given, this is just as she left it.

I would find out how much it would cost to put a basic Formica benchtop in, you might find it's worth it to improve the speed of sale and buyers won't be knocking money off thinking they'll have to fix the kitchen straight away. Definitely lose the curtains! And tile paint. Good luck!

hi there, you can get bechtop paint at bunnings and masters. easy to paint also tile paint for those wall tiles. remove wallart and declutter the kitchen, removed those dated curtains. depending how far your willing to go you could even paint all the cabinet doors with laminate paint. white bench tops a white doors would look great,and go all on out with a bright color for the tiles.

If you decide to replace the bench top you can do it yourself to reduce cost. Just yesterday we put a three-part bench top into our pantry by buying a bench top from Mitre 10 (wooden in our case - $500 for 4.2 metres) and cutting and fixing it as necessary. Formica might be cheaper, I'm not sure.

But...

...it requires good measuring skills, time, a few tools, some specialist joiners (and matching drill bit - neither expensive) and a fair bit of frustration, particularly if walls are not quite straight (we had four corners, none of them managed to be the 90 degree right angle they should have been). You could waste a bench top with a bad cut quite easily. Like installing a kitchen, it can be a stressful curse-the-air-blue thing that you just don't need on your plate at the moment, such that you might want to pay others to do the cursing or just not do it (leave it to the purchaser). Or it might not. DIY is something that definitely risks falling on the wrong side of a cost-benefit-sanity analysis, at least for this purpose (though I'd install another kitchen, pantry, bench top, etc. in a minute in my own house, I find it so aggravating-rewarding :) ).

Anyway, a video of installing one (already cut) is here, from Bunnings (who have a lot of videos for DIY stuff):

http://www.bunnings.com.au/diy-advice/indoor-decorating/kitchen/benchtops-cabinets/how-to-install-a-laminate-benchtop

I have none of those skills but I would be a bit ashamed to show anyone through with the existing benchtop.

just paint the benchtops, its really not hard. and it really does make an improvement and looks like new

If you're considering replacing the bench, the frustrations and anxiety and time I mention are probably not incurred by a professional (and I am most assuredly not a professional). Which is to say perhaps the cost of having pros just replace the bench top is not (in relative terms) too much greater than installing it yourself? Maybe somewhere here knows the answer to that, or has that experience. Anyone?

(PS. I don't know at all, but if this event & issue is a cause of personal stress for you at the moment, please know I wish you nothing but wellness and success with it. My unreserved apologies if in my enthusiasm my comments had any pressure or "brow-beating" attached to them.)

It is all swollen and disgusting around the sink, painting it wont help.

Chances are if the bench top has had, it the cupboards underneath are rotting and smelly, one of the things i always check for when looking at open homes that look like they have had quick fixes done. So you need to weigh up the pros and cons with spending any money and putting in money for someone to do it for you. Decluttering walls and bench tops and window fittings are a great start. Ikea sell net curtains at a very cheap price if the veiw out the windows and doors is bad. Make sure the house smells fresh and clean i use orange and lemongrass essential oils mixed with 1/2 cup mineral water and 1/4 cup metho in a spray bottle, avoid spraying on wood work and painted surfaces.

Prospective buyers will understand that they are looking at a home that needs some renovating. By following 3 Pea's and hosinator's suggestions you will show the home's potential.

And remember - people never agree on things like this. I know a number of people have recommended painting the splashback tiles - but I like them! Dealing with the possessions may be enough for you to tackle - and that alone can be a stressful and emotional business. You should not be worried about things appearing disgusting or being ashamed - as some posters have said above, a number of potential buyers will actually be more pleased to see something they can tackle for themselves. Just take a deep breath, deal with the tidy up, and then maybe get some more opinions - perhaps from a real estate agent.

As everyone else has mentioned, declutter, give everything a good wipe over so it looks fresh and even something as simple as changing handles on doors and drawers to something a little more modern can make a huge difference.

Artrato3 - Your head must be spinning by now with all the ideas above LOL.

The suggestions above of replacing benchtops would only look like an obvious cover-up to a half-savvy potential buyer especially if they open the cupboards and find that the insides of the cupboards will have to be replaced. If that's the case, it would be money NOT well spent.

As for painting tiles or existing bench-tops, again it's just superficial camouflage and to me, painted tiles will always still look like 'painted tiles' and are only trying to hide the fact that they need replacing whether it be due to age or damage.

The best suggestions I've seen here are to declutter, clean and present looking fresh with some flowers or pot plants and that will be as well received as 'mutton dressed as lamb'.

It is what it is. Good luck.

suprisingly the cupboards are Ok inside and the doors aren't bad either

I have new handles and will put up some shelves, de- clutter and clean everything but that still leaves the bench-tops, is there anyway I could just take out the section near the sink and replace it with a stainless steel or granite or tiled area or even a modular sink with drip trays to fix just that area?

patch? Its only directly behind the sink under the taps that it is about 1" higher than the rest due to swelling. You can see it in the photo if you look hard enough LOL!

Hi - Firstly, if your Mum has passed, my condolences - I am in your position also, as my Mum passed only 4 weeks ago and I have her house to declutter and organise, I am finding everything very overwhelming. Don't sweat the small stuff would be my advice, treat yourself kindly. Cleaning and decluttering is all that's really expected! Our real estate guys advised us that it would be best just to clean and declutter and to definitely NOT do any touch-ups or painting as the buyers will often want to do the work themselves and they particularly mentioned kitchens as they had seen so often a new kitchen being put in by the owners and the buyers ripping it out when they moved in as they wanted their own kitchen. As your swollen area is behind the sink, who's not to say that the buyers will want to extend the bench areas ??? Don't be ashamed - it was your mothers house. Take care and all the best!

My Mum hasn't passed but moved in with us, she is very frail. Thanks for your kind thoughts and my commiserations on your loss.

If you patch it it will look like a patch - stainless steel & granite will be expensive and adding to a kitchen that may well be replaced by the new owners I don't think will be the best value for return. Replacing the laminate tops with modular ones from Bunnings or Masters (or the like) would be the cheapest option I'm sure. Take the photos in to a store and ask them to come up with some suggestions and also see if they have someone they can recommend to do it (then at least you can get a price for installation). Sorry I still can't see the problem from the photos.

New cupboard handles, declutter, remove all curtains and get blinds and use lots of elbow grease. Goodluck.

progress shot, more on my blog http://amiddleagedblogger.blogspot.com/

e just cleaned a house for a deceased estate - a small clinker brick one of a pair on a busy road - a recluse who'd lived on his own for 35 years....you can imagine! The family had to pull out the kitchen totally and install a new toilet....!! Four skips later...you get the idea. After the muck was gone and the place vacuumed and cleaned as much as possible it looked - well it looked what it was, a renovators' opportunity (good spaces and excellent flow, with a tiny yard and off street parking. A tram stop at the door. The family wanted venetians cleaned, walls washed and so on - they were making the mistake of thinking it was their own house, not, to be harsh perhaps, of selling an asset which will be someone else's opportunity whether it's to gut and renovate, or demolish and rebuild. So similarly to your mum's, where do you start and finish? As others have said, declutter (which you will have to do at some stage anyway) clean as best you can, and leave the opportunity for others to make their mark. And you know what - despite spending money on it, you'll probably not make a scrap of difference to the sale price. Best of luck

Hey Artrato, thanks for opening up to our advice. One small and inexpensive thing that you could add to the living room yourself is some new blinds, rather than those curtains.

Roller blinds like the ones below create an instantly contemporary feel, let light in and also keep light out (block out blinds). You can install these yourself, and they're easy to clean and maintain.

Omni Roller Blinds Installation · More Info

Win-Win and not a huge commitment, especially if you're pouring most of your time and money into the kitchen which sounds like it needs the most TLC. Hope this helps and best of luck.