And when your child comes in from playing and sits on the $6000 chair and he's got an almost-melted chocolate bar in his cargo shorts (he's already been twitching all over the chair) and smeared hands slippery from trying to dig it out but already the chocolate's come through the shorts onto the chair, well, you do get the picture...@carolins. That's a neat website. Wish there was one for the US. Speaking of the your homeland, the Netherlands, my best friend relocated from there with his new bride twenty years ago. Every one in a while he misses the terrible weather. You know, cold, rainy, cloudy, foggy, and if and when we happen to get a day something like that (we're in N.E. Florida) he misses home! BTW he's one of the best physical therapists I've ever met and I used to go through them like toilet paper!. He got rid of a terribly bad spasm that I had in one form or another for three decades, and he did it in three sessions. It changed my life.

I've recently developed the "Don't let your best friend move in because she'll bring her boyfriend too" mantra. Other than that Home is most definitely a feeling!

I never thought of that either. I can see the logic, though: if your dining room is right beside the deck, why also have a table on the deck? Have a nice sitting area instead. (Disclaimer: my dining table is beside the deck, and I have a table on the deck as well. Another failure of design sense on my part, I guess).

Be a bit careful before replacing the outdoor furniture with expensive items - thieves often have a first go, then come back a few weeks later knowing that they'll get another haul with this second haul being new! (low lives!). Think about putting up security signage as a deterrent- unfortunately house showings are prime time for thieves to scope out a home. If potential buyers ask about security your agents says "I'm not sure, there's signage...". I'd go shopping for second hand table and chairs that you can fix up cheaply (a coat of paint/stain is easy) or even some el cheapo trestles from the local hardware store and then jazz it up with coloured runners/placemats and outdoor plates/glasses when you're doing your open house - the buyers need a narration that they can insert themselves into easily - remembering that a lot of home buys have 30 minutes allocated to see your property and that's not enough time for them to be "creatively visioning their life in your home". I'd also put some large pots with seasonal colour and invest in some LED curtain lighting on hooks that they see can be put up/pulled down (for Christmas/parties) - it'll give buyers a lifestyle image in which they can see themselves entertaining family and friends. If you can borrow an outdoor umbrella for the seating area and some outdoor beanbags for by the pool you'll be on a winner that you can easily pack up and not have spent a fortune on.