If you want to add that bit of wow factor to your house you only have to look as far as the kitchen. Of course the style and decor of other rooms is important, bathrooms can be fitted to exacting standards and gardens can be just so, but the kitchen is really where it’s at and kitchens sell houses. This is the one space where you can truly impress and invariably see a better return than in any other home improvement.

Do kitchens really sell a country property?

Kitchens nowadays are the hub of the house, where families spend time together and around which socialising revolves. To have a kitchen large enough for a spectacular working end, open plan to sofas, tv, woodburner and bi-fold doors spilling onto a terrace is a dream for many and it is no surprise that the majority of house extensions incorporate such an ideal. This, with a large master suite on the first floor above it is the wow factor that turns an often modest home into a very desirable package. Conservatories or oak framed extensions are also often utilised, where a smallish kitchen can be opened up into a stunning space filled with light and linking the outside.

Preparing your kitchen for sale?

From underfloor heating to funky lighting, and everything in between, whether bespoke handcrafted units or flatpack installations, owners can have fun fulfilling their aspirations and a good designer will listen to priorities while not forgetting aesthetics. You have to be careful with the budget, of course; a top notch kitchen will set you back as much as a sleek German coupe, but it’s often best to list the wants and then pear back to affordable levels. There are many gismos that can be added to turn a standard design into a spectacular finish, you just have to know what to compromise on.

There is one bit of crucial advice, however: Do it for yourself. We are often asked whether a kitchen should be replaced before putting a property on the market and the answer is generally no. Kitchens are very personal designs and they are the first thing that buyers would normally rip out and replace. It is heart-breaking to see a relatively new kitchen sitting in the skip, but it does happen, purely because buyers want to be able to inject their own tastes into the most important room in the house and enjoy it for themselves.

The idea of owning an eco-friendly home was perhaps at one time considered a nice but unrealistic idea, perhaps even a little left-field or hippy but increasingly over the years they have become more mainstream and indeed, are now extremely desirable.

What makes a ‘green’ rural property?

Alternative Energy for Rural Properties

Eco friendly Cottage for sale near Tisbury Wiltshire

Rural View hope that you all had a very Happy Christmas & Prosperous New Year to all of our clients, customers, followers and business connections!

Hindon is one of the most sought after villages in the beautiful Nadder Valley and we are delighted to have been instructed to sell an attractive older style chalet bungalow on the edge of it. With its versatile accommodation, good-sized South facing garden and pleasant outlook this property would make an ideal Christmas present! More information can be found on the Properties For Sale section or give us a call.

There has recently been a survey of insurance claims resulting from damage to cars in car parks, the result of which is that the insurance industry has seen a substantial increase over the last ten years. The cause? Apart from careless and possibly impatient driving, the principal reason seems to be that cars have got bigger. The vogue for ever larger cars and SUVs has meant that that the older car parking spaces are now simply too small, resulting in dinks to car doors and scrapes to wings.

Older garages, too, are becoming less of an attractive proposition as their width restricts even the slimmest of us struggling to squeeze out of the car door – that is if you want to keep your car in a garage at all. Let’s face it, unless you have a prized classic car that needs to be locked up for insurance purposes or under cover to keep it in shape, are you likely to need a garage for keeping a car in? At this point I should apologise to those of you who do indeed store your car away from the elements, since I know that some do, but the majority of people these days are happy to park in the open.

So how valuable is it to have a garage at all? They are useful for all sorts of things; storage being the principal benefit, of bikes (motor and peddle), boats, gardening equipment, outside furniture and more. But they are also an escape, somewhere to tinker, somewhere to think. The Americanism ‘man-cave’ may have gender overtones, and when viewing a house it is normally the husband who is the most keen on the outbuildings, but the truth is that we all need that that getaway and a garage or other decent outbuilding is therefore an essential requirement for many.

The properties that we sell do invariably have a garage or accessible shack of some size, and they are held back in value if they don’t. Alternatively, most of the country houses and some of the village properties that we market will have space within the grounds to build a garage or car port and many heritage designs are very attractive, with plenty of space and often a first floor room for an office or hobbies. They come at a cost, but add a further dimension to a property and will generally see a good return.