One thing I always have in mind is resale value; I guess you could say I was taught this through watching my parents buy and sell multiple properties over the years. So when designing and renovating, I always keep in mind whether my design choices would appeal to the masses. At the same time, I also like to design for myself and create a home for my family.

For me, the way I do this is to use a neutral design style for things that can’t easily be changed. For instance, I went with a classic white kitchen (white cabinets, backsplash, and counters), neutral paint on the main walls of the house (a light grey), and classic dark wood flooring. Then, I added my own style and took some “mini” design risks by doing things that can easily be changed. For the most part, this has been done through paint as paint is one of the easiest, cheapest, and quickest things to change. In my daughters’ toy room, we painted mountains on the walls. In my oldest daughter’s room, we went with a unique geometric pattern on one wall, and in my office I painted one wall black.

I also have added my own touch by adding wall paper, in small areas throughout the house. While wallpaper isn’t as easy to replace as paint is, it’s still doable. I’ve also kept the wallpapering to small areas so if whoever buys this house down the road doesn’t like my wallpaper choices, they can change it without too much of a hassle. Or if we stay here for a long time, and I want to change the design, I can also do that for relatively cheap.

Although moving may not necessarily be on your agenda now, I always think it’s wise to keep resale value in mind when designing or renovating because you never know when your circumstances may change and you may need or want to move. The more people that you can appeal to when selling, the better off you’ll be in terms of selling more quickly and for a better price.

If you’re considering a move or even if you’ve just moved and you’re looking for design advice please feel free to ask me; I always love to share what I’ve learned over the years.

Written by:

Fiona White – REALTOR® with Sutton Group – West Coast Realty

Phone: 778-552-6246

Email: fwhite@sutton.com

Website: http://www.fiona-white.com

Facebook/Instagram: @fionawhiteatsutton