Every Room Needs a Purpose
Have you got a room in your home that doesn’t really have a purpose?
Perhaps it’s become the dumping ground. Or the spare bedroom that only gets used a handful of times a year. Or the dining room that sits empty most of the time.
I believe every room in your home should have a purpose, whether you’re preparing to sell or simply trying to make the most of the home you already have.
It’s something I talk about quite often with my clients, particularly when we’re getting a home ready to put up for sale.
But I think it also applies just as much if you’re not selling your home.
After all, we spend a huge amount of money on our homes, so why wouldn’t we make sure we’re actually using them to their full potential?
Make the most of every room when you’re selling
When I’m helping people get their homes ready for sale, I often see rooms that don’t really have an obvious purpose.
Perhaps you’ve got a spare room that’s become a dumping ground, or a dining room that’s being used to store things because you don’t really use it.
You might know exactly what the room could be but unfortunately, not every potential buyer has a brilliant imagination!
When someone is looking around a house, you want them to be able to understand how the space could work for them immediately without them have to work it out for themselves.
Help buyers see how a room could work
One of the biggest problems I see is with bedrooms where there isn’t actually a bed in the room.
You might have a good-sized room that could easily fit a double bed, bedside tables and storage.
If it’s completely empty though, some buyers simply won’t be able to visualise it.
They may even think the room is much smaller than it actually is.
The same applies to other rooms.
If you’ve got a room that’s currently being used as a craft room, office or somewhere to store all the things you don’t know where else to put, think about how a buyer is going to see it.
Would they immediately understand what the room is for?
If not, it might be worth making a few changes before you put your home up for sale.
You don’t necessarily need to spend a fortune furnishing it. You just want to make it obvious what the room is and how it could be used.
That’s one of the reasons home presentation is so important when you’re selling.
You’re not trying to create a show home. You’re simply helping potential buyers understand how the house could work for them.
[IMAGE: A well-presented bedroom showing how the space could be used]
But what if you’re not selling?
Well, here’s where I think we sometimes get it wrong.
We can become so focused on what a room should be that we forget to actually make our homes work for the way we live.
Let’s say you’ve got a four-bedroom house, but you’re a couple and only really use two of the bedrooms.
But you keep the other bedrooms exactly as they are, just in case you have visitors.
And perhaps you do have visitors.
Maybe the family comes for Christmas, or you have grandchildren staying a few times a year.
But what about the other 360-odd days?
Do you really need to keep a whole room empty just because someone might stay in it?
Make your home work for you
If you love crafting, why not have a craft room?
Perhaps you’re into model railways and have always wanted somewhere to set one up.
Maybe you’ve always wanted a really lovely home office.
Why not make one?
Your home should work for you, not the other way around.
In our own home, we have a lovely big kitchen with a large kitchen table, so we don’t tend to use our dining room for everyday meals.
That means we’ve got the opportunity to use the dining room for other things when we’re not entertaining.
And why not?
It’s our home, after all.
You don’t have to use a room in the traditional way
I think sometimes we get caught up in the idea that every room has to be used for what it was originally intended for.
A dining room has to be a dining room.
A spare bedroom has to be a bedroom.
A study has to be a study.
But actually, that’s not necessarily how we live anymore.
Perhaps you don’t need a formal dining room because you have a big kitchen where everyone eats.
Or maybe you work from home and would get far more enjoyment from having a dedicated office.
Maybe you have a hobby that you’ve never really had the space to enjoy properly.
Why not make the room work for that?
Your home is there to support the way you live, not the other way around.
Think about how you really use your home
If you’re staying in your home, I’d encourage you to walk around it and really think about how you’re using the space.
Ask yourself:
- Which rooms do we use every day?
- Which rooms hardly ever get used?
- Is there a room that’s become a dumping ground?
- Would I like to have extra space?
- Could one of these rooms be used for a hobby or interest?
- Am I keeping a room empty purely for occasional visitors?
- Could I make better use of the space I’ve already got?
You might be surprised by what you come up with.
Sometimes you don’t need a bigger house.
You just need to make better use of the space you already have.
And if you’re planning to sell…
There’s one important difference.
When you’re living in your home, it should work for you.
When you’re selling, you also need to think about how a potential buyer is going to see it.
That’s when having a clear purpose for each room becomes really important.
If you’ve got a room that could be a bedroom, make it look like a bedroom.
If it’s a home office, show people that.
If it’s a dining room, help them see how they could use it.
You don’t need to spend thousands of pounds buying new furniture. Sometimes moving things around, removing a few items or changing how you use a room can make a surprisingly big difference.
Remember though, you’re not trying to tell a buyer exactly how they should live.
You’re simply helping them see the possibilities.
We spend a lot on our homes – so let’s use them!
Whether you’re preparing your home for sale or planning to stay there for years to come, I think the same principle applies.
We spend so much money on our homes, so let’s actually use them!
If you’ve got a spare room that you hardly ever use, what could you do with it?
Could it become your craft room?
An office?
A sewing room?
Hobby space?
Or perhaps somewhere you’ve always dreamed of having?
If you’re selling though, remember that potential buyers don’t always have the imagination you have.
Give each room a clear purpose and help them see how the space could work for them.
Every room needs a purpose
For me, it’s really quite simple.
Every room needs a purpose – whether that purpose is helping you sell your home or simply helping you enjoy it more.
Your home should work for you, not the other way around.
If you’re planning to put your house up for sale, taking a fresh look at how you’re using each room can be a really useful place to start.
You might find that a few simple changes are all you need to make your home feel more useful to you now – and more appealing to buyers when the time comes.
If you’d like some help working out what you could change, what you should leave alone and where your money would be best spent, that’s exactly the sort of thing I help my clients with at Refresh & Impress.
You don’t have to do everything yourself, and you certainly don’t have to spend a fortune.
Sometimes you just need to know what to do.
Thinking about selling your home?
I can help you work out where to start and what really needs doing before you put your house up for sale.
You can book a free 20-minute consultation with me, whether you’re local or further afield.
And if you’re not quite ready to talk yet, have a look at my Home Seller Preparation & Legal Checklist to help you get started.