Three things you learn about interior decorating and remodeling from reality TV

Name any profession and you can bet there’s a reality TV show about it. Real estate is an industry that works especially well with reality since any realtor who’s been in the business for a while will tell you’ve they’ve seen some things. Here are three lessons you can learn about interior decorating and remodeling from watching real estate reality TV.

Doll collections creep people out

When showing your home with the hopes of selling it, realtors recommend minimizing your family’s personal touch throughout the home. One homeowner learned this lesson the hard way by proudly displaying a large collection of antique dolls. Thanks to the creepy old doll motif so popular in horror movies these days, prospective buyers looking at the home had a hard time shaking that creepy feeling they got when dozens of glassy eyes were staring back at them.

Private collections, in general are a bad idea when showing your home. You may love antique dolls, or model planes, or elephants, or some other collector’s item but would-be buyers probably won’t. The more random and personal, the less likely prospective buyers are going to find it appealing. And though they know at some level that such personal belongings don’t come with the house, it still makes it harder for them to visualize it as their home when there is too much of a personal touch in the home. So box up your collections, rent a storage unit for a few weeks or as long as it takes, and sell your home.

Don’t call it old, call it vintage

There are many charms that come with owning an older home. Then there are some things that really need to be modernized. But in your rush to modernize, don’t be so quick to destroy elements of the home that give it character. Vintage elements in your home make it intriguing and create visual interest. Obviously there are some things you can’t live with (or without) and you have to do some remodeling to bring your home into the 21st century. But as we’ve learned from so many homeowners on reality TV, if you’re too quick to modernize, you can end up lowering the value of your home.

A good example of this would be tearing out an older baseboard heating system. If instead, you simply purchased baseboard heater covers, it could make that older system stylish again without completely removing that vintage element from the home.

Older homes can literally make you sick

We know a lot more now about what kinds of chemicals and building materials can be harmful to our health than we did a few decades ago. In the course of remodeling an older home, it’s not uncommon to discover that the paint in the home is lead-based or that there is asbestos in the insulation. If your home is older and you suspect your home might be hiding poisonous materials, it’s better to call in an expert that risk health problems. When tearing down walls and doing heavy construction, those harmful materials get stirred up in the air as tiny dust particles and shouldn’t be inhaled.

Source: Realtor.com

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