Home decorating no-nos

DITCH the woodchip wallpaper, cover the mirrored ceiling and don’t even think about commissioning a nude portrait for your wall.

STUFFED animals are now a decorating no, no.

Ditch the woodchip wallpaper, cover up your mirrored ceilings and don’t even think about commissioning a nude portrait for your wall.

These are the top three decorative faux pas, according to a study of prospective homebuyers.

The UK real estate website Need A Property conducted a “bad taste audit”, asking 2000 would-be purchasers what features would be most likely to put them off buying a property.

Also in the style sin bin were avocado-coloured bathroom suites, taxidermy and 1980s paint effects such as stencilling and rag-rolling. Strip lighting, textured ceilings, themed rooms and hot tubs rounded out the top 10.

More than half (52 per cent) of prospective buyers surveyed admitted cosmetic details mattered more than practical ones, and 38 per cent said they would be put off completely if a home contained a multitude of tacky decor elements.

STUFFED animals are now a decorating no, no.

Melbourne stylist Sara Chamberlain, the owner and senior stylist at The Real Estate Stylist, said nothing on the list surprised her.

“We see it all,” Chamberlain said.

The worst example she has witnessed was a prospective vendor’s bedroom where the ceilings and walls were plastered with posters of naked men.

“It was incredibly confronting. The real estate agent who had invited us to do the consultation hadn’t actually made the suggestion to him, so I had to say very diplomatically that I thought he should take them down,”

THEMED rooms are a bit pause.

Other Australian decorating disaster zones include football-themed rooms, man caves, pet smells and one home Chamberlain visited covered wall-to-wall with rugs layered five deep — including in the bathroom and kitchen.

Then there are the over-the-top family photo walls, sometimes featuring 50 or more pictures ... of the same two children.

“You’re staring at someone’s really personal memories, and pictures that mean something to them but mean absolutely nothing to a buyer.”

FEATURE walls in purples or orange are also out.

SO are those eighties painting styles, sponging, rag rolling and stencilling.

Naomi Findlay, the creative director of Silk Home Staging & Styling, adds to the list of decorator no-nos single colour feature walls in purples, oranges and reds, 1980s-style screen-enclosed outdoor areas, slate floors, oyster lights and large spotlights.

Among the biggest faux pas she has witnessed from people wanting to sell their homes are an empty champagne bottle and used glasses beside a hot tub, rose petals floating in the bath and towels with after dinner mints on the master bedroom pillows.

“These are all very contrived and distract a buyer during the inspection of a home rather than highlighting the property’s strong points,” Findlay said.

On the flip side, Chamberlain nominates the biggest turn-ons for prospective buyers as wooden floorboards and freshly painted walls in whites and neutral colours. Updated kitchens with plenty of bench space are also bound to impress.

DECORATORS say forget about slate tiles.

TOP 10 TURN-OFFS

1. Woodchip wallpaper — 39 per cent

2. Mirrored ceilings — 36 per cent

3. Nude portraits — 35 per cent

4. Avocado bathroom suite — 31 per cent

5. Taxidermy — 24 per cent

6.1980s paint effects (stencilling etc) — 20 per cent

7. Strip lighting — 17 per cent

8. Artex textured ceiling — 16 per cent

9. Themed rooms — 12 per cent

10. Hot tub — 11 per cent

Source: needaproperty.com