The flat was a tired rental. My client wasn’t getting the rent or the tenants he wished for. We needed a fast, appealing turnaround. It took a hectic 4 weeks to replace the kitchen, upgrade the bathroom, redecorate and re-carpet the flat in a fresh an appealing palette, and do various electrical and plumbing upgrades. We shot the photos on a Friday morning in mid January, that afternoon the first person who saw it offered well over the (punchy) asking rent for two years. They moved in a week later. Job done. The ‘before’ photos you say? Go on then, they’re at the bottom of the page…
Decorating for a rental is not necessarily the same as decorating for your own home. Muted tasteful painted walls get grubby and look dull. The wallpaper in this bathroom is wipeable, and the rest is tiled. It should look like this for some time to come, and not need repainting.
This whole end of the bathroom had been one huge vanity unit with just one sink in it. 3 mirrors on that wall (2 on a cupboard, one above the sink) brighten up the dark end of the bathroom. I'm a huge fan of washing machines in bathrooms. It's a) where you take your clothes off, so they can go straight in the machine, and b) means you don't hit the spin cycle in the kitchen just as you are having a meal or answering a call.
The living room didn't need more than a de-clutter, fresh paint, carpets and blinds. It was transformed.
Re-planning the small kitchen added 20% more workspace, a great deal more useable storage, and fitted the fridge freezer in properly. While we were at it we put in a proper extractor to take grease and fumes right out of the flat instead of the old fashioned re-circulating one. This should help keep the whole room cleaner for longer.
Turning the sink around meant all the workspace was in one straight line. It's a tiny kitchen, this made a real improvement for food prep.
Don't ask. I did, and wish I hadn't.
