Preparing you home for listing and sale can be expensive. Naturally, you want to keep the costs down if you can while still making the house as attractive as possible to prospective buyers. We advise that you spend your money first on kitchens and bathrooms, but house stylists tell us the laundry is another place where buyers fall in love.

Nearly all of us are looking for a bright and cheerful place to do our daily chores. If one is presented to us, we’re apt to get a warm fuzzy feeling all over. Remember, emotion sells houses. Scientists tell us that we humans toss caution to the wind when something tugs at our heart-strings. Whether it’s a new fishing rod or a new car, when we become emotionally involved we are not likely to leave the store without it. About 90 percent of buying decisions are made from an emotional attachment, so anything you can do to create a bond will be money well spent.

Here are some budget friendly ways to give your laundry area a facelift in record time.

Lighting: Lighting is a critical element, particularly in a room where work is to be done. Not only is it necessary to take on the chores, lighting can either make the space look pretty and friendly or not. Carefully evaluate the lighting needs in your laundry area. See how much of the light comes from windows and/or doors. There’s rarely enough light in working rooms, so consider adding overhead lights, under-cabinet lighting or even sconces to give you task lighting for the work ahead.

Cabinetry: Storage and space are important components in working spaces. Take a long look at what storage and shelving your laundry offers. Is there space to mount a cabinet over the washer and dryer? If you already have cabinetry, can you find ways to make it work harder? Today’s hardware stores are full of gadgets and ‘jewellery’ that can create sliding shelves, pull-out bins, or even a space for Bowser’s food dish and bed. Get creative. We don’t know if there can be too much storage space in a laundry.

Cabinet Pulls: Speaking of jewellery, nothing gives you a gleaming new look quite like new cabinet handles and drawer pulls. While these little gems can be expensive, it doesn’t take too many dollars to do a single room in a new look and the effect can be breathtaking.
Folding Table: A laundry area with a folding table will catch the eye of anybody who actually does the work of washing and drying clothes. (A stool is a nice touch as well.) Prefabricated countertops are available at your local home improvement store and can be made to measure so, once you have it at home, it can be slid into place and bolted down in an afternoon. Perhaps it will fit over your appliances or be installed, using braces and brackets, on another wall.

Soaking sink: Adding a sink in a room that already has plumbing is neither difficult or all that expensive. A deep sink for soaking the grass stains out of soccer uniforms or removing any of the thousand other stains that little people create is a big plus.
Paint, of course: As with all the other rooms of your house, paint is the fastest and most dramatic change you can make. House stylists assure us that a fresh coat of paint can make your laundry area sparkle.

Art: We’ve checked the rule book and determined that there is no rule against art being included in a hard-working laundry. Adding colour and pattern makes the room cheerier and more inviting in spite of the drudgery that is associated with the space. We recommend including it everywhere, as a matter of fact.

By spending a little time and money on this oft-forgotten area of your house, house stylists tell us that you can help prospective buyers develop an instant affinity with your laundry area. Creating attraction between the buyer and your house makes the sale go that much easier and investments made to accomplish this will pay off for you in the end.