South Australian real estate agent Meg Meadows has been selling homes for 25 years and says, when it comes to presentation, it all comes down to it being clean and tidy.

“It doesn’t have to be a palace, however, there is that saying, ‘The first 20 seconds make a lasting impression’,” Meg says.

“Having gardens tidy is a must. The windows being clean goes a long way and having no clutter is important. This costs you nothing other than your time.”

Meg says small things such as changing cupboard door handles in your kitchen to modern alternatives can make a big difference.

“Elevating a room could be tiebacks for the curtains, bright and working light globes, even adding new cushions or new bath towels,” she says.

Maximising efficiency in a room is also important.

“If you have a small room with a queen bed, perhaps putting a double bed instead will create more space,” Meg says.

A new coat of paint is always in order when getting a house ready to sell, and Andrea Lucena-Orr, who has been the Colour and Communications Manager at Dulux for 20 years, says that ensuring the colours are on trend goes a long way to making a good first impression.

Andrea says the three aesthetics released for this year’s forecast by Dulux are titled Restore, Wonder and Flourish, and range from earthy browns to positive pastels.

Andrea says using these colours in conjunction with other design trends will help uplift any home.

“We have seen a big turnaround from the dark grey square style couches to brown being a more dominant colour for couches and staple furniture items,” Andrea says.

Brown is a good base for any room, she says.

“Curvature in furniture is coming up more often, with intense colour, high texture and that 70s vibe really coming through,” Andrea says.

Sharon Bobin, the owner of Staged to Sell, has worked for the past 13 years getting homes ready to sell fast, providing short term furniture rentals to give homes that finishing touch.

According to Sharon, when organizing your house to sell, adding accessories to the room instead of just furniture makes a huge difference.

“Plants and pictures can easily fill a room, as well as accessories. Rooms like bathrooms and kitchens need accessories to pull everything together,” she says.

Sharon also explains that if painting isn’t an option then distracting potential buyers with art or other items is a good idea.

“If you have many rooms with dark feature walls, and you can’t paint over them, put light art or pictures over the top,” Sharon says.

“Using white lamps, and white linen on the bed helps break up dark-coloured walls, distracting from the intensity.”