Metallic finishes can give your home warmth and sophistication, but if you have shiny gold fixtures and hardware consider removing them. Gold carries a needlessly flashy and gaudy look that may appeal to nouveau riche buyers, but most home buyers find it as outdated as the ‘80s. Instead, opt to replace these fixtures with warmer metals, such as polished brass or brushed nickel. Tiled Countertops Your kitchen and bathroom countertops play a huge part in the eye of a potential home buyer. If they’re tiled, consider removing them. At one time, this trend seemed modern, but the nitty-gritty involved with maintaining tiled countertops can be off-putting. Think about it — what do you do if a tile chips and needs to be replaced? Are you prepared to clean the porous grout regularly to prevent mold and bacteria growth? It just makes the already- unwelcome chore of cleaning the kitchen that much worse. Cheap Wood Paneling Wood-paneled homes are beautiful. If you have stunning wooden wainscoting throughout your home, leave it alone. However, if the walls of your house contain cheap wood paneling meant for a church basement bingo game, remove it immediately. Lower quality wood paneling instantly dates your home and screams “cheap” to those looking. Worse, it may imply that the paneling was put up to cover up larger problems, like a lack of insulation or unfinished walls. Taxidermy Animal heads on display will not appeal to every home buyer, so it’s best to remove that moose head when selling. That said, it may not be a hindrance to a sale in certain regions of the U.S., where hunting is popular. On the same note, similar items, like a bull’s skull strategically placed over a mantelpiece or in a garden, will only be appealing to certain types of home buyer. Remember that your goal is to make your home an open template so a prospective home buyer can envision living in the house.
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