A Real Life Case Study - how small changes can make a big difference

Photo-ready Garden Project

Most of us have those ‘little’ jobs around the house that just never seem to get done… They may not take long, or cost much, but for some reason there is always something better to be doing - and then you decide to put your house on the market and all those ‘little’ jobs rear their ugly heads. While no-one wants to spend thousands of pounds on getting their house looking perfect just to move out of it, by being clever and assessing what will give the most impact without too much expense, it’s still possible to help with those first impressions and (hopefully) maximise the selling price. With my house I wrote a list (who doesn’t love a list) and as I walked into each room I looked at what needed doing. I then reviewed the list and crossed out anything that involved aesthetic decorating – even if I might have loved to have painted that room a pretty shade of yellow/pink/blue, a new owner will want to personalise the house in their style and may just paint straight over it - that wouldn’t be money well spent.

But the front garden was another matter… It was looking a bit tired when we moved in and I’d created new beds and a lavender hedge but the gravel in between the beds, with the weeds actually growing through the weed matting, needed attention.

So, the ingredients for a new 14 square metre gravel front garden:

• 4 Hours to pull up the old Matting, Weeds and Gravel
• Rubble Sacks (for the matting/weeds)
• Garden Sacks (for the weeds)
• Gardening Gloves
• 3 Hours to replace the Gravel
• 2 x Rolls Weed Matting
• 18 x 25kg Bags of 20mm Gravel
• One strong/determined woman (or man, of course)!!

And what did it cost? Everything came in at under £50 in total (although the labour was free) and the overall effect – very satisfying. The front garden will give a much better impression and may just put a potential buyer in a more positive mood looking at the rest of the house!