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 | Preparing to sell your house
First impressions count!
Planning to sell your house? Before they can move most home owners need to sell their own property and in a falling market that can be quite a challenge. You need to give yourself every advantage.
Why not try this quick and tested way to add instant impact to your property and enhance the "kerb appeal", that first impression that's so important as a prospective buyer pulls up to your front door.
Create an unfair advantage and thrive in a difficult market. One way is to make your house stand out from its neighbours. An arch around the front door or over the gate might be just the thing.
One thing for certain is that improving the first impression is money well spent and the arch idea is instant and relatively low cost. For a cottage a rustic arch could work well, for a Georgian property a lighter wrought iron arch could be the right option. A top tip is to experiment with a photo of your house front before you commit to buying your arch. And what about just doing it if you're not planning to move? A front door framed by the right arch dripping with scented flowers is the stuff of many dreams, but it could also be a smart move for your money in a tough housing market.
This advice cannot be universal as it depends on your situation and style of house. You couldn't erect an arch outside a grade 1 listed building without planning consent for example.
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 | Add instant impact
National Savings and Investments reckoned that as many as 17% of Britons viewed spending money on improving their garden as an investment. And we think they're right.
Nicholas Leeming, director of national property website propertyfinder.com, told them: "Gardens play a hugely important role in selling homes and can add significant value to a property. Our research shows that well tended front gardens are the most important factor that attract buyers to a street. Back gardens are even more important."
So when the market is against you it's even more important to gain that unfair advantage over other sellers. Add something extra to your front garden for kerb appeal and why not consider the same strategy for the rear?
Giving the garden a focus is an important element in design. Garden designer Diarmud Gavin suggests that "scale and the creation of harmonious relationships between architectural structure and garden space" is important. How can you get this harmonious architectural element into your garden instantly? Install the right structure. It won't makeover your entire garden, but it could add that instant impact you're looking for.
Arches and arbours are one element, but there's also the wrought iron arch tunnel, or metal gazebo. Not the tented item for barbecues and British summer weather, but the wrought iron gazebo that begs to be the centre of attention. You can add wrought iron patio furniture to create a seating area on paving, decking or just on top of the lawn. What's more they work in any size garden. In a large garden a gazebo or tunnel can add interest that makes you want to explore further. In a tiny courtyard a gazebo makes a bold style statement.
For investment, to improve your chances of selling your house in a falling market, or just for sheer enjoyment, why not add an arch, arbour, tunnel or gazebo?
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