Spring clean: How to make your Canberra home the best dressed among open homes

Spring has sprung and home owners with sales on their minds are shrugging off the winter blues and getting active.

Nicky Symon of Ray White Canberra says spring is likely to herald a rush of new homes onto the market.

“Supply has been tight over winter, but more homes on the market tip the scales toward buyers and increase the competition,” she says.

“Homes that present really well improve their prospects with buyers.”

Symon recommends sellers use the season as a springboard to do whatever it takes to give their home an inside-out refresh.

“Get busy with all those tasks that have been put off over winter – tidy, trim, mow, clean, paint, put down new carpets, hang new curtains, add new towels and linen,” she says.

“Do whatever it takes to make the house feel fresh.”

Debra Nowell of Sympatico Interiors says spring ushers in a new sense of energy and optimism.

“Spring is a great time to open up the home and revitalise your spaces with a thorough cleaning,” she says.

“Start from the front garden and work your way back through the home – add colour into the garden with potted plants, inject some into the home with colourful throws and rugs and cushions [and] consider including trending colours like sages and pinks.”

Nowell says professional styling can provide that edge in a competitive market.

“Our aim is to multiply the space, flow and function of a property,” she says.

“Potential buyers should walk into a styled home and feel the ‘wow’ factor.”

Springboard to success

Freshen. The seasons have turned and it’s time to open the house and get cleaning with extra dollops of elbow grease. Start from the front and get busy banishing those winter blues.

DIY. Going on the market? It’s time to tackle that flaking paint, pot some colourful plants, dry clean the carpets, and inject interior colour with throws, rugs, cushions, towels and linen.

Go pro. Selling homes is about to get competitive – if you want to give yours the edge then it’s time to call in the pro stylists. Prepare for some serious home editing.

Allhomes’ top pick of spring-style homes on the market:

7 Hobbs Street, O’Connor

Price guide: $950,000 +

4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car space

Buyers who dig the retro vibe of Canberra’s 1950s modernist architecture will be drawn to this O’Connor home topped by an iconic butterfly roof.

Homes like this undoubtedly inspired a 2017 blog by Modernist Architecture to compare Canberra’s mid-century home designs with those of Palm Springs – a US town that had essentially grown up in the same era.

This O’Connor home is set on a generous 742-square-metre block on an elevated, tree-lined street and offers four bedrooms (or three with a study).

The home and the block serve up plenty of options: live in the house as is and groove on the mid-century vibe or consider sympathetic renovation and extension.

A walk-through will help make up your mind as you step through the entry and back into time; as evidenced by the spacious living room with large steel-framed wraparound windows that stream in the light.

A large kitchen with ample storage and bench space also offers a comfortable dining nook.

The main bedroom features a built-in wardrobe and en suite, while two further bedrooms have aspects over the rear garden. Another room is perfect as a study, games room or extra bedroom. There is also a main bathroom with a bath.

The expansive backyard is full of potential with space to relax and play, plant a veggie garden, build a shed or dream that you’re in Palm Springs. There is a single lock-up garage.

Auction: 12.30pm, September 14

Agent: Ray White Canberra, Nicky Symon 0418 285 797