Our Massive Unfurnished House Won't Sell | Unsellables S1 E7 | House Makeover | Abode

mark and dana have to sell their home otherwise they risk losing their new house got everything done as far as we could unfortunately it wasn't enough the dining room is lacking a dining room table it's just lacking any furniture whatsoever there's a lot of competing patterns it's like a 17th plaid nightmare unless this house gets some furniture into it it's gonna remain [Music] unsellable [Music] mark and dana's house is just north of the city it's got four bedrooms five bathrooms eating kitchen double garage it's on the market for 495 000 but other houses in the neighborhood are selling for well seven hundred thousand dollars and more so i wonder why this house isn't they've got to sell in three weeks otherwise they risk losing their new home which they can't afford to do so it really is crunch time this is the house i grew up in and i bought it about four years ago with the intensive brand of immediate and hopefully raising my family here but we found ourselves in a predicament where the house was too large and now we need to sell the house it's 2 800 square feet and it's way too much house seems really empty and there's a lot of memories here ready i was definitely very surprised that there wasn't much interest in the house the house is like a 10-ton weight holding us back i get the impression that they've run out of steam and the renovation projects kind of ground to a halt and to make matters worse they've been living in the basement while this big empty house sits idle above them so i'm here to see what help they need and to get to grips with why this house is unsellable who's going to lead the way well let me show you around come on in here this is our dining room living room i'm loving the nice fresh paint job and it's all neutral colors which is usually my big beef dana did pretty good on the colors of course we've got the new hardwood floors that we just put in we do have some of my artwork as well as some of the community people's artwork hanging in the house the dining room is lacking a dining room table we're lacking quite a bit of furniture actually i suspect that under here would be the dining room table if you had one unfortunately that fixture frightens me so this is the kitchen here as you can tell it's a little outdated yeah there's a lot of competing patterns and colors and textures and i can see stippling plaid border and it kind of it's clashing with your nice new wood floor oh come on let me let me show you this room it gets even better oh goodness oh dear green shack pull carpet i haven't seen green shag pile carpet 30 years that's how long it's been here we need some desperate help in this room i love the wallpaper and then the green floor it's like kryptonite if if superman came in here he'd just like shrivel into a puddle it's amazing carpets to try and match the new paints i mean this is huge this is one of the two master bedrooms it's just lacking any furniture whatsoever we just had the carpet replaced so we moved all the furniture downstairs into storage to make it easier for the team to put the carpet in it has no personality at the moment it doesn't have any personality because it doesn't have any furniture and again you're heading into a time warp with this guy again it's just the incredible mix of textures in the 70s most bathrooms must have looked like this the second bedroom is a great size with a good paint color but it feels so barren and empty the ensuite bathroom would be lovely if not for the blinding electric blue the third bedroom and office are smaller but still a really useful size again no furniture i'm starting to feel kind of lonely in here this room is a perfect example of how having furniture can help make a room look bigger sometimes not smaller because most people walk in here and think oh this room's tiny it wouldn't be a queen sized bed it would easily fit a queen size bed and the trick is look if you lie down on the floor that is the width of a queen size bed and you've got space on either side for a nightstand cool check out this wallpaper okay so we've got brown we've got pink we've got blue we've got green we've got oatmeal we've got pine but on a serious note this is a really good family-sized bathroom which should be a big selling point this house is really frustrating on the one hand you've got finish rooms big spaces neutral colours which is great but then i open a bathroom and it's like a 70s plaid nightmare i have to sit mark and dana down because this house is not going to sell looking like this just wanted to reiterate it's got a lot going for it but there is a reason why it is unsellable at the moment it's most damaging to viewings at the moment upstairs because when people leave the house it's good for them to have reference points at the moment because there's no furniture upstairs they just all merge into one they don't think for themselves three big bedrooms a full smaller bedroom or maybe a home office you don't get a sense of their function or their size and coming on to the decor it's very very dated yeah it's very very dated also it's in limbo because the work you have done upstairs and downstairs is fantastic but it almost makes these rooms look even more dated most definitely it does yeah we got everything done as far as we could unfortunately it wasn't enough and luckily we're here yeah i have every confidence at once we've done the work this house will look fantastic and have a very good chance of selling wonderful this neighborhood is really quaint it's got tree lines streets elegant houses and big lots some of which are going for upwards of seven hundred thousand dollars now mark and dana's house on at 495 000 which is an attractive asking price but obviously not attractive enough because they haven't got a single offer with that in mind i'll see maggie the real estate agent and get her perspective on why this house is unsellable this seems to be such a perfect family house you've got a big yard you've got a lot of space a lot of bedrooms that's the type of people you get around here oh yes beautiful area for growing families what's the feedback you've had they like the layout definitely the car location is very popular what would you say the reasons were that's not selling we haven't got an offer just because the home is not upgraded it's not furnished very well as well it's quite funny and most of the houses we go into are always getting at people to declutter and they've always usually got so much furniture and it's very difficult for a person to walk in and imagine themselves in the space same problem here with people can't imagine themselves in the space but it's the opposite reason why it's because there's no furniture definitely i agree we need some furniture so when potential buyers coming through the property they will see that function of the rooms so all we need to do is modernize get some furniture in definitely and it will definitely sell unless mark and dana's house get some furniture into it it is going to remain unsellable so that's why i want to show them a comparable house in the neighborhood that had no problem selling and for top dollar i brought you to this house because it's a similar size similar location but it shows excellently it's practically identical to your room similar layout same color very similar paint yeah and nice hardwood floors but the furniture just gives it function so this is obviously a sitting room with a dining area great what do you notice about this kitchen wallpaper exactly yes no wallpaper it's clean it's modern it's wonderfully tidy which is how a kitchen should always be shown this is a fantastic room this is what your room is going to look like at the moment you just got all this gym equipment in and so some people are going to walk in and they're just going to not be able to see past the gym equipment i want it to look more like this a really nice quiet room where you can imagine watching telly or reading a book this room is very interesting this is a queen size bed and there is so much room on either side but if this room had no furniture in someone would walk in and go not very big would it fit a double bed in and they'd be unsure about it so this is a prime example of how bunching a room makes it look bigger family bathroom not plaid not bright blue not filled with pine just nice clean fresh modern looking bathroom which does not age the property master bedroom point really is not the size here it's the function again i think one of the problems you're having in your house is the upstairs is just merging into one it's not sticking in buyers minds but whereas this you go around you go three bedrooms and a home office and it sticks in your head and that's the furniture doing that and we want your house to stick in people's heads when they walk out the door there's more than just furnishing to do at mark and dana's home we're going to need some extra help to bring the styling out of the 1970s anthony here has got this sort of low down specifically on what we've got to do to make this house sellable mark you've got a lot of wallpaper throughout the house oh how can you miss it yeah you can so we'll start by removing all the wallpaper in the family room you've got the room it's filled with exercise equipment yeah so it's got to go it's going to go all right and take up the green carpet from that room in the kitchen the cabinets are they're nice cabinets you just need to get rid of the wallpaper border and we'll do a nice neutral color on the walls there will no longer be any plaid no more plaid gone yeah i think that's the most wonderful thing i've heard this year it's going to be like a little flat dance you know yeah no more plaid upstairs there's three bathrooms that we have to address yes the first bathroom is the blue bathroom we'll just paint the color out nice neutral color the main bathroom with the plaid wallpapering again we'll paint a nice neutral color change over the light fixture all right in the master ensuite there's a b board that's unfinished on the wall so we'll just finish that across the vanity and then we're going to get rid of the glass doors and put some hanging curtains because those are really dated those glass doors all the good stuff um these will be furniture we're just going to fill up stairs as much as we can to give the rooms function and a great sense of space perfect so to sum up in about 10 words wallpaper out plaid out copper out modern sleek let's rock and roll a lot of a lot of rock and roll to do let's get it done thanks guys did you see how excited mark and dana were when we talked about taking down the wallpaper it was great this is really the kickstart they needed to get their house finished and it's going to be well worth the wait i feel like taking down this border is long overdue i've been asking mark begging mark to let me pull down this border and he keeps saying no no it's too big of a task we don't have the time we don't have the resources that border's been there basically as long as i've been alive so it's mixed watching it come down but it had to go you guys are my personal heroes um the top layer is really difficult to peel off and you can only take it in tiny bit of chunks but then the bottom layer comes off like butter the steamer makes it a lot easier doesn't it yeah so in here wallpaper being stripped out it's gonna paint some neutral color you guys seem to be doing it much faster than i was doing here i didn't think i'm very good at it i think you're doing a pretty good job and then here cabinet's been primed already and oh these doors are gone oh god that doesn't make a big difference we'll finish painting and then we'll put the floor down and finally the blue room because this is the easiest bathroom to change because not all that dark wood yeah so it was just really the paint color i mean the tiles might not be everyone's cup of tea but once once you paint the walls and then it was fine yeah it was just the blue was a little break [Music] the carpet is gone still got ugly wallpaper on but just the carpet not being like kryptonite green makes such a difference exactly wow and it's funny this room looks so much better already just for the new carpet but i was talking earlier about how furniture adds function to a room and a sense of space but in this room it kind of was a negative this room could only in the mind of buyers be used as a so when you're furnishing a room you want it to be functional but you also want that to be flexible so it can be you know a dining room or a sitting room or a study maybe not a gym there is no greater satisfaction than doing a job and doing it well and mark and dana's house is almost there but it is going to have to show at its best to get top dollar because there is a lot of competition out there i want to see how the plaid experiment bathroom's going whoa plaid is gone more plaid it's looking considerably better oh yeah i'm just waiting for the countertop to come in i don't want to change it until i get it we're always waiting for the house big mistake let's go and lay some of these yes i've got the cabinets painted out very small and the b board we're going to be releasing the loo yeah well i had to take it out to put the floor down so what's the benefit of these cork tarzan well um if you have a small area it's a great do-it-yourself project that you can do it's like a tongue and groove so it's just snapping hey look at that yeah i presume it's quite cost-effective yes very and durable durable so cost effective durable and easy to fit that's right well i might leave you to put these in place and i think i'm going to come back maybe help you with the quarter round okay excellent baseboard the nail gun yes updating these bathrooms is really going to help provide a consistent design throughout the entire house which will surely help move the property consistency was the key in selling this comparable house in a similar neighborhood unlike mark and dana's living room this room had existing furniture with additional props to create a simple contemporary design that comfortably flows from one room to the next and the kitchen has no wallpaper or borders in this home a reduction the number of paint finishes and fabric colours helps to make a consistent presentation these bedrooms are functional uncomplicated and you can't go wrong with that cleverly restraining your decal while clearly defining the functionality of every room in your house well it just lets the house shine through and it can get great results this house sold in just two days [Music] i'm really hoping for a positive result for mark and dana but we've still got a lot to finish this whole process has basically left me exhausted and excited it's amazing to see all the transformations going on and everything turning from kind of drab to fab and getting rid of all of the 70s wallpaper and it gives the house a whole new feeling and it just seems so much more open and inviting but i'm tired it's very very important open house that's coming up the place looks phenomenal it's going to be good everything's progressing here very nicely paint jobs are all done the bathroom's looking fantastic now if you're like mark and dana and you don't have any furniture don't panic you can borrow pieces from friends and relatives you can refurbish old tired pieces or you can do what we did and rent it a lot of people don't know you can rent furniture but you can and it's much more cost effective than buying [Music] this house has a lot going for it but just as much going against it we had a little bit to do in a lot of rooms which made this a very unique and challenging makeover in the living room the paint color was fat but the furniture wasn't we've replaced the lonely futon with a full living room set which truly defines the space we've even used the existing artwork as a strong accent which really draws you in we've continued with rich dark wood furniture in the dining room and we've replaced the old stained glass lighting fixture with a much more contemporary piece around the corner we've removed all the outdated wallpaper updated the lighting and added a charming table and chair set now this large eaton family kitchen lives up to its name this home gym was one of the chief offenders so we tore up the green carpet painted over the matching wallpaper and fully refurbished the room from an 80s country gym into a cozy and wonderfully intimate family room [Music] upstairs the bedrooms had great paint but no purpose we needed to furnish furnish furnish and now nothing is left to the imagination add a few simple decor choices and we've turned these rooms from empty shells into stylish and functional spaces potential buyers will easily be able to imagine themselves living comfortably in these rooms but the real dramatic changes were in the bathrooms in the master bedroom ensuite the 70s glass shower doors are no more and the new lighting fixtures are fabulous in the other ensuites we've gone from electric blue to fresh and new and we've turned plateville into pleasantville with soft neutrals a much lighter countertop and a new shower curtain we have made a dramatic impact on this home and we've done it all for four thousand four hundred dollars mark and dana's house looks incredible but there's no time to rest on our laurels we can never be too prepared for an open house create a bit of atmosphere by adding some ambient music potential buyers will appreciate it update the property specs advertisements internet sites with the new photos of the makeover as soon as possible install good lighting it will really make a room shine and floor lamps create a great sense of space maintain curb appeal even in the winter months clear pathways and driveways of snow and ice you don't want someone breaking an ankle before they've even entered the house the house is looking great it's beautifully furnished it's finally out of design limbo and it's ready to sell and i know the changes we've made are going to have a big impact on potential buyers plaid wallpaper gone 70s bathrooms refurbished and the house is fully furnished so looks like we're ready for the open house nice to meet you yeah well come on through this is the formal sitting room hardwood floors uh hardwood floors in here and in the kitchen oh this is nice nice sitting area too and through here we've got another sitting room very nice room how relaxing is this sit here with a book a glass of wine beautiful i like the carpet brand new upstairs we have four bedrooms and three bathrooms oh this is nice quite a lot of space for them yeah it's really big yes yeah so this is the master bedroom oh my god it's good isn't two it two closets that's great and an on-street bathroom that's a good size it is a good size so this is your guest bedroom which is again very generous size kids would love a big room like this a boys bathroom nice this is nice nicely showery yeah smallest of the three rooms but it's still a really good size for my youngest one yeah that's really nice this would be a great office that's away from the master bedroom okay you can't hear the noise you can't hear the click click clack so you said you'd seen around 30 houses how does this compare um this house to me looks like it has a lot of potential it's nice and bright and it's been recently painted so you could pretty well move in i liked it so now i'm gonna give my opinion on my husband yeah and probably he's gonna be positive do you think potentially you could imagine making an offer on this place absolutely yeah definitely yes fantastic that's what we liked here well thank you very much yeah thank you lovely to meet you thank you so nice to be able to finally sit down on some furniture yes definitely i think it made a real difference oh yes definitely we got a great open house we got great potential buyers what do you think the biggest changes have been the furniture you know people see functionality even though you have the furniture people see that there is a lot of space living space i think i have to say i think we did a pretty good job i think so hopefully we're gonna get some multiple offers well that's the spirit fighting talk i'm really pleased the work we've done we've turned this big old empty house into a warm home with functionality and coherent updated design it was fine before but now it really realizes its true potential i can't believe the furniture oh isn't it amazing just like how it fills the entire room now with furniture this house has got personality we've got less than a month before i have to be into that new house so it's really really going to help us get to that deadline this has got to be the most dramatic change like that crown molding and just the color with that hint of yellow like seriously the whole room just opens up and it is so bright no more green now that this big empty house has great furniture and streamlined styling it's got as much life and energy as its owners potential buys are coming in droves and that means mark and dana are not far away from realizing their dream a new life and a new home what could be [Music] better [Music] i love you so much you

Channel: Abode

Views: 134,171

Keywords: Full episode, Full documentary, Home improvement, DIY, Gardening, interior design, home makeover, brick house, interior design ideas, interior design living room, interior design tips, house makeover, selling house, real estate, sell my house, real estate agent, unsellables, interior design documentary, interior design documentation, home interior design documentary, home renovation, before and after, home tour, home decor, boring house, boring decor, modern design

Id: ZMff2MRv0Ag

Length: 22min 5sec (1325 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 08 2020