How to stage your home: Grubby bathrooms are a big turnoff for househunters, so scrub, paint, replace and do whatever it takes to get your bathroom gleaming.
Giving your bathroom a makeover need not cost an arm and a leg. Coloured bathroom suites, particularly the 1970s avocado look, are very much out of favour at the moment. Replacing your out-of-date suite with a simple white one could cost as little as €600, according to Vanessa Hamilton from Simplicity Interior Design. Chadwicks has a basic white suite in the Sandringham range for 400.
When your home is in the top end of the market, over the €1million mark, it is worth your while going the whole nine yards, according to Hamilton. If you are looking to impress, check out Ideal Bathrooms in Walkinstown, Dublin 12, where an upmarket Villeroy & Boch suite is priced from 1,250 (including Vat). If you're unlucky enough to be saddled with 1960s black and gold wall tiles, get your hands on some wall tile primer, such as International tile primer (available from MRCB Paints for 37 per 2.5-litre tin). After treatment with the primer, any oil-based eggshell or gloss paint can be used.
Get a good-sized mirror, which will reflect light and make the room seem bigger. Once your bathroom has had its makeover, don't forget the window dressing. Invest in fluffy towels in complementary colours and luxury toiletries - and keep the towels for show only.
The most important thing? Have it absolutely spotless. "I have been in houses where people have gone into the bathroom and backed straight out again. People don't mind out-of-date bathrooms as long as they are clean," explains estate agent Felicity Fox.
Simplicity Interior Design: 087 2957161
MRCB Paints: 01 6798755
Ideal Bathrooms: 01 4609911
Chadwicks: 01 2958080
