When the word “penthouse” is brought up, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Luxury? Panoramic views? The K-Drama? (Unfortunately, we have not watched it…)
Or maybe a high ceiling?
Grandeur Park Residences Penthouse
There has always been an ongoing debate over the topic of high ceilings. Some love it, saying that it makes their homes feel more spacious and look larger than it actually is. On the flipside, some are absolutely unable to get the appeal of it, calling it un-utilised air space that you just pay more for.
They are not wrong. Ultimately, buyers are indeed paying extra for space that they cannot use. Some of you who might be a little more of a creative and visualiser might then wonder, “why not just build a loft so that the extra high ceiling space goes to good use?”.
Yes, that is possible. However, you can only create an extra 5 sqm of loft space and it becomes illegal in the eyes of URA when you exceed that 5 sqm. That’s not a lot to work with isn’t it? Maybe only 1 room.
Source: Edgeprop, Interior Design: Poetus
Not long ago, I had to sell a penthouse in Grandeur Park Residences. However, compared to other units, this unit had the size of 1744 sqf, whilst units on lower levels were 1500 sqf with the exact same layout, albeit without a high ceiling. This task thus proved to be quite challenging, as I had to convince buyers to buy “dead space”.
If you ask any experienced realtor, they will advise you to nicely furnish the space to “fill up” the home so it does not look like a stone-cold unit. This is what we call house staging in the real estate industry. It is important that potential buyers step into your home and have a good first impression. I explain more here.
Yeah… The Penthouse Looks Nice But That’s All …
However, I have recently been thinking whether that is enough. Afterall, these days, the market is extremely competitive, and everyone’s homes look extravagant when they are up for sale. So, yes, your unit may be aesthetically pleasing, but so might other units.
When selling properties, what we don’t want is for buyers to only think “wow the home looks nice” without any after action. We don’t want it to just end there. The last thing any seller hopes for is having to arrange lots of viewings but with zero offers in return.
Do not worry, I am not asking you to invest in an interior design professional to spice up your home. Yes, furnishing up the place is important, but that is only with the intent of allowing buyers to visualise the unit as their future home. This is what I believe to be that “extra spice” that gives your unit an upper hand over others.
Grandeur Park Residences Penthouse Bedroom Interior Design
Remember, we are not selling a current home, but a future home. And it is completely up to the next owner’s discretion of the design s/he wants. Afterall, everyone has a different aesthetic taste. For instance, buyers may find my house staging completely hideous but still end up offering a good price as they know how they are able to transform the unit to suit their preferences. I remember how traditional and old school my current home looked like when I first went for a viewing. However, I still went for it as I could visualise how I would like it to turn into.
When I first stepped into the unit at Grandeur. To say the least, it was dull, quiet and cold.
Grandeur Park Residences Penthouse Living Room
So we got to work with 2 goals in mind.
1) Allow buyers to visualise the unit as their future home by giving them leeway to ideate how they can use the space well
2) Ensure buyers are overloaded with positive emotions about the beautiful interior that they forget all about the “dead space”.
Grandeur Park Residences Penthouse – Hanging Lights Do Indeed Look The Best With High Ceiling!
Of course we had to utilize the high ceiling to good use! We inserted hanging candle lights, which not only warmed up the void space but became a showstopper too, as viewers’ eyes are instantly drawn to them.
Now Onto The Balcony of The Penthouse…
If we had left as it is, the space will likely look larger than it is, in turn, buyers would have probably thought that this was yet another wasted space.
We furnished it in such a way that gave buyers ideas of what they could do with the space.
What better way to make use of the high ceiling than to play around with the plentiful wall space using green features right?
At this point, everything seemed to be going well. We have managed to successfully design the unit such that it does not look empty and void.
But Wait..!
Remember how I mentioned in the beginning that an extra 5 sqm can be used as a loft space? For this unit, the loft space is already built into one of the kid’s rooms. Moreover, the loft room is in fact quite small.
Now we had to come up with design ideas so that the loft does not seem too random and out of place.
We decided to proceed with the idea of having a study area at the bottom since it had full length windows that could allow bright lights in, whilst the top could be used for a cosy bedroom.
However, furnishing up the place can only do so much in terms of visualisation and the rest was up to me to assist the buyer in his/her foresight.
As purchasers are all from different family sizes, I tried to be flexible in thinking of spaces that can be created to suit their needs. For instance, building a door so that we can have an attached en suite junior master bathroom and only have one room at the side (for guests, elder child who needs more privacy etc.).
What Happened After?
By advertising the newly staged home on YouTube and listing portals, its photos and videos generated plenty of interest and showings. Despite being a niche property, it was ultimately sold at a high price in 2 months!
Owners are usually quite fearful of selling penthouses as they think the sales process will take a long time, and some agents are not even confident in taking it up as they had to essentially sell “dead space”.
Nevertheless, here, we see the impacts good house staging could bring. If you would like me to review or discuss the sort of decor that could possibly better aid your home sales, feel free to reach out to me for a no obligation consultation via WhatsApp at +65 9007 4405.
