Candes Saint-Martin, my favourite spot in La Touraine.

Saturday 21 February 2015

'Habiller la mariée'

'Preparing' or 'Dressing' the Bride ... That's what I've been doing over the last three weeks. No time to post on the blog, no time to rest ... and yet spending some time at the office from time to time. Thank heavens for teleworking!

What have I been up to? Well, with the help of our fabulous and very efficient cleaning lady, I've been preparing our family home ... to put it up for sale. Which I did today. About a month ago, I signed a contract with a real estate agent and today he came over to put up the 'for sale' sign. I feel happy and sad at the same time. 



Part of the result: the sitting room on a sunny 21st of February.
Anybody interested in buying this house?

'Habiller la mariée' is a French expression meaning making something as desirable as possible to potential buyers. And I think we did a good job, because the real estate agent was really impressed with the result. His congratulations were sincere and I will convey them to our lovely cleaning lady without whom I couldn't have managed this formidable task in a mere three weeks.

11 comments:

Carolyn said...

I know how sad you must feel. While you were working at getting the house ready to sell, I hope you had a chance to say goodbye to everything.

Bob said...

staging helps sell a house. with spring time coming, it is a good time to sell the house. hope you get your selling price. good luck.

GaynorB said...

A bittersweet event for both you and your mother. Although an emotional time I'm sure that the effort and hard work to present the house will pay dividends.

Ken Broadhurst said...

I'm sure it's a good idea to have "staged" the house for sale. Potential buyers will see it at its best, and the house's best qualities won't be hidden by clutter or by what is obviously somebody else's treasures and "stuff." Our San Francisco house was staged for sale, even though the real estate people didn't actually bring any furniture in. They said our things were fine — but not everything could stay. All the houseplants had to go, for example, because they wanted the corners of the rooms visible. That made the house look more spacious. Best of luck with the sale, Martine.

Craig said...

Good luck with the sale Martine. It's a big step for your mother and yourself, but a positive one I think. The house looks super and ready for "her close up".

Rhodesia said...

Hope all goes as planned, but I do realise that it is also a sad time for you. Good luck Diane

Travel said...

It looks wonderful. It really helps when a house is made to look it's best. It is good to hear from you.

VirginiaC said...

I know it's hard to say goodbye to the old house which holds such dear memories for both you and your Mum.
Sad too.....but I hope the right person will come along to purchase and treasure it just as much as your Mum did.
You do have a say in who buys the house so you can meet them before the final sale and make sure you feel okay with them being the new owners.

ladybird said...

Thank you all for your kind comments. This afternoon the first potential buyers are coming to view the house. And another visit is scheduled for tomorrow morning. I won't be there myself. I leave it all in the capable hands of our real estate agent. I am curious and excited though ... Fingers crossed!

Niall & Antoinette said...

Het ziet er heel aantrekkelijk uit :-) En zal, denk ik. snel verkopen.

ladybird said...

Dank je Antoinette. Ik hoop het ook.