Restoring a home either for financial or personal reasons is one of the most exciting (and demanding) projects you can take on. First there's the boring legal stuff, deeds, planning permission, listing. And of course the financial- negotiating sale prices, securing borrowing and insurance. Once restoration work starts often the headaches can get worse as the real hard graft of the restoration work begins, the walls start coming down or going up, you find out the window measurements you triple checked were half an inch short or your ground workers digger gets stolen by joy riders (it happens!).



However once these stages are behind you and your restoration begins to take shape you get the opportunity to start applying your creative flare to the development and adorning your home in whatever interior decoration style you like.

Most property developers agree that this is the area of your development where the future resell value of your home can be made or broken. Get the interior design right and prospective buyers will dig deep into their pockets and are likely to overlook other factors which may be beyond your control like location or size. In short, if it feels like home, the buyer will want to make it their home.

As this is often the area of your restoration you have the most control over its worth considering spending a little more time and effort with the interior design and think beyond the confines of your nearest low price Scandinavian furniture outlet.

Increasingly the serious property developers are restoring homes in the original style of the home in the period it was built or injecting regal charm and richness into new builds by furnishing their properties with genuine antique pieces which add value to a home while most furniture depreciates faster than a new car off the forecourt.

While your restoration budget may not stretch to adorning your entire property with antiques consider the points of high face value- those prominent features which stand out when you first enter the room. Fireplaces are a great example of these features which can instantly light up a room by drawing the eye with their elaborate or classic decoration. While modern manufacturers lace their fireplaces in urban chic, an antique fireplace transcends fashion and trends and will not only hold its value but will appeal to home buyers of all generations with their timeless elegance and style.

Antique mantels, clocks and piano's are also commonly used by developers to inject a touch of class into their projects.

If you think your development could benefit from an antique feature or if you want to restore your entire home in an antique style start visiting antique shops and dealers, auctions and fairs and shortlist some of the types of items you think could work in your home- and don't forget to account for installation and maintenance costs when considering antique pieces.