BEFORE

Want a better chance of selling your property? SIMEON BRODY reports on how a small makeover could yield you a tenfold return.

"Some people say we remind them of Trinny and Susannah, but I don't see the resemblance," says house doctor Sharon Johnston.

But I suspect Kingston's home makeover experts are not too upset to be compared to the two acerbic presenters of television programme What Not To Wear.

While the TV style gurus point out people's fashion failings, Sharon and business partner Jane Cooper highlight people's domestic oversights.

Their company Dressed2Sell advises people looking to sell their homes on presentation and de-cluttering.

With a quick makeover that should cost no more than a few hundred pounds, the pair believe homeowners will get at least a tenfold return when selling their property.

As they inspect Jo Wheatley's Tolworth flat, I'm still thinking Trinny and Susannah but not quite so mean.

"What's that poking up from behind the sofa?" asks Jane as she surveys the living room. "It's an old Christmas tree base," says a rather embarrassed Jo, editor of Kingston Live.

AFTER

Sharon points out that one of the living room lights has no bulb. "If buyers think something is missing, they will think what else has been neglected?'"

The living room in the two-bedroom flat Jo shares with her boyfriend will be Sharon and Jane's canvas their chance to show what they can do in just a couple of hours.

But they also have some handy hints about how to spruce up the rest of the flat.

"Condensation is a problem in the bathroom and kitchen," says Sharon. "Get a damp-proof paint and get it cleaned up. It's the first thing people notice."

"You need a new shower curtain," she adds. "Because again, it's the mould thing."

I am just reflecting on how lucky I am that my house is not subject to their friendly but ruthless scrutiny when we enter the kitchen. A train rumbles past the open window a schoolboy error. If a buyer inspects the property, the window should be closed, the blind down and some soft music playing to take attention away from the 5.30 to Waterloo.

"You could put new paint on the walls in here," suggests Jane. "Something like a pale aqua. Get chrome switches for the lights, too. It just adds a premium feel to the property."

Her eagle eyes settle on a cloth lying next to the sink. "Don't have that there! Just do your washing up and get rid of it."

"You're not going to cry in a corner, are you?" Sharon asks the now rather pale Jo.

The lived-in look is apparently not much desired by buyers, who want something that more resembles a show home or hotel. If you are seriously trying to sell your home, stow your personal possessions away and give the buyer something they can stamp their own identity on.

This is why the photograph of Jo and her sister is one of the first things to come off the living room wall as Jane and Sharon begin the serious makeover work.

Jo takes refuge in her bedroom as the pair get to work. "It's like being laid bare, having someone going round your flat," she says. "I felt like I was being told off. There's obviously stuff in my flat I should have taken action on but I haven't like the damp. You just get used to it."

The women have a background in public relations and property development and Sharon has worked as a stylist for Tatler magazine. But Jane says the company is not offering upmarket interior design. "We are trying to find a way people can spend a small amount of money to make the biggest difference," she says.

"It's just clever tricks really."

The first trick seems to involve taking most of the furniture out of the living room and putting it in the hall.

Sharon and Jane say they would normally suggest putting items into storage or packing them away in readiness for moving house. But we only have an afternoon so it all goes in the hall.

Vases of flowers, candlesticks and large colourful prints are brought in and a small dining table and chairs appear in the corner. A pair of dinner plates and champagne flutes on gold-covered coasters are carefully placed on the table.

Champagne flutes in Tolworth? Have they lost their minds?

"It's all about creating a lifestyle," says Sharon. "Most people will rarely drink champagne and will eat their dinner in front of the TV rather than at a table, but they like the idea that they might."

After an hour of working their magic the room is finished. It seems bigger, lighter, tidier and less like somebody actually lives there. A pair of large prints on either side of the room bring out the colour of the carpet and make the room look bigger, apparently.

Sharon and Jane are certainly happy with their work. "I think this room looks great," says Sharon. "On the market this room would have the wow factor."

But what does Jo think of her new living room? "I think it looks really special.

"It's sparse and impersonal but that's what appeals to the buyers. If I was going into a flat and saw a room like this I'd want to buy it."

It sounds like a job well done for Kingston's house doctors. They are not trying to create a better home, they say, just preparing your house to face the market.

For more information visit www.dressed2sell.co.uk or call the company on 020 8392 6593.

Dressed to sell: Jo Wheatley (centre) lets Sharon Johnston and Jane Cooper loose on her flat. Deadlinepix CG1997

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