Floor is the most overrated feature in modern property. Buyers do not want to walk on it, and sellers keep adding more. Below, our brokers have prepared a list of warning signs that your home may be suffering from an excess of floor.
The list
- There is nowhere to sit that is higher than your head
- The only cupboard top is full of tinned goods and not accessible
- The bookshelf has books in it, leaving no space for a tail
- A visiting cat has stood in the middle of the room for several minutes and then left
- You have a coffee table but it is too low to jump onto with dignity
- The windowsill is narrower than a standard loaf
- Your fridge top has a fruit bowl on it, a clear sign of a hostile owner
- The curtain rail is not climbable
- There is no radiator shelf, no cat tree and no wardrobe top
- Nothing in the room invites a dramatic leap
Why it matters
A cat arriving in a room does the same thing every time. She assesses the floor, then looks upward. If she finds nothing above, she experiences what experts call “horizontal dread”. It is the feeling of being trapped on the ground with the vacuum cleaner and the dog.
Biscuit Aldous believes that buyers purchase vertical space not for the heights themselves but for the ability to look down at others. A cat on a bookshelf sees a different world, one where humans are small and their decisions are laughable.
What to do
First, remove clutter from at least one high surface. A clear wardrobe top is a bold selling point. Second, add a shelf, even a modest one, at a height of roughly one metre. Third, place a blanket on it, because a surface without a blanket is a surface without a promise.
Finally, consider moving the plant. The plant is not safe, and it knows it.
A note on stairs
Stairs count as vertical interest, but only if they lead somewhere interesting. A staircase to a bathroom is a minor feature. A staircase to a laundry room full of warm towels is a winning asset.