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Top five ways to make your home stand out – and sell super fast

When you sell your home, it follows that you would want it to stand out from the competition - after all, standing out from the crowd is essential in attracting potential buyers and securing a quick sale! In today's competitive real estate market, it's important to make your property memorable and appealing. But how can you do it? Here are the top five ways you can make your home stand out and increase its chances of being sold swiftly. 

1. Enhance its curb appeal

Strike a pose: eco friendly yoga mats

The drive to leave plastic behind is gathering force and lots of areas of life we don't associate with plastic are keen to do their bit. Such as yoga, which does require a mat if you're doing it in a gym or hall with a hard floor.

Yoga Design Lab, based in Bali, launched in 2014 to produce beautiful designs that didn't cost the earth. The product range has grown and now includes towels. The brand's USP is the marrying of appealing design with eco friendliness - the eco credentials coming from its use of cork, natural rubber and recycled plastic.

Anti: designer lighting from waste material

Anti is a waste design business led by British designer maker Mark Howells. 'We use objects that end up in landfill as building blocks for beautiful product design,' he explains.

One billion umbrellas are broken, lost, discarded worldwide each year. The nylon canopies may take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade. Umbrellas are designed NOT to last, with an average lifespan of six months. Umbrellas create 240,000 tons of metal waste per year. That’s the equivalent amount of metal to build four Sydney Harbour Bridges.

Miscanthus bales could decarbonise construction

Miscanthus is a perennial carbon-negative renewable energy crop grown on around 8,000 hectares of low-grade marginal land in the UK. It's been identified as having outstanding building credentials and excellent insulation value and following a successful test building last year, the partners are building a Miscanthus bale house that will still be standing in 100 years.

Algreen nominated for Earthshot Prize

Algreen, based at Imperial College Campus is a leading innovator in renewable and sustainable product solutions.

It's been nominated for a 2024 Earthshot Prize - the global awards scheme set up by the Prince of Wales - in recognition of its work to develop bio-based alternatives to oil-based plastics and other fossil-derived materials.

Trex decking: waste made extraordinarily good

Decking has proved an enduringly popular feature in gardens and outside spaces for obvious reasons. It looks smart, it delineates areas for specific purposes, and if it's made from wood we feel it's a natural, sustainable choice of material.

On the whole, says north London gardener Patrick Wagstaff of The Plot Doctor, 'nearly everyone who wants their garden done wants some decking - usually it's an area for a table, chairs and some pot plants. Decking is neat and it makes the area feel like an extension of your living space.'

FIX: Make do and mend it!

In Finland, just about every eight year old child can mend a hole in their socks. 'Finland has a great legacy of fixing and repairing', says  Sara Martinsen, co-curator of FIX. 'It’s part of our cultural heritage and leads back to our history, especially to the post-war times of the 1920s and '50s when there was lack of everything.' She says the skills to fix and repair garments, houses and furniture have been passed down through the generations and the fact that woodwork and handicrafts are still part of our primary school curriculum helps keep these skills alive.

By The Sea: Emma Jeffryes' art exhibition

This exhibition centres on works Jeffryes made after visiting Falmouth last August to paint the 2023 Falmouth Tall Ships Regatta. Unfortunately the event itself was cancelled at the last minute due to the arrival of Storm Betty, so Jeffryes turned her attentions to Falmouth's sea-going folks - the works on show will range from her inimitable depictions of swimmers and paddle boarders, to fishing boats, sailing yachts and huge military ships, along with Tall Ships anchored in the harbour during stormy conditions. 

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