One man's palace is another's nightmare

Art deco, Swedish, Seventies... when it comes to selling a property, it seems that plain and simple is best. Penny Jackson questions the wisdom of imposing your own style

In the wood-panelled kitchen with floorboards painted in chequerboard squares of blue and white the feel is one of freshness and space. The quiet natural colours of the corridor merge into a sitting room that seems surprisingly large and light for a narrow London house.

Then, from nowhere, a feature springs out as being remarkably familiar and a jigsaw of details gradually becomes a complete picture of Swedish design. Anyone who has pored over the ideas for panelling, shelving and artfully draped muslin is likely to have modelled their work on Sasha Waddell's Fulham home.

Her kitchen illustrates the chapter in her book New Swedish Style on painted floors; her fabric-lined bedroom on making curtains; the sitting room demonstrates the key elements of simplicity and symmetry. The flat cut-out balustrade that hides the radiators, even the cat sunning itself on the day bed gives a sharp sense of deja vu.

Although Waddell was inspired by the castles and manor houses of Sweden, she fell in love with the proportions of her Victorian house. Unusually she has not knocked through rooms to create more space but instead has used design, colour and the trick of bringing natural light to indoor windows to create an airy feel.

"Rooms that have been joined together often look elongated and out of sympathy with the rest of the house", she says. "Sections look fine, but you have to see the whole room. It's no good looking at wonderful photographs in magazines and copying all your favourite details in your own home. That would make a pig's ear of it."

As Sasha Waddell finds herself moving in a new design direction, so she needs another blank canvas for her work. And she is not alone in wanting to start from scratch. The attractions of taking on a home that is unremarkable, plain, even dull, can be greater than acquiring something distinctive and exciting.

Buyers seem particularly intimidated by highly fashionable interiors that are inevitably a strong statement of someone's personality. "It would be like living with a stranger", remarked a woman after looking round one such apartment.

Nor are hearts necessarily won over by the no-expense-spared make-overs. The agents Douglas & Gordon recently had two identical flats for sale in west London. One has been featured in numerous magazines and is the last word in trendiness - wood block flooring, stainless steel and glass shelving and a dramatic use of colour. Its neighbour is painted magnolia with no memorable details. The magnolia flat sold almost immediately, while the first had to be reduced in price. "If a buyer walks in and says `wow', that's great. But if they don't, taking everything out is too much hassle," says James Robinson for the agents.

Peter Young of John D. Wood's Kensington office says if the wrong message is sent out, there's nothing you can do about it. "We had one house in which the main bedroom was painted completely black, with mirrors on the ceiling and sunken lights. In the middle was a brass bed with black, silk sheets. Men would joke about it, but the women were out of the house like a shot. We didn't sell the house."

If a style is easily reversible, there will normally be no problem finding a purchaser. Peter Young describes a Victorian house with a Japanese interior that is currently on the market for pounds 1.9m as "an enormously stylish blend of cultures. It has black painted floors and stark white walls with sliding screens of etched glass. But if the buyer doesn't like the black drawing- room floor, which has been taken back to the boards, it is easily covered up."

In west Hampstead, John D. Wood has on its books a flat that the owner has spent years turning into an art deco treasure. He has created an authentic setting for the furniture with an original fireplace, stained glass windows and black and white wooden floors. Even the hinges on certain doors were tracked down. But when can you charge a premium for a complete look and when does it become a drawback?

James Bailey, of Douglas & Gordon, recently found himself walking into a Seventies time-warp. "From the moment you arrive at the front door with its plastic awning you are taken back more than 20 years. It was like walking into a film set. A lot of brown, grey and cream swirls and, of course, brown and orange. The main bedroom has silver wallpaper and deep mirrors on the wardrobes. But it was also architecturally interesting, going right up into the roof space. It also has a roof terrace and third- floor extension which they wouldn't be allowed to put in today." So how much for this Seventies gem? According to James Bailey, 95 per cent of people would rip everything out and start again. Instead of around pounds 320,000 he would price it at less than pounds 300,000. "People don't want to inherit someone's else character. But they'll pay through the nose for something clean and neutral."

Sasha Waddell's house is on the market at pounds 320,000 through Foxtons (0171 565 4000). Her design company, with Charles Codrington: 0171 498 9960.