">HomeOwnerNut

Everyone grew up in a neighborhood that has that house. The yard was a clutter of weeds and broken bottles, and an overgrown trellis masked the front door. You were scared to pass by at night.

In what has become one of the most-challenging housing markets ever, you’d be surprised how many people with homes like this think they’ll sell them. All things being equal, a would-be buyer will take the clean, attractive, uncluttered home and yard.  Here are great ways to send buyers packing:

Valley of the curb appeal monster

Photo by Ugly House Photos

I was stunned to find this photo at Ugly House Photos. The home backed upon my childhood home in the San Fernando Valley. In this economic climate, buyers aren’t that interested in huge fixer-uppers. It’s tragic, considering all the affordable ways to brighten your home’s façade.

Landscaping by Sparky

Photo by Cheap Bee Removal

Good luck staging a home for sale with Sparky in the yard, unless you’re tossing in a huge mallet to whack his furry lil’ skull. The tail-lights diminishing into the night, those belong to potential buyers.

Shrinking your expectations

Photo by Ripley's

That genuine artifact you brought back from Brazil just might diminish your closing points – if anyone buys your place. Better Homes and Gardens recommends 20 ways to boost curb appeal. But your family photo of Uncle Max with a geisha or the head of that elk you dropped last year must come off the wall.

When less is more

Photo by Career Line

Those cute extras you’re including in the sale – the garden shed, workshop, barn – will only hurt if they’re in considerably worse shape than the rest of the home. It’s like trying to swim the English Channel with an anvil on your back.

There are no guarantees in tough times, but when it comes to staging a home and property, it pays to be a clean freak.

Humans have appreciated innovative interior lighting since the first cave dweller backed into the fire, torching his loincloth. I grew up when it was considered stylish to have a pole lamp in the living room. The lamp was made of a metal pole with spring-loaded top and bottom caps that held the pole between ceiling and floor. Any number of bulbs set in cones sprang like crazy branches from this lighting tree.

Hence, I have a wide bandwidth of appreciation when it comes to odd lamp designs.

Unique drip-lighting

Photo by Yanko Design

Perfect for the stay-at-home person in your family, this lamp looks great when set beside the couch where your potato surfs the channels all day and night.

Teetering at the delicate edge of taste

Photo by Home Design Imperial

You know who you are. When you drive anywhere, your dachshund has to sit on your lap.  It doesn’t matter if you have a short-haired, wire-haired or long-haired wiener dog, this is the lamp for you.

Don’t do it!

Photo by Toxel

London’s Play Collection offers this Martyr Lamp made from stainless steel. It strives endlessly to pull out its own plug and descend into darkness.

Up, up and away

Photo by Generate

Ballooning isn’t just an outdoor pastime. Designer Kouichi Okamoto created this balloon lamp – available in a host of colors – that adds gaiety to your room for $29. Lamps are powered by a lithium coin battery and LEDs.

Which came first?

Photo by Ontwerpers

The idea for this curious piece came from fish that swim in the deepest depths of the sea, light-emitting filaments on the tops of their heads. The Light-Up chair is made from fiber-reinforced artificial resin and steel. Ontwerpers has the goods on this curious hybrid.