New Zealanders are obsessed with house prices with media gaining huge headway with a seemingly never-ending series of stories about affordability, home-makeovers and tips to sell your property.
Whether you live in a rural cottage or homestead, a suburban villa or downtown apartment, there are a host of ways to ensure your home gets top-dollar when it comes to valuations.
And top of the list is surely the number of bedrooms.
Most houses or apartments tend to devote a room to storage - somewhere to keep those cardboard boxes full of dusty photoframes, unused exercise machines or clothing we just don't get around to wearing any more.
But by clearing a little space and adding a bed, you might just convince a would-be buyer that there's room for the whole family.
Of course, you might not want to sell your home, you might just want the extra bed for your own guests - either way the simple investment of a good bed and mattress is sure to reap rewards (as well as helping you to relieve a little clutter from your life).
When kitting out your spare room, you'll need to consider:
1) Budget:
Remember this room isn't for everyday use so you don't need to pay top dollar - but at the same time, relatives can be pretty high maintenance and they're sure to let the rest of the family know if they have a bad night when they come to stay for Christmas.
2) Space:
The reason that room was used for storage in the first place was most likely because you could fit a couple of boogie boards and a bookshelf in it rather than a super kingsize bed. Check and double-check the dimensions and fit in the largest bed you can. Also make sure you find a bed which offers storage options - you might not want to throw out all of those old photos!
3) Type:
Are you most likely to be hosting the grandkids or your parents. Consider choosing a Bedpost Trundle bed or two single XL beds which push together to give the same width as a super kingsize, that way you'll cater for couples as well as friends.
