Get rid of the curtains. Most buyers would be ripping them out first thing anyway.

Do what the agent you hire says to with the curtains. You are hiring an agent for her expertise in selling houses. Hire one you think knows what she is talking about and take her advice.

I would remove them for showings. If the price of the house warrants it and you can find inexpensive ready made sheers for some windows, sure.

I would get rid of the curtains and leave the windows bare, they face the backyard, there is already a lot going on.. it will open things way up to have the windows clear.

get rid of the curtains peaking up behind the cabinets too... that black rod iron and taupey handkerchief hanging look is so very dated.

suggest also center the kitchen table under the light, it’s off center right now, makes it look like things don’t fit. Also suggest you get rid of bar stools and put something backless there that will make space appear bigger

Since two said keep and one said take down, maybe I would have listing photos taken with both, and then take them down for showings.

This is slightly different but there is a fairly significant "glass box" house for sale and the listing photos show the house wide open with no window treatments. The listing says that the windows all have curtains which come with the house, but that the treatments were removed to show the house.

I would indicate that they come with the house if someone wants them.

I agree with pal.

Clear off the clutter on top of the cabinets.

Thanks for the feedback. These are very heavy curtains and the rod is a real pain to put up. So either they stay or they go, but if they come down (which the consensus seems to be that they will go), they are not going back up. I will take the stuff off of the top of the cabinets. Regarding the scarf peeking up from behind the cabinets, those are curtains (see picture below) which none of the three real estate agents we interviewed told us to take down, so they are staying unless we get negative feedback from buyers.

I see nothing wrong with them. I'd leave them unless you want them for your next home.

Oh, don't take the rods down even if you take down the curtains.

If I was a buyer-I'd be, like, "oh ready custom curtains! I like them" or I'd be, like "oh ready custom curtains! I don't like them-but I have rods already installed!" Either way I don't see what the big damage is in leaving them.

Of course one can put sheers or gauze..this size gauze, that many yards..does it make financial sense, at all? Do you have energy to spare-while selling and cleaning and packing- to hunt the exact size and color and whatnot, for resale only-unless you are to reuse them later, but then you need to say that they don't convey?

This type of advice-I find it really hard to follow. And most folks, they'll get over the curtains. If they don't like them. Like, really. Give people some credit. I'm still hopeful

I understand some truly can't see past anything that's a different color from what they picture, different furniture(that won't stay anyway), anything..well okay. I can't use a Smartphone for example without feeling very sick -yet no one caters to poor me, in that regard.

I do like the idea of maybe photoshopping the existing ones out, for listing pics, if possible, and posting both pictures. That'd be ideal.

I don't know prices in South Florida-but that house and backyard and pool suggests no one young would be able to afford it anyway)) Wouldn't be able to afford it here, lets put it this way.

so. know who your buyer is. what's the market you try to appeal to.

We bought our first house here in 2010..which means I was in my thirties..full of heavy furnishings I didn't particularly care about. (not to compare with the house pictured, just stating my experience.) Had valances that weren't to my taste and whatnot.

But I understood their furnishings not nailed to the floors. One doesn't need to be very old and wise to get that.

Clean, decluttered, well maintained, inviting, making sense-that's always important, I agree in advance, Taking some things out because more space to walk around for buyers, and looks better on pics.

But not buying the whole bunch of different curtains of ginormous size because maybe someone would like it.

The curtains need to stay open for showing and listing pics anyway. They'd read like narrow frames to your view. Not a bad thing

If you're worried and decide to take them off -do leave the rods as palimpsest suggested..unless you plan to take them with you, then just take everything off.

Definitely if you want to take rods with you, take down.

How is the market in your area? I’ve hear S FL real estate does very well. In that case, leave them. The house has great bones obviously and will sell regardless of the curtains. But, if the market is slow then you need to “stage” the house for the greatest chance of selling

There will be those that would rip those babies out the minute they move in and those that are going to jump up and down to have custom curtains already set up in their new home

Your realtor will help make that final decision as she/he knows what people looking in your area like

Best of luck!

I would leave them up -- it goes with the look of the rest of the home.

I would take them down - I think they are a distraction from the architecture of the house. I do think you need sheers there, however, depending on how much direct sun comes in. The house I bought (in Los Angeles) had sheer curtains in all the windows, and that allowed me to see the windows better. I did keep the curtain rods, but I ended up putting chenille drapes (which I made myself) in my bedroom because it has SE and SW exposure. One bedroom had purple sheer curtains and the other had pink sheer curtains (the owners had two small girls), and so those came down immediately. All my windows had blinds, but that would not work in your house, but sheer curtains would. You could offer to leave the drapes with the house if you plan to keep the existing curtain rods up, but I think most buyers will want to coordinate drapes/curtains with their own decor.

The entire house is decorated in a traditional style that will not appeal to everyone's taste. I do understand that. I am 49, so it won't only appeal to 65+. The house should sell for about $550,000, not a first time buyer house. I did take the curtains down. The picture is below, but it is really bright outside so the lighting isn't right. The room now looks more builder grade and lacks that feeling of luxury that I feel like the curtains gave it. My husband hates it. They're going back up, even though it will be a real pain. If we get a lot of negative feedback, we will take them down. I will take another picture when the lighting is better so that we can have it available for those prospective buyers who can't envision the room without curtains.

It does very much appear to be a seller's market in South Florida. The two houses next to us were both under contract within a week or two of going on the market.

Interesting...I didn’t really like the curtains in the first photos but once you took them down I agree they go with the house well and look much better! I’m also in south Florida and look at a lot of model homes (and stalk Zillow daily) and find that the style that seems to sell quickly is more transitional than traditional, but like you said if you get bad feedback you can always change it. Good luck!

(wow you're fast. you're fast as lightning

now I'm sitting here all ashamed I'm still in my nightgown..well I'm on West Coast so maybe I'll do something useful in next three hours, but not much chance))

now I agree sheers woud look nice..I had once custom sheers made..(huge but still smaller. yardage)..enjoyed them a lot..renters liked them too, obviously ..one day I arrive-no more sheers..)) They swear probably previous renters took them.

sheers are nice. can be very nice. ours were.

so. I'd give future buyers a fabuolous opportunity to make their own sheers if they're so inclined that will go with their own vision and future decor

A gentle reminder; when you list to sell, your "home" becomes a commodity. In other words, it's now just a "house". A good RE agent will know what appeals to the bulk of potential buyers in your specific market and will make suggestions that can be backed up with actual proof (before & after photos / listing vs sales price). A quick sale, for top dollar, is at times, the result of staging. The best agents will be brutally frank. As an example; all traces of your feline friend(s) should be removed, and said feline needs to stay elsewhere for the duration.

If I were buying your home I would so appreciate having your curtains up! Can't imagine many things worse than coming into a house with those huge windows and having them bare and black at night. And I am not the only person who is really bothered by uncovered windows, especially at night. I quite understand you and your husband wanting them back up!

I think the reaction here is because your curtains/drapes are very dramatic; the black feels a bit overwhelming. But I would at least give the buyers the choice of keeping them, even if only temporarily.

Your home is lovely!

Keep them up. They go with your decor. Loose the fake flowers and de clutter. Especially above the cabinets. Tour other homes for sale, see what your competition is doing. Remove some of the chairs on the screened in porch too. Your home is lovely!

The curtains are back up. I got rid of everything above the cabinets. We normally get about 1/3 of the stuff out of our house before selling, but we aren't quite ready to do that yet. Regarding cats, we do have three of them and it was our inclination to get them out for showings as we have done in the past when selling. All three agents we talked to said that they have never lost a sale due to cats and that they see no problem with them staying in the house.

We will be listing sometime between next month and March. It all depends on my husband's job. Once we get the word, we will rent a storage unit and get the extra stuff out.

I live very close and at $550k range - you get buyers in south florida of all ages. Not first time home buyers, but buyers in their 40s-50s - looks way better with them down

something to keep in mind, real estate agents who are in the running for a listing are not going to be as frank always about what they think some older clientele most often make decisions on which real estate agent gives them the shortest todo list.

Maybe i am not in the norm. But I do own several homes and condos in south florida for rentals. When I look at properties that I am hoping to be turn key to flip to a rental. I dont even look at properties with smokers or any pets... I am dont want to deal with the smells and yes they are always there...l

I think it's entirely geared to one's taste. I for one, like the classic look of the home with the curtains and I'm in my 40s. Having pets in a home is expected and wouldn't deter a sale.

If you plan to take them with you, or even if you just want the rods, take down anything you don't want to convey. Yes, in FL it's possible to write a contract that specifies that the the chandelier, for instance, isn't included, but your life would be a million times simpler if you took down your beloved chandelier and stuck something from HD (bought for purposes of the sale) up there instead.

If there's anything attached to the house you don't want to include in the sale, remove it now.

We picked the curtains based on advice from an interior decorator. We went along with it even though we weren't crazy about the print or the color. We figured that she knew better what looked good or not. That is the one and only time we made the mistake of buying something that we weren't crazy about. Ultimately we left them up because we felt like even though we weren't crazy about them, the room looks more finished with them. If we were staying, we would take down the curtains, shell out some $$$ and put up plantation shutters.

We were buyers 8 years ago and chose this house after looking at 50 other houses in spite of the fact that some rooms weren't painted to our taste and the kitchen and bathrooms needed remodeling. It stuck out because it was clearly well cared for, had a good floor plan, and was in a good location.

I'm going to dig this up with an update. We left the curtains up, listed last Wednesday, showed to 7 potential buyers, and got two contracts within 6 days. One was full asking, no contingencies, all cash. Apparently the curtains did not hurt us.

Yessss! This is the first I saw the post and would have commented to leave the curtains. Glad it went so quickly.