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Including laminate flooring and pebble dash...

Pebble dash, unsightly wallpaper prints and laminate flooring are among the surprising things that could actively devalue your home by over £49,000, new research has found.

Whether your house is on the market or you're keen to sell, many features can knock thousands off your asking price. While mould, damp and pests are known for deterring buyers, other turn-offs include low water pressure, old electrics, and pet smells, too.

New findings from Hammonds Furniture discovered that 24 per cent of people would look elsewhere if a property had ugly wallpaper, while 19 per cent would be put off by holes in the walls from artwork. As well as this, 28 per cent said they would even reconsider a house purchase if the property had a weak shower.

'We all have something in mind when we begin a search for our next home, but there are certain features that for many people could be an absolute dealbreaker,' says Kirsty Oakes, Head of Product and Marketing at Hammonds Furniture. 'However, some of these features are surprisingly quick and simple to amend if you are looking to sell your house.

'If you're selling, you can make your house look much more appealing by making some small changes, such as filling in holes in the wall or switching to a neutral colour pallet. A deep clean can make a huge difference to how your property is perceived, and well as clearing away extra clutter (even if you just store it in your car). Don't be afraid to ask your neighbours to clean their garden as well!'

Elsewhere, 10 per cent of house buyers also claimed they would be put off if a property had a pool or hot tub, while 13 per cent aren't fans of laminate flooring.

Take a look at the off-putting features below...

'Mild cases of mould may not affect value too dramatically if all is needed is a dehumidifier and some mould-resistant paint, but very severe cases can reduce a property's value up to 20 per cent or £49,47 (based on the average house price of £247,355),' adds Michael Patterson, Managing Director of WeBuyAnyHouse.

'Pests can also cause extensive damage, especially rats that are prone to chewing through electrics and wooden beams, which you would need to repair. Depending on the damage done, you could be looking at between 5-20 per cent of a decrease in value.'

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Stripes never fail to please and are a timeless choice. Stripes work well in all rooms but are particularly good if you have low living room ceilings as they give the illusion of making the room look taller.

Top Tip: Stripes look good teamed with panelling and if you are yearning for the Bridgerton look, they aren’t called a Regency Stripe for nothing!

Pictured: Heritage Stripe in Grey, Graham & Brown

A lovely way to add colour to a plain living room is with ombre wallpaper. Choose your favourite shade then have a wall that begins with a deep tone at the bottom and graduates to a paler shade at the top. It's subtle, calming, and easy to live with, especially in this lovely blue.

Pictured: Horizon Deep Blue wallpaper, Elizabeth Ockford

If you have wallpaper offcuts from a previous project, why not use them to put a patterned backing to a set of shelves? It looks much more interesting than plain white and means if you don’t have enough books or accessories in your living room, there is always something lovely to look at.

Pictured: Hornbeam wallpaper BP5001; shelves in Pointing Estate Eggshell, both from Farrow & Ball

Soft and gentle, this beautifully tactile scallop design gently dances across the length of the paper, creating an inherently sophisticated feel in a living room environment.

Pictured: Arcade BP 5305, Farrow & Ball

Do you have arched alcoves in your living room? This more traditional, retro-style floral wallpaper is used in a wonderful way. The patterned paper really makes these arches stand out, especially set against the plain dusky pink wall. Shelves have been placed in front of it, but it's the shape that adds personality to this room and showcases the wallpaper.

Pictured: Floresta wallpaper in pink; Pink Cloud emulsion, both Woodchip & Magnolia

Don't be afraid to go dark in a living room – you can tie the scheme together with bold, punchy accents, like this burnt orange armchair. Wooden furniture grounds the scheme.

Pictured: London Wallpapers, New Bond Street - Hide, Little Greene

Create interest with wallpaper panels. This all over lattice design works perfectly against the dark grey; it's a subtle pattern and not too big but it stands out. The design is reminiscent of tiles and has a touch of Morocco about it.

Top Tip: This living room wallpaper idea works particularly well tall ceilings.

Pictured: Quatrefoil Kohl wallpaper, Paper Library

For a rustic, country-style inspired living room, opt for an intricate botanical design. This wallpaper print is inspired by a brightly coloured swatch found nestled in an old fabric mill. Named after the flowering South American desert, this playful print is the ultimate in escapism.

'Wallpapers can add another dimension of warmth and textural interest to a room, from small motif designs to the more graphic. They are also a great way to hide flaws if your walls are not in the best order,' explains Patrick O’Donnell, Brand Ambassador at Farrow & Ball.

Pictured: Atacama BP 5804, Farrow & Ball

The colour blue can make you feel calm and relaxed or vibrant and energised, and can work well in a living room. Complement an all-blue scheme with blue paint on doors and around fireplaces, and printed wallpaper on the four walls. This flamboyant peacock feather design provides a splash of colour.

Pictured: Carlton House Terrace - Blue Plume, Little Greene

A simple, geometric design that is bold but not overpowering will give a lift to any living room, and grey and yellow are Pantone’s Colours of the Year for 2021, so this is bang on trend. This combination uses the softer end of the palette with a chalky grey linen upholstered sofa and muted yellow walls.

Top Tip: Choose cushions that complement the colour scheme but also add pattern and texture.

Pictured: Geometric Mustard, I Love Wallpaper

Bring relaxed holiday vibes to your living room with a wallpaper design which reflects soft tones and tropical elements, like this Caribbean-inspired large scale painted palm tree wallpaper. Here, dark contours of the palm stems blend with pastel greens and sandy shades of gold, in a hazy, calming composition.

Pictured: CAYO LARGO Wallpaper, MINDTHEGAP

This lovely Brambleweb wallpaper is used as a feature on one wall with a complementary paint shade on the other walls. To take the scheme one stage further, why not use fabric in the same design to cover an armchair?

'Living rooms are the obvious place for wallpaper, you can make a statement or add atmosphere. Paper the entire room and ceilings to envelop the space, Brambleweb wallpaper is perfect for this, the tangled vines appear to have been growing up the walls for years, like a modern day sleeping beauty,' says Abigail Edwards, Wallpaper, Fabric and Accessory Designer.

Top Tip: You could even add a cushion in the same fabric but a contrasting shade for a complete look.

Pictured: Brambleweb wallpaper in Nude, Abigail Edwards

Love jewel colours? Bring colour and character to your living room with punchy hues. Team wall panelling with a pretty, floral wallpaper design to make your room sing with personality.

Pictured: Bougainvillea (Rouge, Leaf Green & Cerulean Sky on Charcoal), Cole & Son

Go bold! Murals have really grown in popularity in recent years. With a big pattern like this, there is no need for artwork, the wallpaper does the talking, so it's designed to be used on one wall only. In yellow and grey, this wallpaper would be great teamed with a mustard armchair, cushions or rug.

'With trends like maximalism, murals work hand in hand to pack that punch and maximise your living space,' says Amy Hillary, Interiors Writer at Wallsauce.

Pictured: Transparent Gold Wallpaper, Wallsauce

If it's a beautiful wallpaper, why not frame it? Wallpaper can make fantastic art work. This wonderful, one-off marble wallpaper print is £95 from Nat Maks – Natascha Maksimovic is a print maker and illustrator and makes them in her studio in Margate. This design is perfect in this lounge room with its peach and blush palette.

Make a feature of bespoke furniture in your living room by using patterned wallpaper to accentuate its design and features. This charming wallpaper print wonderfully adds so much extra detail, giving the bookcase within the arched alcove an extra dimension beyond its artfully styled shelves.

Pictured: Shop the Heritage Revival trend at John Lewis & Partners

In a big open area like a loft-style living room, zone the space with a huge mural. Although it's large, it's quite calming due to the grey and white monochrome palette and simple design – it looks like a painting.

Top Tip: Murals are so versatile as they can be made to any size.

Pictured: Miami Palms Mural Wallpaper, Forest Homes

You can't go wrong with a floral living room wallpaper. Pick a bold and whimsical pattern to make a statement.

'Wallpaper can help make small spaces feel more intimate and add interest to larger rooms by creating another layer of pattern, and there is no rule regarding the scale of design – using a large design in a small environment can make a striking visual statement,' says Patrick O’Donnell, Brand Ambassador at Farrow & Ball.

Pictured: Onism Ecru, Woodchip & Magnolia

For an interesting living room wallpaper idea, choose your colour palette then use different patterned wallpapers in different areas. Choose one for the walls and a different one for the chimney breast. It will define the areas in a complementary way. Then follow the theme on the armchair with different fabrics on the body of the chair and the sides.

Pictured: Alcove walls: Norcombe in Welkin; Chimney Breast: Cones in Lint; Skirting and fireplace painted in Shirting no. 129, all Little Greene

Don't forget about the ceiling. It's often just painted white and forgotten about, but decorating the ceiling can make a huge difference to a living room. Complete the look with a complementary wallpaper as seen here, or use something completely different.

Pictured: Tessella BP3608 on the ceiling and BP3601 on the walls, both Farrow & Ball

It really looks like there are carvings on the wall, but no, it's wallpaper. It would really make a statement in a living room, dining room or hallway.

'Rather than the delicate patterns you used to see on your grandma's wall, murals deliver a much more impactful presence,' says Amy Hillary at Wallsauce. 'Although the material is traditional wallpaper, murals are designed with images rather than repeating patterns.'

Pictured: Opal mural by Ella Doran, Surface View

If mid-century is your thing, choose one of the stunning styles from Mini Moderns – this one is called P.L.U.T.O in Emerald and Silver. With bold stripes and circles, this wallpaper is named after the Pipeline Under The Ocean – a WW2 fuel line built under the English Channel from Britain to France. It's eco too, printed using water based ink on papers from sustained forests.

Another clever living room wallpaper idea is to use it as a partition. In a through room, use wallpaper to define the spaces. This fun but sophisticated flamingo design gives the room a Miami feel, further complemented by the retro-style palm leaf fabric on the curtains and the white metal pool chair.

Pictured: Zanzibar wallpaper; Parlour Palm Citrus Fabric, both Scion

If you yearn for a library or just love this quirky design, it’s been used here to great effect. Using it on the near and far walls leads you in, and it is complemented perfectly with the deep pink woodwork which echoes the spines on the 'books'.

Top Tip: It would be great in a small space too.

Pictured: Fornasetti Senza Tempo Ex Libris wallpaper, Cole & Son

Susi Bellamy is renowned for her intricate designs with mirrored patterns taken from her original artwork and marbled papers. It’s like looking through a kaleidoscope with all the different colours.

Because there are so many colours in it, it’s easy to pull out shades for furniture and accessories as she has here with red, orange and pink.

'This paper would work well for a feature wall or inglenook in a modern apartment or retro style home,' says Susi Bellamy, Wallpaper, Fabric and Accessory Designer. 'Perfect for dark corners to add some bold colour and pattern or behind a sideboard for some "modern art for the wall".'

Pictured: Pietra Blue mica non-woven wallpaper; Grey Stucco kaleidoscope oblong velvet cushions; matching velvet shade; Pietra Blu velvet storage stool, all Susi Bellamy

For the eccentrics amongst us, use this wallpaper on all four walls, but it would also be fabulous on a feature wall. With sweeping tangles of chains, pearls, jewels and frogs, it’s like being inside a fairy tale.

Pictured: Tiana Antique, The Curious Department