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Show Homes for Savvy Developers!

The experts at The Home Styling Company explain how savvy developers use cost effective Show Homes to sell properties quickly and for the highest possible price.

We’ve been busy working with a series of property development companies lately and the Show Homes and results have been spectacular. Canny developers realise that staging homes to sell not only encourages many more viewings but those viewings are converting to rapid sales at prices higher than expected – something that every vendor strives for.

 

Would you shop for an expensive outfit for a special occasion and then forget to wear shoes? Thought not.

Staging is the final piece of the development jigsaw. When a renovated or newly built property is ready for sale, why not showcase it beautifully to achieve the very best return on your investment?

Even better, why not follow the lead of experienced developers and factor in the cost of staging from the very beginning?

We guarantee staging will cost far less than you think and be worth every penny when the added value appears on your bottom line.

Selling more than one house?

Recently we staged one home for a developer with five similar properties for sale in Evesham. It wasn’t necessary to stage all five properties; staging just one allowed buyers to really connect emotionally and see exactly how living there might look and feel. When the images were posted online, buyers were queuing up to view and all five homes sold quickly. The investment in staging one home triggered the sale of all five properties. The vendor was delighted and so were we.

Staging sets a home apart from many similar properties a potential buyer may have seen; it makes the difference between finding a home and just viewing a house.

It’s never too late for Show Homes to make a difference.

We know buyers are harder to persuade during the winter months so act now to stage those unsold, empty properties fast. It’s well documented that buyers make up their mind to buy a home as soon as they walk through the door so let us help you create that crucial first impression.

 

The Home Staging Report 2019 (Home Staging Association UK) report three key statistics from developers who took part in the research:

100% of developers saw staging increase the number of viewings.

100% of developers saw their staged properties sell faster than non-staged ones.

83% of developers said staging increased the offer price typically between 8 and 10% per property.

Affordable appeal

We offer cost effective Show Homes solutions to small to medium sized developers who may not have used a show home before. A fully dressed show-home can be delivered within two weeks from order to installation with no hassle or time commitment for the vendor whatsoever. We can scale up or down to make every size of empty house so much more appealing.

The Home Styling Company have won awards for our transformative skills and we style properties to sell – not just to look good. Never overdone or ‘glitzy’, we’ll plan the interior and supply just the right tasteful furnishings to highlight the best features of the property and showcase your hard work. Our furnishings can be purchased or rented and are often obtained by buyers who have fallen in love with the looks we create.

 

Transparent Pricing of all our Show Homes.

Our price includes all design, delivery, installation, styling and uplift and will incorporate your brief, brand, target market, budget and timescale.

We are very happy to recommend and liaise with estate agents to develop a marketing package on your behalf, including the professional photography which can also be used to help market your future development projects.

For more of our services see - Services

Don’t risk harming your overall profit margin through slow sales and a low perceived value of your product. We offer free, friendly and informal advice about your future plans and look forward to talking about how we can help.

To see more on our great results see our favourite blog - Once upon a time in Leicestershire – Property Styling Midlands

Denise and Stephen Cable

Property Staging Versus Interior Design

Defining the difference between Interior Design and Property Staging.

A very warm welcome to The Home Styling Company blog. This week we look at Property Staging in the UK and the difference with Interior Design. The sun is shining on the regional property market and our team has been busier than ever making all kinds of homes look their best before being offered for sale.

 

We’re grateful to everyone who responds to our posts and visits our website and we love hearing your questions about what we do. One thing that seems to cause plenty of confusion is the difference between home staging and interior design. We’ve outlined the difference between the two disciplines – you might be surprised to find out they aim to achieve completely contrasting results.

What is Property Staging?

Home Staging focuses on presenting a property to its best advantage so that it is sold or rented more quickly and at a better price. Home stagers aim to make a home appealing to the highest number of potential buyers. A large part of our job is to help viewers imagine themselves living at that property and embracing the lifestyle we have created.

There are several techniques that The Home Styling Company team use to improve a property's appeal by transforming it into an attractive and welcoming package that will have buyers queuing up. Presenting the house in a neutral way for example, has proven to be an effective way to accelerate sales. We make use of decluttering and de-personalising techniques to make space for the next homeowner. We also use space carefully and add furnishings, accessories and furniture from our own collection to make the space sing.

This is how one veteran estate agent describes home staging: “It’s magical. It's beyond decorating and cleaning. Staging is about perfecting the art of creating moods. The process makes houses look bigger, brighter, cleaner, warmer, more loving and, best of all, it makes home buyers want to buy them... Instantly!”

Does Property Staging really work?

Yes it does and here’s a few quick facts to prove it… You’ll make more money and your property will sell faster - Staged homes spend, on average, half the time on the market than non-staged homes. You will make your money back - Staging can start from as little as a few hundred pounds, with an average staging investment of between 1 and 3% of the home’s asking price for full blown whole property furniture rental, which generates a return on investment of 8 to 10%. Generally, staged homes sell over 8% above asking price. Your online photos will stand out - 90% of buyers search online first. They spend 2 seconds on an advert without a photo, and 20 seconds on a listing with a good image. Guaranteed offers - 77% of estate agents said staging made it easier for buyers to visualise the property as a future home.

 

What is interior design?

Interior Design is focused on structural changes, the floor plans and functions of space within the house. It allows clients to bring their own ideas to life. Clients can create homes with their own very personal tastes and requirements in mind.

Interior Designers do the opposite of Stagers. They personalise the property to the client’s requirements, whereas Home Staging creates a neutral space – ideal for selling.

Property staging in a Nutshell.

  1. depersonalises a property and Interior Design makes it uniquely personal.
  2. helps a home appeal to a wide range of buyers and Interior Design is all about the owner.
  3. helps sell the space and Interior Design is usually for just the owner to enjoy.
  4. mostly works hand in hand with the Estate Agency industry while Interior Designers work hand in hand with the Design Industry.

Other blogs to show the power of Staging - A new developer & Tale of two House.

We hope that helps clear up any confusion but do contact us for clarification around your own home projects. We offer free, friendly and informal advice and look forward to helping.

Denise

 

We love hearing feedback about the blog, our website and our services so feel free to get in touch. If you’d like to you can also follow and ‘like’ us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Much in Little

House Styling - Staging the Home of 'the Queen's favourite'.

Thank you for visiting The Home Styling Company House Styling blog. As followers of our blog will know, we love a House Styling challenge and we also love a quirky and unusual staging commission. Partnering with the developer and a local estate agent, we spent a rewarding couple of days transforming a beautiful but empty property. We created a desirable, charismatic home which appealed to viewers and proves once again the awesome power of home staging.

 

A Home Packed with History.

Number 29, Melton Road in Oakham is not only the second oldest property in the town but this seventeenth century, Grade II listed cottage is certainly the most famous building in the region. It carries with it a story of royalty, celebrity and extraordinary adventure. The Home Styling Company were thrilled to accept a commission to stage this recently renovated and refurbished Hudson's Cottage. It was for sale through local agents, Osprey Property.
 
As the blue plaque by the front door announces, the 2/3 bedroomed cottage was the birthplace of Jeffrey Hudson in 1619. Standing at only 18 inches tall Jeffrey was one of the wonders of the age and throughout his life gamely took advantage of his unusual condition. He became the favourite court companion of the English queen, Henrietta Maria of France. There were also pirates and a fatal duel involved… but that’s another story.
 
The current owner has spared no expense in reimagining Jeffrey’s cottage, creating a unique and contemporary home which stays respectful to the centuries of history contained within. Benefiting from an immaculate thatched roof to the beautifully laid stone floors. Viewers were astounded at just how flexible and attractive this space had become. The ground floor had plenty of room for seating with smart panelling combined with characterful brickwork, oak interior doors and a wealth of interesting nooks and alcoves. It was perfect for showcasing favourite accessories or lamps. Walls and woodwork were painted in a range of muted tones from the same palette to suit all tastes and to work brilliantly as a back drop to carefully chosen furnishings and artwork…. which is where we came in.
 

Video Tour of Hudson's Cottage in Oakham, Rutland.

Add a Little Staging Magic.

 
The magic of home staging to sell a property is all about showing potential buyers just how much they would enjoy living there. Hudson’s Cottage had all the glorious potential to wow buyers but before we arrived, it was empty and bare. As with every staging commission, we carefully assessed the space. We created a bespoke plan and curated an interior to showcase the cottage at its beautiful best.
 
The gorgeous Shaker style fitted kitchen was dressed with dining furniture to show how easily 8 or more guests could dine there. The living spaces were brought to life with stylish, contemporary furniture, art and soft furnishings making them not only feel larger than before but cosy, bright and welcoming.
 
Upstairs, the stunning bedrooms were simply styled with classically luxurious beds, linen and lamps allowing their elegance to take centre stage. Likewise, the family bathroom and downstairs shower room with their understated white suites and clean lines needed just the right accessories to show them off. (How gorgeous is that roll top bath?).
 

House Styling - It's all in the details.

 
This cottage is full of surprises and perhaps the biggest of all is the spacious, newly landscaped garden which we showed could easily be used for al fresco dining. Coffee in the morning sunshine anyone? Or maybe a glass of wine and supper after work on the patio which looks out over the nicely screened lawn.
 
We had a ball staging Hudson’s Cottage. The perfect alliance between heritage and home, we enjoyed every minute of our partnership with the developer and Osprey Property who couldn't wait to help the new owner strike a deal.
 
Denise
 
We offer free, friendly and informal advice about your own home staging projects.
We love hearing feedback about the blog, our website and our services so feel free to get in touch. You can also follow and ‘like’ us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

UK Home Staging for overseas owners.

Property Staging - How professional home staging can help your home sell quickly when you’re miles away!

We’ve recently been involved in home staging for clients who are not living locally. It’s that time of year when the prospect of winter ahead becomes a reality.  We all find ourselves starting to measure our own deadlines with the phrase ‘before Christmas’.

Expat sellers depend on us to make sure their homes are in superb shape for viewings. We thought we’d share our approach to helping remote clients sell quickly and with minimal stress.

For more details see our Home Page.

Empty homes lose value.

The biggest problem faced by remote clients face is the fact that their former home is usually empty.  This can be a massive turn off for buyers in the winter months in particular. Nothing looks quite as melancholy as a once well-loved home stripped of its furnishings, cold and bare. That’s certainly not an inspiring look for buyers.  No, they probably won’t ‘use their imagination’.

In addition, we all know how quickly an empty property can start to look neglected and the moment this happens, the value can start to depreciate. Gardens become overgrown, leaflets pile up behind the front door and dust gathers. Very quickly, a smart home can appear abandoned and unkempt. Buyers start to wonder about how sound it is and pass it over for something that looks well cared for instead. Viewings dry up and agents begin to advise the dreaded price reduction.

 

UK Home Staging for overseas customers.

Hold your nerve

Desperate to avoid further losses and ‘just get the place sold’, remote vendors often settle for a price far below the real market value. Selling a home from a different geographical location is stressful – what you need is someone in your corner. Someone to care enough to show off your home in its very best light.

We’ll be your eyes and ears and the first thing we’ll do is liaise with your agent and visit the property. We’ll submit a full and detailed property report including recommendations for repairs, any essential renovation or redecoration and ongoing maintenance as well as our Home Staging suggestions. You may opt for part staging to give viewers a flavour of how your home looks furnished or go for full staging so they can clearly see how living there would look and feel. All our recommendations come with fully transparent pricing so there are no surprises along the way.

Reboot your look on line with professional Property Staging.

 

99% of all physical viewings are generated from online interest. Pictures of your empty home won’t attract buyers but staging an empty property with stylish furnishings designed to show off the space to full advantage will change the picture completely. We’ll make sure your property feels like a truly desirable home and then we’ll arrange professional photography for your agent to use online to generate viewings.

See our "Tale of Two Houses Blog" for more great examples and results of Home Staging.

Speedy sales after property staging.

Far from losing value while standing empty, a spruced up, smartly staged home can often sell much more quickly and for more than the original valuation - offering a superb return on your investment.

If your goal is to sell your home before Christmas, we offer free, friendly and informal advice about all kinds of staging projects so why not give us a call?

 

Denise and Stephen Cable

The Home Styling Company

A tale of two houses – Home Staging Bedford

A tale of two houses - A great result for Property Staging in Bedford.

Thank you for visiting our blog featuring Home Staging in Bedford and a huge thank you to everyone who has responded so positively to our posts. We had a lot of interest in the Thurmaston case study we shared last month so here’s another real life and recent example of our transformation work. This time it's in Bedfordshire.

 
This is the true tale of two identical homes. One whose owner asked The Home Styling Company to help sell their home and one who didn’t. We think it’s a great example of the power of staging. What do you think?
 

WEB APPEAL IS THE NEW KERB APPEAL!

In October of last year, Mrs G was selling a 1960s three bedroomed property in good condition but much in need of refreshing to help it stand out from the crowd. This well-loved family home was ready for a new occupant to put their own stamp on the place.
 
Moving out of the area to be nearer her family, Mrs G was keen to achieve a very quick sale. Releasing the equity in her house would leave her free to enjoy her own new chapter.
 
 Step forward The Home Styling Company team. With 90% of buyers starting their home search on line, it was crucial to make sure that photographs of the property enticed buyers. On line browsers need to book a viewing, visit and ultimately make an offer. I’m a firm believer in the essential role high quality photography plays in telling the story of any home for sale.
 
Empty of furnishings and in a clean but very dated condition, home staging was the key to bringing this home to life. Our job was to show all the potential the home had to offer and to help buyers imagine themselves living there.
 

Let the magic begin with Home Staging in Bedford.

We chose from items our expansive range of contemporary furniture, furnishings and accessories and dressed the house from top to bottom. We had a young family or professional couple in mind. Carefully identifying what kind of buyer is likely to be interested in each property is a really important part of the staging process and is always tailored to each project.
 
After staging, to replace the cold, featureless, empty rooms, browsers on line could see a spacious seating and living space. Also a family dining area, three smart and modern bedrooms and a clutter free neutral kitchen which really showed potential buyers how versatile the space could be.
We were particularly pleased with how the bedrooms turned out. The before and after images are dramatic. We transformed all three bedrooms into warm, comfortable spaces ready to welcome new residents.
 

Sold in just 5 days. 

From the first day of live marketing, the Agent reported ‘phenomenal interest’ in the property which had multiple viewings and sold in under a week for FULL asking price. A great result for Home Staging in Bedford.
The vendor, buyer and the agent were delighted and we were so pleased that the power of staging had achieved such a fantastic result all round. Here’s what Mrs G’s daughter had to say:
 
Thanks Denise for your fantastic service! We had a tired empty house that we needed to sell fast. With your intuitive design talent the house looked absolutely awesome and we sold in 5 days!
So what about the second property in this tale?
 
Coincidentally in the same week an identical property in the same close went up for sale. No staging took place and despite a significant price reduction, that home is still waiting for a buyer almost four months later. Without a doubt, the price drop will have cost the vendor more than they might have invested in staging.

Home Staging & Styling works for our customers.

Our advice to vendors is to improve the presentation of their home as part of their marketing strategy and always before considering a price drop – it’s simply an investment worth making to sell faster and for a better price.
 
Thanks for visiting our blog today and do get in touch or visit www.thehomestylingcompany.co.uk if you would like to know more about the service we offer.
 
Stay safe everyone.
Denise
 
We offer a free, friendly and informal consultation (just on the phone at the moment) for advice about your own home staging projects. You’ll find everything you need to know about cost effective solutions to help sell your property on our website.
We love hearing feedback about the blog, our website and our services so feel free to get in touch. If you’d like to, we’d love to meet you on our social media platforms too. You can follow and ‘like’ us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
 
 
 

 

Once upon a time in Leicestershire – Property Styling Midlands

Home Staging Success in Leicestershire.

Welcome to The Home Styling Company (Property Styling Midlands) blog post, this time we’d like to share a story with you.

It does feature a very happy ending BUT it’s no fairy tale. This is the true story of what happened when one Leicestershire property developer decided to invest in home staging. At least one of his dreams came true!

A property styling story.

In November I took a telephone enquiry from a property developer in Leicestershire – let’s call him Ben. Ben had just completed his very first development project and was exploring his options regarding marketing. He was interested to find out how home staging could help sell his property quickly and with the maximum return on his investment.

Property Styling Advice

We chatted at length and after explaining the home staging process thoroughly, I gave Ben the advice I always offer to clients in his position. “The most important thing now is to strike the right balance between presentation, marketing and price. If your property looks fantastic, is pitched at the right price and you have exactly the right agency representation, you have the perfect combination for the best chance of a swift, successful sale.”

How will I know that home styling will work?

Armed with my best advice, Ben hit me with the question I still find most difficult to answer…. “How will I know if staging makes a difference?”

The truth about Home Staging.

The truth is, we can never really know what might have happened if a client had decided not to opt for staging. Would the home still have sold? Maybe – who knows? But maybe not; perhaps that property would stay languishing on the market for months and months, losing money and deteriorating in condition all the time.

A leap of faith into property staging.

Ben decided to put his faith in The Home Styling Company and I am delighted to report that what happened next made him very happy indeed.

Ben’s ‘Styling Godmother’ swooped in. The Home Styling Company team provided full furnishings to all rooms complete with complementary accessories. After carefully selecting just the right furniture and furnishings from our vast stock of homeware, the property immediately came to life and was transformed from a beautifully finished shell into a gorgeous potential home – the magic spell was cast.

To make the most of the transformation, we arranged a portfolio of professional photographs for Ben’s estate agent to use on line, as well as a great video to showcase exactly how potential buyers could use the space – making it effortless for them to imagine themselves living there.

A dream price and outstanding result for Property Staging.

Before staging took place Ben had received a valuation he was happy with. It didn’t quite take him into profit but he would break even. Not a bad result for a first development project right? Of course, but can you imagine how happy he was when his agent increased the valuation by £30,000 after staging took place?

Ben was ready to place his property on the open market and what happened next was a dream come true. Ben’s agent arranged four viewings on the first day of listing and they ALL made an offer!

Ben sold his property for the full asking price and the sale was completed within six weeks. A happy agent, a happy buyer and a VERY happy vendor. Oh and by the way, the buyer purchased lots of the furnishings and accessories we placed which meant we were happy too. It proved we’d pitched the styling absolutely on point.

A happy ever after for Property Styling Midlands!

So, what’s the moral of this story? We can’t ever be sure of what might have happened but we can be sure of what really did happen when Ben put his trust in The Home Styling Company.

This is what Ben had to say when I contacted him to congratulate him on his dream sale:

“Thanks Denise you did a great job. I’m very pleased we decided to have you stage the property. I’m convinced it’s made a substantial difference and feel justified in my decision to spend the extra money. Regardless of the financial or time benefits, no one can argue that there is a tangible improvement to a staged property over an unstaged one.”

Why don’t you have a look at Ben’s property and judge for yourself?

Here are the links to the portfolio of pictures and the video tour.

Portfolio Pictures

Video Images

More proof and more evidence that Home Staging really works see our Bedford Blog.

Thanks for visiting our blog today. See you next time for more Property Styling in the Midlands.

Denise & Stephen

We offer a free consultation (just on the phone at the moment) for advice about your own home staging project, and you’ll find everything you need to know about cost effective solutions to help sell your property on our website.

We love hearing feedback about the blog, our website and our services so feel free to get in touch. If you’d like to, we’d love to meet you on our social media platforms too. You can follow and ‘like’ us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. We're always available to talk about all things "Staging".

 

Feeling Festive, Grateful and Celebrating Another Remarkable Year.

Home Staging Midlands.

Wishing all friends and clients of The Home Styling Co. a peaceful Christmas and a very happy and successful New Year.

We’d like to take a moment to reflect on some of our highlights from the year gone by and to look forward to all the great opportunities the New Year has to offer. Our Home Staging Midlands projects team have been particularly busy.

What a year it has been…. For all the obvious reasons, most of us have never spent so much time within our own four walls and the concept of being at home has never meant so much to so many.

Property is our passion and making houses look their best is not only our job but our privilege.

Homes matter and so do the people living in them, building them, improving them, buying them and selling them.

We are very proud that our team of expert home stagers have played their part in making so many amazing dreams come true this year.

Looking back to 2021.

Looking back to the start of 2021, we were busy helping vendors create virtual interiors to show buyers in lockdown exactly how rooms might look until they could visit again in person.

As the months went on and we were able to emerge back into the real world, we collaborated with builders and construction companies to create elegant show homes to ensure that clicks online turned into viewings and progressed into sales. Dozens of buyers went on to find their ideal homes and developers kept their cashflow healthy and successfully stayed afloat which in turn helped keep affiliated jobs secure.

The Ideal Magazine has some great festive content Ideal Home.

We’ve celebrated with estate agents when empty properties ‘stuck’ on the market have been given a new lease of life by our skilled stylists and quickly found new occupants to love them.  We’ve helped vendors far and wide make sure their properties stand out from the crowd when they were not on hand to do it themselves.

We were thrilled when Rutland was named ‘The Best Place in England’ for families to live and we look back with great pride to our work on Hudson’s Cottage – one of the county’s most historic homes which had been in the doldrums but quickly found a brand new owner with a little help from our creative consultants.

We’ve worked with clients struggling during the course of parting with much loved family homes and made that process a little easier to manage by staging their home through fresh eyes and helping to find a buyer to love their home just as much as they did.

 

The Year Ahead 2022.

Happy New Year & Happy Home Styling

To everyone we’ve worked with this year – the developers, investors, private clients and property agents, a heartfelt thank you for your faith in our ability and for your continued support.

We can’t wait to see what new challenges 2022 will bring and to help a whole new raft of customers make their homes look their very best.

And finally, to our own loyal and super talented crew. We salute you and thank you for letting us share your incredible skills which have combined to make us the most awesome, award winning and successful home staging team in the region.

With our sincere thanks and warmest wishes to everyone.

 

 

Denise and Stephen Cable

The Home Styling Company

Visit our Home Page to see links to our latest projects of 2021 Home.

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