The importance of dressing a property for sale
Maximising the value of your property is the first and most important thing to consider when you decide to sell your home. Unsurprisingly, in this competitive market, this goes beyond repainting the walls the same shade of magnolia they’ve been for the last 30 years and popping a fresh loaf in the oven. Cue property staging, the art of showing any property in its best light by dressing it with furniture, artwork, accessories and even books. The tried-and-tested principle proves that giving your home a last-minute makeover before it goes on the market will help it to sell, quicker, and for a better price.
Our property staging arm of Kelling Designs, KD2, takes on projects of this kind, producing interior schemes that are vibrant, sophisticated and dynamic. KD2 was established to provide furniture staging services including show homes, as well as acting as a design consultancy for estate agents. The property world is truly our world, and our property staging clients across agents, developers and private clients trust us to respond with stunning, budget-smart solutions that add value at every level. So, read on to find out some tricks of the trade…
COLOUR ME IMPRESSED
Colour is a huge part of our design DNA at Kelling Designs, and our schemes, be they full residential design projects or property staging commissions. We always begin with colour, creating tasteful, impactful palettes to win buyers over at first sight. We believe it’s a myth that blandifying your property will help it sell; while it’s true that some buyers like to see a blank, boring slate, we think it pays to bring colour into the mix, accentuating and elevating each room to tell a story about what it might be like to live there.
For property staging projects, we like to work with a palette of muted, knocked-back jewel tones, lending a considered, luxury feel to each room. Yale blues and golden mustards make for particularly elegant contrasts in staging schemes, giving an established feel to a space.
A POP OF PERSONALITY
Bringing in texture and detail with artworks, accessories and soft furnishings is crucial for giving your property a hint of personality. Using your colour scheme as a loose guide to source such items will give each room a curated feel, but it’s important not to get too hung up on ‘matching’ colours exactly. This can have an inverse effect, minimising the unique, lived-in feel and producing instead a soullessness that can put buyers off.
Opt for abstract art for dashes of expressive, textural interest. Pleated lampshades and statement lamp bases also work to create an appealing sense of symmetry in a room, be they on either side of an imposing mantelpiece or a pair of bedside tables. Quirky objet d’art like vintage ceramics, sculptural vases or bowls also make great decorative touches to give potential buyers a sense of how their belongings might look in situ.
STAGING WITH A TWIST
Aesthetics are undeniably the most important part of home staging, but visitors and potential buyers also feel the influence of sound and fragrance. These powerful elements can dramatically alter the mood of a property, providing a sense of what it might be like to live within these walls. Notes of fresh citrus are most successful if you are using diffusers or room sprays, but fresh, fragrant flowers like hyacinth are equally uplifting.
Where music is concerned, opt for an instrumental playlist that doesn’t distract from the viewing experience. Music in a major key will create a positive, compelling and inspiring atmosphere, while songs in a minor key will give your home a more sombre mood. For urban properties, why not consider some coffee shop-style jazz, recorded live at a local haunt? Country properties could benefit from some light classical music or even a simple piano piece.
