The Stage is Ours!

THE STAGE IS OURS!

When Melissa Yeadon, CEO of UK Property Stagers met the founder of Swealthy Interiors at a networking event, the stars collided, and interior staging magic happened!

This encounter has led to a dream merger that will transform properties and help boost sales. Research tells us that most people can’t imagine a space beyond what they see in front of them, so staging is a great way to show them exactly what is possible. Staging can be used to create a temporary atmosphere or show home. Or it can be more permanent. With turnkey solutions, a customer buys a ready-made property, complete with all the furnishing and finishes implemented.

The possibilities are endless and the chance to increase profit and sell the unsellable means that staging is on the rise. We sat down with Melissa to find out more about this partnership and how it can help your property business. Introducing:

BRINGING IN STAGING BRILLIANCE

“Both teams bring significant networks to the table,” says Melissa about why this is such an important partnership, “Our combined buying power means we can pass on amazing savings to our customers. But the most important thing for us was that our values, mission and standards were so perfectly aligned.”

Melissa got into staging after renovating her own home. “As with most renovations, we went to hell and back 100 times. But every challenge and difficulty had a silver lining – I realised I had a whole set of skills and a love for transforming interior space.”

She was asked by tradesmen why staging wasn’t her main job. With her mum by her side, she took the leap from psychology to staging, working everything around her children and creating a very successful business.

“I love to see the transformation from soulless properties to stunning market-ready homes with an undeniable ‘wow’ factor.” 

“I especially enjoy the buzz of watching properties sell for more than their asking price; we dressed a property in Harborne last year, which was passed to me by local estate agent MECS. It had been on the market for over a year with previous estate agents with the feedback that the property felt too small for the asking price. We staged it for sale and within three days it sold for 35k over the previous offer. Needless to say, the client and estate agent were over the moon!”

WHY YOU SHOULD STAGE YOUR PROPERTIES

The Home Staging Association UK and Ireland reported in 2022 that staged homes received an offer in 45 days and sold three times faster than non-staged homes in a third of cases. Every single poll respondent believed that viewings increased on staged homes and buyers spent more time looking round.

A recent report from Zoopla shows that staging can add 10% to your sale price when done properly. Melissa agrees: “Research shows us that most people can’t see past a room in its current state. Sometimes that’s an empty room, other times a room with funky carpets and clutter.

“My background in psychology allows me to stage a room in a way that will speak to potential buyers on a deeper level. We create homes, maximising that psychological aspect in our design and implementation so the buyer has that emotional connection to the property. 

“The whole point of staging is so the buyer walks in and strikes an emotional connection and can see themselves living there without question or can see the space working as a rental investment for them.”

Melissa’s degree in psychology and background in teaching the subject means she can view everything from the point of view of potential buyers. “A lot of people can’t visualise where pieces of furniture would go in certain spaces, so it helps them to imagine how they would dress the home when they move in. The aim of staging is for someone to walk in and think ‘Wow! I want this! I want to live here!’ and that’s what we achieve through our work. 

“We’ve also seen a huge increase in demand for our turnkey options, which basically means the buyer chooses to buy everything we have used to stage the property as a package. They are literally buying their dream, and we make it effortless.”

TWO POWERHOUSES ON ONE STAGE

With Swealthy and UK Property Stagers coming together, there are many benefits for developers. “We save them time, stress and money and have demonstrated our worth over the years.

“The amount of time it takes to plan, organise, purchase furniture, wait for deliveries, build furniture, organise returns if anything is broken, liaise with removals, organise vans, organise and plan labour, all before installation day! Then on the day, they have to make the property look incredible, take photos, design and implement, make sure the day flows smoothly, remove and dispose of rubbish and then clean the property afterwards. Then, if it’s a rental service, come and remove all the furniture and leave tidy – not many developers want this amount of work to do it themselves. 

“There’s a huge amount of time that goes into staging a property which can also be very stressful. They have enough stress on their hands, so that’s one thing we can take away from them.”

And Melissa is not afraid of a little competition: “There’s enough room for everyone.”

In fact, she co-hosts a networking group for females in the property world called Hard Hats to Heels: “A few of us got talking to Hayley Andrews from Property Elevator in a bar in London at the beginning of the year, saying how much this was needed in the property industry. So many females were worried about networking and having a lack of confidence walking in a room full of men, so we wanted to do something that was supportive of women in the industry. 

That’s not to say that men aren’t supportive or don’t encourage us – they absolutely do, but it’s to bring women together somewhere where we all feel comfortable, encouraged and supported. It’s a truly fabulous networking event and we’ve had some wonderful speakers.  We launched it on International Women’s Day, and it’s been a success ever since!”

So, if you have properties that need staging, you know where to come!