If you’re ready to stage smarter, Swealthy Staging can help. Visit swealthystaging.com to see how purposeful staging can transform your property and attract the right buyers.
If you’re ready to stage smarter, Swealthy Staging can help. Visit swealthystaging.com to see how purposeful staging can transform your property and attract the right buyers.
Swealthy Staging specialise in both interior design and property staging, offering expertise that helps clients achieve the right balance between lifestyle-focused living and market-driven presentation. In this article, we explore the distinctions between these two disciplines, why they matter, and how our team can guide you towards a service which aligns with your goals.
When it comes to transforming a home, the terms interior design and property staging are often used interchangeably, yet they are far from the same thing. While both involve careful arrangement of spaces, furniture, and décor, the goals, approaches, and outcomes of each service differ significantly. Understanding these differences is crucial for homeowners, property investors, sellers, and estate agents who want to make informed decisions about their property.
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing a living space to reflect the personality, lifestyle, and needs of the owner. Unlike property staging, interior design is not focused on selling a home, but about creating a space that supports long-term living.
Key elements of interior design include:
1. Personalisation: Every choice in interior design, from colour schemes and furniture selection to finishes and layout, is tailored to the client’s tastes. The goal is to create a space that feels uniquely theirs.
2. Functionality: Interior designers consider how people use their spaces on a daily basis. Storage solutions, flow, lighting, and ergonomics all play critical roles in designing a home that is both beautiful and practical.
3. Emotional Connection: A well-designed home evokes an emotional response in its occupants. It reflects their personality, tells their story, and becomes a place where memories are made.
4. Long-Term Investment: Interior design is an investment in lifestyle. It is about creating a home to meet a client’s evolving needs over years, rather than just appealing to others.
In essence, interior design is about living in a space, making it functional, comfortable, and visually pleasing for those who call it home.
Property staging, on the other hand, is a strategic approach aimed at selling or leasing a property. The purpose of staging is to present a home in its best light so that it appeals to a wide audience of potential buyers or tenants.
Key features of property staging include:
1. Depersonalisation: Unlike interior design, staging removes personal items such as family photos and memorabilia. This enables prospective buyers to visualise themselves in the space rather than feeling like a visitor in someone else’s home.
2. Neutral Aesthetics: Staging often relies on neutral colour palettes, minimalistic décor, and carefully curated furnishings to create a broad appeal. The aim is to make the property look stylish yet universally inviting.
3. Strategic Styling: Stagers highlight the home’s best features, emphasise the flow of rooms, and make spaces appear larger and more functional. Small touches like rearranging furniture, adding art, or placing a few decorative items can dramatically improve buyer perception.
4. Short-Term Impact: Property staging is a temporary, market-driven exercise. Once a home is sold, the staging items may be removed or repurposed.
Ultimately, staging is about marketing a space, helping potential buyers connect with it emotionally while leaving them free to imagine living there.
Understanding the difference between interior design and property staging comes down to three main contrasts:
Interior design personalises a home for the occupant, reflecting their tastes, lifestyle, and preferences.
Property staging intentionally depersonalises the space to appeal to a wider audience.
Interior design focuses on creating spaces for daily living, comfort, and functionality.
Property staging focuses on presenting a property to sell, highlighting potential, scale, and versatility.
Interior design fosters an emotional connection for the homeowner, creating a sense of belonging.
Property staging cultivates emotional neutrality, allowing buyers to imagine their own lives without distraction from the owner’s personal style.
These differences are subtle but significant. Misunderstanding them can lead to decisions that either compromise the home’s liveability or limit its market appeal.
Choosing the right service (interior design or staging) has real implications for both lifestyle and investment.
For homeowners who plan to live in their property for years, interior design is the clear choice. It ensures that spaces are tailored to personal needs and functional for daily routines. A home that is aesthetically pleasing and practical enhances quality of life and can even increase long-term property value.
For sellers or estate agents, staging is an essential tool to accelerate sales and maximise return on investment. Staged homes tend to sell faster and often command higher prices because they allow buyers to see the potential of a property without being distracted by the previous owner’s personal style. Staging turns an ordinary property into a marketable showpiece.
By clearly distinguishing between the two, clients can make smarter decisions: investing in long-term living solutions with interior design or achieving short-term market success with staging.
When deciding between interior design and property staging, consider your primary goal:
If your focus is long-term living, comfort, and personal expression, interior design is the solution.
If your focus is selling or leasing, attracting buyers, and maximising market appeal, property staging is the key.
For many homeowners and property investors, the ideal strategy may even involve both: a home designed for personal enjoyment but with staged elements to enhance resale value.
Swealthy Staging’s expertise makes navigating these choices simple and stress-free. We understand lifestyle and marketing needs. This means we can advise homeowners on subtle upgrades that enhance liveability while also boosting market value if they decide to sell in the future.
We know how to transform a home into a stylish, functional space for daily life and can also shift it into a strategically staged property to appeal to buyers. This dual perspective ensures no detail is overlooked. Plus, our clients benefit from our comprehensive knowledge, creative solutions, and meticulous attention to detail. Whether it’s crafting a personalised sanctuary or creating a market-ready property, we deliver results that exceed expectations.
If you’re ready to move forward with clarity and confidence, Swealthy Staging is here to help.
READY TO STAGE YOUR PROPERTY?
Every interior designer worth their weight will know the virtues of great lighting.
It can create space where it is limited, open a dark corner, highlight a feature and make a room cosier than it actually is. But in 2025, lighting, and in particular sculptural and statement lighting, is one of the biggest interior design trends, and we are loving it!
Sculptural chandeliers and bold pendants are becoming focal points of the home as we leave boring, non-descript lamps and lights behind. A superb chandelier can be the centrepiece of a room and command as much attention and as many compliments as a well-chosen piece of art.
Drawing attention to a luxury kitchen island or dining table, or to a feature bath, it is time to be bold and have some fun with the way you light each room of your home.
In our showroom, we have placed beautiful Murano glass pendants from Italy above a luxurious bath and whilst people always comment on the fabric pressed between glass that surrounds the tub, the pendant light is almost always requested as a finishing touch.
In both our contemporary and unique shaker inspired kitchens, we have added statement chandeliers, again an exclusive brand to us from Italy, and a larger-than-life pendant that looks incredible in a client’s warehouse penthouse.
World famous, the Taccia lamp has a special place in design history, Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni designed the Taccia table lamp with the idea of turning a ceiling lamp upside down. Its distinctive, architectural shape and style immediately earned it a place in design history. It sits stylishly within our cinema room and is talked about as much as the film on show!
So, be brave, great lighting is an investment that pays off, and with time, chandeliers and Murano pendants can often increase in value too!
Visit our showroom for some inspiration.
13-15 Kenilworth Street, Royal Leamington Spa, CV32 4QS 01926 774764 | veritasinteriors.com
“Satori means ‘enlightenment’ and I’m thrilled to join this pioneering concept that blends the art of Japanese fine dining with the unique flavours of the Robata grill.
“We pride ourselves on offering high-quality dishes at reasonable prices, carefully sourcing only the best ingredients, and making everything from scratch. Our goal is to share the flavours of classic Japanese cuisine but also introduce modern cooking techniques that elevate each dish.”
Jacky thinks that fusion restaurants are something you’ll be seeing more of in the future, as people look to combine cultures and heritages with innovative flair. He believes social media has had a big impact on current food trends, as people are able to share innovative and unique ideas with the world, influencing popular culture.
It’s easy to see why Satori’s launch has been so successful with Jacky at the helm. He has worked hard to perfect his craft and has had some incredible mentors along the way.
“I’ve been in the industry for over 25 years, starting at just 16. I’ve had worked in different prestigious international brand hotels and high-end restaurants.
“My mentors are Stephen Doe and Felly Chung, my former bosses who were the executive chefs in my previous company. Stephen and Felly have always been there to offer guidance, share invaluable advice and support me through challenges.”
These strong role models have taught Jacky a lot about the industry, and his experience means he has seen trends in food come and go, “The fine dining industry has undergone significant changes, particularly since 2020, with tasting menus becoming more flexible with shorter options available. Restaurants have simplified their menus and some have moved away from formal standards towards more interactive and casual.
“Diners are generally willing to pay premium for a special and everlasting experience. There is an increased interest in interactive dining experiences and there is more focus on the overall experience rather than just food.”
But for now, his focus is on this exciting new restaurant, and he is very positive about the future, “Moseley Village is known for having an eclectic mix of independent restaurants and there has been a gap for a fine dining Japanese restaurant. It’s been an amazing journey so far with an overwhelming response and support from the local community and beyond.
“We want to exceed guest expectations, continuously improve on a daily basis, continuously build a long lasting relationship with all our guests and focus on delivering great food and fantastic service in an amazing ambience.”
Leaving us on a hunger note
Despite always looking to innovate and working with such a wide variety of ingredients, Jacky has a clear favourite dish when it comes to cooking for himself. “One of my favourite dishes is Karaage Chicken – a creative twist on the traditional Japanese dish. The chicken is stuffed with a chicken mousse and fish roe. The garnish is chicken and tapioca curls paired with chicken stock, which mimics the texture and appearance of chicken skin. It combines both tradition and modern culinary techniques.”
Does that leave you licking your lips? If so, you need to book your table at Satori in Moseley now!
The hottest new Japanese fine dining restaurant in Birmingham, Satori, has already found itself in the Michelin Guide and is a big hit with locals too. Head chef, Jacky Fung, brings over 25 years of industry experience to his role, aiming to provide every guest with an “Ichigo Ichie” (once-in-a-lifetime) experience. We talk to him about what diners can expect from this fine-dining establishment.
The concept of wellness in home design has surpassed aesthetic appeal and functionality, entering a space where the occupants physical, mental, and emotional well-being take centre stage.
This important evolution in design is known as ‘wellness architecture’ and not only reflects our own holistic needs within the home or place of work, but also the impact of the built environment on our lives.
Working from and entertaining in the home is now the ‘new norm,’ so creating balance and harmony whilst retaining functionality is especially important.
Sustainability, health, and comfort are all principles of ‘wellness architecture,’ this includes elements such as natural light, air quality, biophilic design, and the use of natural materials – non-toxic materials! The goal is to ensure living spaces not only meet practical needs, but also improve physical health, reduce stress, and increase mental clarity. The challenge comes when one space serves a multitude of purposes - that need to cancel out the stress we experience during ‘work hours’ and replace that with the comfort of our ‘nest,’ creating a space where there is balance of purpose and environment.
It might sound conflicting, but technology plays an essential part in wellness architecture. Smart home technology that controls everything from temperature to lighting, sound to security and even the toilet! Lighting systems can be programmed to adjust to your daily schedule – work mode and relaxing mode, without prompt. Air purification systems that deliver outdoor quality air for those at the desk all day, or for those who suffer with breathing issues.
Whether you’re lucky enough to have one room as a dedicated office, or a room that has dual purpose, with thought and the right products and design the office can be embedded discreetly into daily life. For example, acoustic wallpaper minimises the impact of noise which is so important for mental health and professional zooms, whilst bespoke cabinetry that is both stylish and practical hides gadgets and anything that reminds us of work when the day is done.
Natural light is so important, exposure to it is vital for regulating sleep patterns, energy levels and mood. Large windows, skylights, and circadian lighting – systems that mimic natural light, all contribute to wellness. Similarly, water filtration systems to include taps that purify water and serve it hot, cold or with bubbles, offer wellness and are great for cooking and entertaining.
You may start to hear the term ‘Biophilic design’ which connects occupants with nature through elements like indoor plants, outdoor views and natural textures, and there is substance behind it! Studies show it reduces stress, boosts creativity, and develops well-being. Work surfaces that mix wood with natural stone elements such as granite and marble achieve this but are also super stylish and impactful.
Wellness as a concept most naturally sits within the bathroom, and a spa-like experience is one of the biggest requests we receive - think ‘light therapy mood boosting’ showers, and sauna, steam, and Turkish baths. The guest toilet in our showroom is home to our extremely popular Japanese toilet that is both sleek and stylish and uses EWATER+ Technology which thoroughly cleans the wand jet and toilet bowl. EWATER+ is dirt repelling and boasts cleansing properties that give waste, mould, and bacteria little chance of lasting...so put away those rubber gloves! You don’t have to touch the toilet either, it senses your approach, opens and closes automatically. A heated seat and ‘cleanse and dry service’ complete the experience – oh, and odour is also absorbed! We also display the latest in showering technology. A showerhead that is an impressive 1.3 meters long and 30cms wide with four retractable wings and integrated ambient lighting. Three jet types – a concentrated mono jet, expansive rain jet and body jets with unique PowderRain spray deliver a sensory experience. Now if that doesn’t invigorate, relax, and create a sense of wellness in the home, I don’t know what will.
SHOWROOM LOCATION
13-15 Kenilworth Street, Royal Leamington Spa, CV32 4QS 01926 774764 | veritasinteriors.com
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When Old Moat House went on the market, it looked like no one wanted to take on the extensive ancient renovation project. When Olivia and Jack Munro looked round, there had been over 50 viewings and no offers, but they fell in love with the potential immediately.
Almost two years later and they’ve dug up floors, pulled down walls, re-roofed and discovered many exciting quirks within their ancient building. Olivia estimates that they are only about 20% through their renovation project, but the house is already starting to feel a little more like home.
“The house purchase actually took almost a year to getting the keys, so we had romanticised and gone over and over ideas for all those months, whilst hoping and praying we would actually get it,” said Olivia, “We knew the living room would be a good place to start as the other two rooms adjoining meant that we could essentially close off half the house whilst living in the other.”
Whilst tearing down the existing living room, they found lots of surprises, including a hidden fireplace and some beautiful ceiling beams. There were also some not-so-welcome discoveries, like broken wastepipes under the floorboards, which meant the drainage had to be fixed in the summer.
“We probably didn’t anticipate doing work of this scale, but once we were in it, things just naturally escalated and we kind of just went with the flow! We aren’t the type to get too flustered, but if we had viewed the house seeing it stripped out, we probably would have walked away quite briskly!”
The couple haven’t let it get on top of them, though, and have spent many hours working on their house around jobs, two children, their dogs and ponies. “We do it all at the weekends! Jack wakes up at 4am and works non-stop until he drops. I often collect materials on my day off so that it’s there ready for the weekend.
“We’ve completed 1 room out of 12 - almost there with the living room. So, all the other rooms to come!! What’s next? Finishing off the living room – we’ve got a library wall to build in there. Study and shower room to complete - these have been part of the living room project in terms of flooring. We will get the front entrance extension started and then we have upstairs above this side of the house to re-floor and vault the ceilings in- we did the prep work for this when we re-roofed.”
Olivia and Jack have proven that you don’t need renovation experience for a project of this size, “We did light renovations to our last house, but nothing of this scale!
“Jack is quite handy and I’ve been learning along the way. Usually, if it’s something new to us, Jack will research extensively and watch tutorials, and then give it a go! For example, he learnt to do lead welding and flashing, and did all of that around the chimney stacks. Purchasing the tools to do it was far cheaper than getting a specialist in to do it!”
The size of the project hasn’t dampened Olivia’s love for the building either, “The living room is such a beautiful space now, but the kitchen is a great size and has amazing potential, and actually the outside space was one of the big selling points - we are on just under an acre. We have the ponies here in winter and are looking to get chickens and grow vegetables again, both of which we used to do at our old cottage.
“It’s quite a big adventure. Knowing that it’s going to be a beautiful family home when we are finished keeps us motivated and enjoying the process. We laugh a lot!”
Olivia has plenty of advice for anyone thinking of starting a renovation project, “Go with your eyes wide open! Try not to romanticise too much. Having an idea and understanding of the work, or knowing someone knowledgeable is a real key thing. You’ve got to be prepared for mess and things taking a whole lot longer than you thought it would. It helps to be on good terms with a local builder’s merchant so you can be sure to get the correct materials at the right price! Having a van or a way to transport materials is definitely a high priority.”
And she’s shown most of the process on Instagram, “It was started as a way to document our journey and it quickly became apparent that people enjoyed seeing the journey too! We’ve got a great bunch of followers behind us and they really spur us on!”. Follow their renovation story for yourself on Instagram:
“It’s quite a big adventure. Knowing that it’s going to be a beautiful family home when we are finished”
WHEN LIAM AND NICI LINLEY BOUGHT THEIR TERRACED HOUSE 11 YEARS AGO, THEY ALREADY KNEW THERE WOULD BE THINGS THEY WANTED TO CHANGE.
FAST FORWARD TO NOW, AND THEY’VE BOUGHT THE PROPERTY NEXT DOOR AND ARE ON THEIR THIRD RENOVATION OF THE FIRST HOUSE, KNOCKING DOWN WALLS TO TURN THEIR TWO HOMES INTO THEIR DREAM HOUSE.
When they started, they had no experience at all, relying on family members to help with the most difficult bits, like knocking out chimney breasts. In 2017, Liam went back to college and trained as an electrician, giving him some useful skills and contacts. This has allowed them to complete most of the renovation themselves, working around their two small children and, of course, their full-time jobs.
“The house that we originally brought 11 years ago was on the market for three/four years.” Nici explained, “It was a full renovation so no one would touch it. And it was going back to when mortgages were hard to get as well. But because we knew my dad would help and it was within our price range, we decided to just have a go. And because we’ve done so much work to this property, we’ve never wanted to move.
“So, when the chance to buy next door came up, we knew that would probably be in a similar state, but we knew we could take it on and have the challenge. And make it our own rather than buy something that was ready done.”
“We always underestimate the amount of work there is,” said Nici. “I was pregnant during most of the bigger work, so I had it in the back of my head that I was having a baby at some point, but Liam was just like, ‘Oh it will be fine!’”
“When we first got the keys and we started stripping and taking carpets up and things, we just found problem after problem,” said Liam. “All the floor joists were rotten in the living room, so we had to replace those, and they were rotten because it was damp on the front wall. The walls were drenched wet through. All the plaster had to come off. And it was challenging.
“It was so handy being able to open the door, walk next door and start work. And it became so much easier when we knocked the hole in the wall and we could just literally unzip the dust sheet door that we’d bought from Amazon and walk through and then we were in our renovation and we could crack on.
And then we could be as messy as we wanted, walk through the dust door, have a shower and get on with dinner!”
“And then on my maternity leave, when baby was sleeping, it was easy to unzip the door and sneak through,” said Nici, “The baby monitor worked through the wall so I could get on!”
“The space that we’ve gained in the new home has meant we can re-do some of the rooms in the original one,” said Liam, “We put a full width attic conversion Dorma on top of the house and because of that, we split the master bedroom into two rooms. But because we’ve now got the bedrooms next door, we can now turn that back into one room. We need to rebuild the corridor and because of that we can extend the bathroom and have a bigger bathroom.”
They think they have around 75% of the renovation still to do, but they are eager to keep pushing on. In fact, it seems like fate had something to do with their purchase.
“One of the midwives who was on duty when I was born had the original house left to her,” explained Nici, “It was a coincidence when we bought it.”
“Then next door was owned by Harold and Laura who were both in their 90s.” said Liam, “They’d lived in it for 70 years or something like that. And they’d raised their children in that house and they were lovely.
“Their daughter Ann came to tell us that Harold had passed away. She didn’t know what she was going to do with the house. Jokingly, I said, wouldn’t it be funny if we could buy it and knock it into one. A few weeks later we saw her again and she asked if we were serious. We still call it Harold and Laura’s house.”
With so much work still to do on the house(s), you can follow Liam and Nici’s progress on Instagram:
Moth Home Design is a lifestyle brand, offering sustainable luxury home fragrances, gifts, wall art, illustrations, and home decor.
During a challenging time after the birth of her first son, our creator, El, found solace in creative hobbies. After spending many weeks in the NICU and critical care wards at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital over 6 months, El re-discovered her passion for interiors and design and found it to be a source of relaxation and distraction. This led to the creation of Moth Home Design.
Moth Home Design is a lifestyle brand, offering sustainable luxury home fragrances, gifts, wall art, illustrations, and home decor.
Each piece is carefully curated to blend elegance with eco-consciousness, ensuring any space not only looks beautiful but is also value aligned.
Our commitment to sustainability extends beyond our products to our packaging and business practice; reflecting a holistic approach to creating a positive impact on the planet. We use recycled or fully recyclable materials, and source the highest quality and responsibly sourced ingredients for our products.
The collection features a range of meticulously crafted items, from hand-poured candles, wax melts and air fresheners infused with our unique fragrance blends, home decor pieces, and wall art that add a touch of sophistication to any space.
Our home fragrances are made with soy wax, which is a natural plant based alternative to traditional paraffin and mineral based waxes, offering a cleaner and 50% longer burn, so you can enjoy our products for longer. We only use the highest quality 100% pure essential oils and luxury fragrance oils to blend our own unique fragrance blends, to create the perfect ambience for your home.
Whether you are looking to refresh your home or find the perfect gift, Moth Home Design offers timeless pieces that elevate everyday living.
With lots of exciting new products launching soon, Moth Home Design will be appearing at many pop up events in the run up to Christmas, and will also be in John Lewis in Liverpool from the 16th of December, where you can shop our products in person.
Sustainable luxury home fragrances, gifts, wall art, illustrations and home decor
Sign up to our newsletter and follow us on our social media @moth.home.design to follow our journey, and get 10% off your first online order. Get an additional 5% off with code SWEALTHY on all your purchases
Find more information on our website, and shop our limited edition Spruce + Clove fragrance!
If you’re hosting Christmas this year, showthe family just how it’s done with a festive table styled with care. Theseluxury table accessories will make your Christmas dinner the most luxurious oneyet!
AnnabelJames
Nothingsays Christmas like a stag holding up your alcohol! This magnificent beastdeserves center stage on your table, with space for a bottle of wine in icebalancing on its antlers, or you could make a Christmas punch!
£450
BraidedRug Company
Bring alittle romance to your table with these golden mistletoe placemats. Thestriking design makes the perfect resting place for your heavily-laden dinnerplate. And they have matching coasters and runners too, if you want to makegold your theme this year.
£49
ThomasØvlisen for Assembly Line
Thisnew line of silver-plated items for Assembly Line is less about function andmore about art and protest. Made up of recycled materials, this food tray, partof the TeDeen FumVe range, is a stylish addition to your Christmas table andwill certainly be a talking point.
£410
TomRaffield
Thisstylish centrepiece will beautifully illuminate your dining table. With anexposed bulb on a rustic sustainably sourced birchwood base, it creates someincredible shadows that will add to your festive entertainment.
£225
IdyllHome
Addthis festive garland to the centre of your table and bring some naturalelegance to your dinner style. The lights set the mood and you can easilyarrange it to fit around the rest of your decor. And when you’ve finishedeating you can wrap it around a banister. A versatile piece indeed!
£65
MustardMade
Theseunusual champagne flutes will add a little edge to your Christmas toast.Created in collaboration with FAZEEK as part of a limited-edition collection,they include bright stems and a geometrical shape that ensures yourcelebrations are remembered. These hand-blown glasses are even dishwasher-safe!
£99
Cox andCox
Nobodyever wants the cheap plastic gifts that come out of Christmas crackers, butthese luxury designs from Cox and Cox will delight everyone. As well as thecompulsory hat and joke in each one, you’ll find gifts people can actually use,like seedballs, sweetpea seeds, wooden plant markers and metal plant-shapedpaper clips.
£50
Oka
Themost festive way to display your table candles, the Noel candle holder is adelightful addition to your dinner set-up. This antique bronze-plated metalholder features glass beads dripping off the branches, beautifully catching thecandle light.
£95
ChalkPink Linen Company
Ifgreen is more your colour though, these sophisticated tablecloths are just thething. Made of 100% European flax linen, it has the perfect drape for yourdinner and brings understated elegance in hues of sage and moss.
£90
www.chalkpinklinencompany.co.uk
HarveyNichols
Itisn’t a proper Christmas table unless someone’s set fire to a fancy Christmaspudding! And they don’t get fancier than the ones from Harvey Nichols! Burstingwith sultanas, glace cherries, almonds and pecans and topped with port, brandyand mixed spice, it is the perfect finale to your Christmas feast.
£12.50
Once they started stripping wallpaper, their plans escalated, and they turned their little house in London into a luxurious home for them and their baby girl.
Imogen and Tom bought their first home together in 2020 and started ripping down walls a few days later. With no renovation experience between them, they had no idea of the project they were about to embark upon. And then lockdown happened. Imogen said, “We ended up with a house full of rubble that we couldn’t take to a tip until they reopened months later!”
Of course, they’ve had lots of contractors involved in the job, “We’ve had a fair amount of help. We had a specialist contractor to do the front of the house, removing the pebbledash, restoring the brickwork, repointing, replacing the bay window. We also hired a loft conversion company who did that conversion for us as well as some of the work on the first floor like adding a bathroom in. We hired a builder to take out the downstairs bathroom and do the kitchen renovation for us.”
Her favourite room is currently the kitchen, but Imogen says that every time they finish a room, it becomes her new favourite. “We knocked down the old bathroom which sat in the middle of the floorplan downstairs when we moved in and made a big full-width kitchen area, with a snug off to the back and I feel like this just adds a bit of wow factor to the house. We’ve just added some fitted cupboards and a library wall to the snug and it’s the perfect place to sit now. I love it and I’m looking forward to how cosy it’s going to be in the winter too.”
Of course, it’s not all been easy going. And the kitchen may be her favourite room now, but there were some challenges in getting it finished. “We had a nightmare with our builders on this project and it kept getting delayed, with lots of things finished poorly or not at all. So much so that we ended up having to get the new flooring completely replaced and finish things ourselves just to get them done. It was awful to live through as I was pregnant at the time and we were living without a kitchen, off ready meals, washing up in the bath and only had our bedroom as a living space as we had to use all the other rooms to store the things we had in the kitchen before building work started. It’s such a shame as I love the room now, but it shows how important it is to find good trades and how they can make or break your whole renovation experience.”
Imogen has learnt a lot about what goes into a renovation during the project, and a bit about herself too. “I love researching and coming up with new ideas for projects and design schemes for rooms. So much so that I’m now considering redoing some of the rooms we finished first and possibly venturing into helping others design their homes too!”
Of course, she’ll have to work around Eliza, her nine-month-old daughter. The birth of her baby girl did stop renovation proceedings slightly, but they’re back on it now! “A lot of our reno work was done pre-baby which was lucky as it’s been a lot harder and slower to get things done now she’s around! We pretty much did nothing for the first six months of her life but now we tend to do our DIY projects during nap time, after bedtime or one of us will do the work whilst the other looks after Eliza. But it’s very much a juggle that we’re still trying to get used to!
“We’ve got a long list of snagging jobs like painting doors or skirting boards which haven’t been done yet, but the only major project we need to finish is the garden now. We’re hoping to try and get that done in the next month or two before autumn. Then I’d really like to redecorate our front bedroom, and possibly our living room as I have some new ideas for these rooms now!”
And her top tips for newbie renovators? “Look for the bones of the house. If you don’t have to do a lot of structural work, it’ll be cheaper to renovate. The kitchen extension had already been built on ours, so it was just internal layout changes which have enabled us to create our new kitchen space. Consider the cost and the time – everything is so much more expensive now than when we first bought this house, so you need to make sure you have the money, or you’re willing to wait and save money and complete jobs as and when you can. Nothing about a renovation is quick, so having patience and knowing an end will come, even if it doesn’t feel like it in the moment, is critical.”
Check out Imogen and Tom’s incredible renovation journey on Instagram: @thelittlehouseinlondon
We were keen to get inside and see why it had retained its Michelin Bib Gourmand for a fourth year.
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!
An overgrown bungalow that ticked none of their boxes but just felt right!
When Louise and Vince Brown were house hunting back in 2009, they knew the exact location they wanted to live in, but they couldn’t find the perfect house. Then they stumbled across an overgrown bungalow that ticked none of their boxes but just felt right. They snapped the property up immediately and five years later find themselves knee deep in a renovation project that they admit has become much bigger than they ever expected. We spoke to Louise to find out all about the transformation.
Starting with a dream
“It was a really small rundown bungalow with a really ugly, massive fish pond and it was awful. We walked up the drive and it just instantly felt right, it’s just the weirdest thing, but never at that point did I think we were going to knock it down and take it to the ground and do what we did.”
This isn’t their first restoration rodeo, as they also worked on their first home, but to a lesser extent. “The first one was a lot easier! I’m winging it a bit.”
While Louise doesn’t have much experience when it comes to restoration projects, Vince works in the construction industry, giving him access to all the tradespeople and materials they needed to get things done properly. Despite that, they didn’t need too much help with their home.
“He’s done a lot of it himself. Obviously, we had the builders in to do the building, the rendering, all of that, but Vince has actually done so much himself. Obviously the electricians and painting and decorating and all that, The garden room we’re doing at the moment, he’s done that single-handedly himself. When he gets the time, he’s very good.”
The challenges along the way
And there have been a few wobbles along the way too. “We’ve had a few different designs with the house and to get what we’ve got, we had to dig really deep. At one point I remember standing about a meter down and looking up at the neighbour’s house and we were just stood in this mud and I said to Vince what the heck have we done?
Planning took longer than we expected, approximately three years; “It’s quite overwhelming when you do a house that size thinking how you’re going to do everything.”
A home they can love
Despite the challenges, the house is starting to take shape and Louise is really enjoying the results of their hard work. “I do love the garden. In the evening you can just go in the garden and it’s so quiet; it’s beautiful. The garden is like a labour of love – I’m sort of learning as I go on that. It’s not to everyone’s taste – a lot of people do comment saying too much concrete, too many slabs, but it works for us.
“We’ve got a big kitchen diner with the big island, with the table and a big TV. It’s a great social space. It’s nice that you come into the front door and you’ve got that big space and big window that lets loads of light in.
“We’ve still got loads to do, don’t be thinking it’s all finished because it’s really not! The spare bedroom is currently being decorated so that will be ready for guests very soon!”
And she’s documented the whole journey on Instagram. “I went on there for inspiration and saw that some people did it and so I just put a few things on there. Back in the day I’d just put one picture on there and it developed. One reel went crazy which was great but don’t be fooled, running a social media account takes time and effort and a lot of work. Don’t get me wrong, I get to work with some great brands, but you do have to put the effort in.”
Louise doesn’t see any more renovation projects in her future, despite Vince’s enthusiasm: “But for the moment, we’re looking forward to enjoying our dream home we’ve created”
Find Louise on Instagram at:
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