New builds present a pristine blank canvas for a home-stager; the challenge is to create a fresh and inviting ‘home’ that stands out for a buyer. Styling homes that have been lived in before, the challenges are different. The most common issues being loud, clashing or outmoded colours, tricky layouts and pokey spaces that don’t quite make sense. Jayne Morgan is the lead interior designer at The Finishing Touches and shares some expert tips for embracing the quirks of a home to create functional, stylish, harmonious spaces.
Overwhelming or outmoded colours
When you’re dealing with loud or competing tones and patterns, you might think it a sage idea to refrain from introducing more colour. It may seem counterintuitive, but sometimes a dynamic colour scheme calls for a more dynamic overall treatment. Recently we staged a home where each of the four walls in the living area featured green stripy wallpaper, with a subtle hint of nutmeg. Picking up on this tone, we added velvet nutmeg cushions to the sofas and brought this colour into other spaces in the home to enhance the sense of cohesion.
In this instance, that little hint of nutmeg was the key ingredient to using texture and tone to balance a space. But sometimes when you’re styling a home for the market, you’re dealing with outmoded colours that you can’t use or change.
Recently, the team encountered a master bedroom with pale lilac walls. So, we opted for navy floral bedding with a hint of lilac, to effectively neutralise the wall colour.
Tricky layouts and limited space
Making sense of spaces and creating flow between them are overarching objectives for an expert home-stager. Of course, an awkward or pokey floorplan makes this a challenging exercise. It’s about seeing a space anew and envisioning how furniture placement can best designate the different functions of a space.
Where space is more confined, sofas with peg legs enhance the feeling of openness; while the addition of a round rug creates a sense of movement and lends softness. Whatever ‘tricks’ are used, the challenge is not overwhelming a space. A more minimalist treatment, along with a refined or neutral colour scheme does wonders.
And what about those little corners or boxes that don’t have a designated purpose? Again, the job of an expert stylist is to make sense of spaces, down to those odd little zones that don’t really make sense. Recently we staged a home where, adjacent to a massive walk-in robe, there was a little room with no windows. We decided to create a dressing room, to help people see themselves using this area. Where there is ample space, we will sometimes utilise corners or walls to create a home office if there isn’t one already – in a bid to showcase the functionality of a space.
If you’re looking at putting your house on the market, let the experts at The Finishing Touches help transform the interior into one that’s harmonious, elegant and inviting, by embracing the quirks and playing to your home’s strengths.