Hey and welcome to another post on my blog, as you can see my life revolves around property, fashion, staycations and my toy poddle Bali!

Being a property developer, investment landlord, property finder and relocation agent means I wear many hats in the industry, I eat, sleep and breathe property! I have a selection of BTLs in my portfolio, I have done a few BRRs and a couple of flips too and I have found with them all that dressing your property can make such a difference!

This blog is all about why I stage my properties and some tips / tricks I have learnt along the way!

Why bother dressing your home?

• It looks pretty, duh! How many times have you walked into someone else’s home or browsed through the squares on the gram and admired people’s choice of furniture, the colour a wall is painted and the little bits and bobs that make it all come together? People like to feel inspired and see something beautiful.

• It helps buyers / renters gage the size of rooms, particularly if you have a small space that to the untrained eye doesn’t look like it will fit a double bed, show them that it will! 

• It creates a sense of ‘home’ – The trick is to make it look lived in but not cluttered or overcrowded which in turn can make it look small. People want to be able to picture themselves living in a property.

• It makes your property stand out from the rest. As a property finder I’m traipsing through people’s homes everyday and it’s hard to sell / rent / revalue when there’s washing up in the sink, unmade beds and just STUFF everywhere! Having a property that’s head and shoulders above the competition means you come out on top! 

• It’s a great selling point, particularly for people who don’t want to do any work to a property, or maybe first time buyers who have tried so hard to get a deposit together of course there’s no room left in the budget for redecorating. They are seeing the finished product. 

Won’t it cost a lot though?

• Don’t worry it doesn’t have to break the bank – yes we’re talking creating a high spec space but we don’t need a high spec budget. Most of my dress items come from Dunelm, Argos, Wayfair, Homebase, Ikea, Matalan, Hand M, Next and TK Maxx. I do love Oliver Bonas though for special items, I often put them in to stage homes and then keep them for myself haha!! Like this mirrored tray! If you follow the trends everyone will have it in stock from high street to high end! 

• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle ♻️ I keep all of my dress items from throws to cushions to ornaments to books to pictures to crockery and lamps in a box in the garage and I pull it out every time I need to dress a property. That way you have the key items that can be reused. Also if I am updating any of my own home furnishings I put the old items that I would have just thrown out into my box of dress items.

So what items should we be using?

Here are some of my key dress items:

• Diffusers – you can’t beat a good smelling home! The White company or Jo Malone do amazing home scents but they are a bit pricey so maybe have a look at Next who have a great home range!
• Magazines on a coffee table or a coffee table book – this really gives the place that lived in feeling

• Lay the table – I love seeing tables laid in homes, I can picture myself sitting down and having dinner there or a glass of wine with friends. You can make a feature with a nice table cloth or table runner to pick out any accent colours in the room.

• Make the bed – I always have a theme for each room so one room will be plain white linen with a pop of colour and one room will be more adventurous, that way you can appeal to everyone’s tastes.

• Bedside tables – so easy to overlook or skim on but it can make a difference to a room to add a simple table, a light and some bedside reading. I got these great metal tables for £19 from IKEA, cheap and cheerful and they have that industrial look that I love.

• Throws and pillows – Again going that extra mile from just having a sofa or a bed, add a couple of pillows and a throw and it can instantly uplift a space. I always go to Dunelm or Homebase for these basics.
• Pictures and mirrors – Make those walls a focal point! Have a bit of fun and put your own stamp on it, it helps liven the place up. Mirrors can also create more space, the old classic smoke and mirror trick! I get most of my pictures and frames from Desenio. And I love those chain hanging mirrors at the moment but some a quite expensive but I found this one which I put in the bathroom in Dunelm for just £10!! and H and M have this gorgeous gold one for £13

• Kitchen equipment – When I look round houses one thing that’s always on my client’s minds is how much worktop space there is in the kitchen. And as we know, a lot converted flats can be small, especially in the cities and kitchens have often been put in the reception spaces to free up room for an extra bedroom (just like we did here in this conversion) so again it’s important to show a potential buyer / rental / valuer the space that’s there. I have a trusty pestle and mortar (does anyone actually use these haha!!) that I put out on the worktop, a couple of cookbooks, a spice rack and some wine glasses. It’s also good to place a kettle or toaster to show there’s plenty of room.
• Plants – Such a trend right now! Plants can really brighten up a space, particularly a bathroom or hallway.

• Random ornaments and picture frames – I love a gold pineapple or weird quirky abstract objects and everyone has one of those cabinets / tables / walls that they’ll smother with photos of friends and adventures, books and little nik naks.

My biggest tip is to think like a renter / buyer, what things do people need space for in their home? From somewhere to hang the towels in a bathroom or store coats and shoes in a hallway, a side table to chuck post and keys when you walk in the door and a TV that’s at the right height for actually watching!

I know you probably aren’t going to be selling / renting the property with all the little bits and bobs in it but it just helps ensure your place is looking it’s best and stands out above the rest of the properties the house hunters will inevitably be looking at, it may just be the icing on the cake and ensure they choose yours, let alone adding a few extra pounds to the price!

I’d love to see your dressed properties or hear your stories of staging your homes, share your comments below and make sure to follow along on insta @lexiecarducci

Lexie
xxx