Charlcombe, Bath – 5 Bed Luxury New Build
Furniture Hire and Full Styling
I first noticed this luxury home being built when I was doing the school run. It was in a large section of a large garden belonging to a neighbouring house and I assumed it was being built for the owners, or a local buyer.
By the end of the summer it was advertised for sale (with a major agent), but by February it was still on the market!
Before & After Gallery
Although a very appealing property, the online images portrayed vast empty spaces without much to define the rooms being shown. It appeared the owners hadn’t had many viewings and hadn’t received an offer close to asking price so were considering changing agents. Luckily for me, I had previously worked with the new agent (I’d styled a house in Bath that she’d successfully sold), and she decided that a complete rethink of the marketing; including staging for sale would be appropriate.
The finish and quality of the property was excellent (something the developers were keen to preserve, wary of anything that might cause it to become a blemished or ‘used’ property). The roll call of rooms included a luxury kitchen, huge family living space (serious property envy!) and en-suite bathrooms for all.
However, like many new builds it had a couple of pots outside the front door, minimal landscaping, fitted carpets but other than that, was completely devoid of all furniture or any sort of room dressing.
Viewing feedback had concentrated around the size of some of the rooms and in particular the master bedroom, which a few potential buyers had considered too small. The family room was also a concern for some as they couldn’t imagine furnishing such a large space …or how to begin.
My proposal was to furnish each room. Showcasing the flexibility and potential of the property with essential but minimal furniture in the bedrooms, and emphasis given to the master bedroom and family room. It was agreed that artwork would not be hung/used so as not to mark the walls and to preserve the property’s new build status. Luxury touches would be added to all the bathrooms.
The size of the master bedroom was to be addressed by staging with a king-size bed, to show the room potential with a large bed, along with additional furniture, deluxe bedding, various accessories and tall bedside lamps to define the room as bedroom 1 or ‘the master bedroom’.
The house re-launched a couple of weeks later, with fresh, stylish rooms, new (professional) marketing images, an elegant brochure and a much more proactive agent.
In less than 8 weeks the property had exchanged and for just a fraction under the original asking price!