Home Staging Case Studies - Before & After Home Staging Pictures

One-Day Home Staging Makeover

Take a look at these pictures of one of our 'One-Day Makeovers'.

This property had lots of potential but needed some serious rearranging and decluttering to let the property shine through.

Take a look at more pictures of this 'One-Day Makeover' and see just how much can be achieved in a single day.

For more pictures and the full story of this 'One-Day Makeover' follow this link >>>

Lad Pad to Harmonious Home

My Client, Steve, called me in after his property had spent eight months languishing on the books of several estate agents.

"Why were people not buying?" I asked. This property, a two bedroom apartment with good sized rooms, in a trendy part of London, should have been flying off the books, after all the other flats in the area were selling.

"I don't know, people just look around and go away!" was Steve's response.

One look told me all I needed to know... take a look and find out more about this Home Staging Case Studies project and how some simple injection of colour and rearrangement of furniture turned a student 'lad pad' into a stylish 'Harmonious Home'. See more>>>

Roll your mouse over the pictures to reveal the rooms as they were before the redesign

From cold & bare to inviting and warm

From student crash pad to calm restful space

Victorian Exterior with Apartment Style Interior

Dan and Carrie came to me after their property had been on and off the market for over 2 years. 1 year on the market with no offers, 5 months empty while they looked for a tenant, 8 months let then 5 months empty again.

They had bought their new home and had finally moved all the furniture out of the East Sheen property.

The empty state of the property was not helping attract a buyer.

In normal circumstances buyers find it hard to imagine how rooms could be used when they are empty. Most people find it difficult to see their furniture fitting into empty spaces. It's an odd thing that an empty room can sometimes look smaller than one that is furnished.

However in this case it was even more of an issue.

This property has narrow rooms that make it hard to place sofas and single chairs in a way that looks relaxed and natural.

The other problem in this property was the very small second bedroom. This was being presented as a walk in closet, so in effect the house had only 1 usable bedroom.

Finally the house was decorated with rather cold colours, blues and greys, this was adding to the feel of empty soulesness.

For a more detailed account of how each room was transformed
click on any picture >>>

House Lost in Time

My client had been left her mother's house, the house in which she herself had grown up. The house hadn't changed much for 40 years and so was, naturally, very dated. She decided that she would sell the house.

The Estate Agents, called into give valuation, all said that in its current state of decoration they would recommend that the house go onto the market at £135,000. They also recommended that if the house were redecorated in a more contemporary style, it would sell for more money and faster.

It was decided that this 3 bedroomed house with a good size back garden would make a lovely family home and was presented this way.

The decoration was lightened and neutralised, the rooms were given definition. A simple colour scheme ran through the house to give an harmonious feel. Particular problems that needed attention were a lack of furniture, leading to a lack of definition in the rooms. Also the kitchen, a very important room in any property being sold, was very dark and dated.

The work was almost entirely cosmetic, and could have been carried out by any competent DIYer. However Nina was based in London and the house was in Wales. The Property Coach carried out all the work in 10 days.

The Estate Agents revalued the property at £175,000. The actual cost of the work, purchasing the new sofas, chairs table, beds, linen and dressing accessories, including the labour was just £7,400.

London Professor's Apartment.

My brief was to create a modern apartment that would work as a home/office for my client.

The property, a one bedroom turn-of-the-century apartment, was dated, having been previously owned by an elderly woman. The decor was heavy and made the rooms feel small and dark.

My client wished to create a modern environment that could house his substantial collection of books and artwork and be a haven of comfort, calm and quiet in the centre of London.

My concern was to create enough storage space for every day living. Another concern was the provision of decent sound insulation to minimise the intrusion of 'neighbour noise' penetrating the flat.

My client wanted the overall feel of the flat to be neutral, eclectic and studious. We used shades of stone and taupe as a backdrop for the beautiful colours found in my client's collection of books, art and belongings.

Throughout the flat a false ceiling was installed with sound-absorbing materials, to reduce the intrusion of the neighbours' noise.

The bedroom was fitted with a wall of floor to ceiling cupboards, giving ample clothing and household storage behind a streamlined wall of light beech. A corner desk and bookshelf doubles as a bedside cabinet.

The apartment is now a very efficient, comfortable and visually pleasing space that feels both light and airy as well as welcoming and relaxing.

The living room was lightened and brightened with a wall of floor to ceiling bookcases installed. This acted as a sound barrier between this and the neighbouring flat, as well as creating a wonderful display.

The kitchen was very small and felt as if there was no work surface, the boiler on the far wall seemed to be the main focal point. A lack of decent storage and work surface was my main concern. By building a false larder, that housed the boiler and created good storage, the kitchen began to look more streamlined.

Using standard Ikea units and fittings, the Property Coach installed a very compact kitchen with microwave and dishwasher housed behind doors. The end wall was given a line of cupboards cut down and made shallower, perfect for tins, cans, bottles and spices, that normally get lost at the back of deeper cupboards.

Living Room Redesign

Loretta called me in to help her with her Kitchen/ Living room. The Flat is in a lovely Victorian town house in the centre of historic Brighton. With Views over the sea and lots of light I was rather surprised to find a rather ramshackle room more reminiscent of a student pad than an elegant living room.

Loretta had moved back from India recently and had very few large pieces of furniture. What she wanted to achieve was a relaxing room that echoed the feel of India in a modern urban way. Loretta wanted to have somewhere to relax, entertain friends and feel inspired to create her art.

I used warm earth tones mixed with natural materials like wood, leather, sisal and suede to create a practical space that was relaxing and visually stimulating.

Even in this small narrow room I created a conversational seating area, a place to eat and write or work at and a way of dividing the living area up from the kitchen area without lessening the feeling of space.

Clever tricks like using floating shelves for side tables, storage boxes that double as coffee tables and using the old fireplace as a recess for the dining table maximise the use of space without making the room feel cramped or cluttered.

Room Details

Kitchen Redesign

This kitchen was actually quite a large room, with a high ceiling and views out to the lovely back garden. The space was being very poorly utilised. An island unit had been installed that created a corridor effect as you entered the kitchen, along with the dark chocolate ceiling and wood slats, the room felt cramped and heavy.

The window on the left wall was proportionally too small for the wall in which it was set. The far end of the kitchen was a mess of white and stained wood and an ugly boiler.

The units, although dated, were in good condition but the work surface was a 70s tile effect formica that definitely wouldn't be coming back in fashion.

My client had recently re-decorated the rest of her home, but was at a loss of what to do in the kitchen. She didn't have the budget of £10-15K to spend on a new kitchen, but couldn't live with this current one.

I felt that by changing the work surface, re-assigning the units and getting rid of the 'island', thus opening up the kitchen, the end effect would be acceptable.

Firstly we got rid of the 'sauna' effect ceiling with neon strips and made good the ceiling. Using inexpensive Ikea lights, £4.90 each, we created a feature of 5 suspended pendants running along the room, making a feature of the height of the room.

A new light-coloured work surface, new taps, painting out the wood trim on the kitchen doors all helped to update the look of the kitchen. The fridge, a rather large and blocky affair, was moved to the other end of the kitchen. We cleared the work surfaces and mounted the microwave on the wall and added modern open shelves.

A breakfast bar was created at the far end to create a pleasant, informal eating area that overlooks the pretty garden.

A Roman blind was hung slightly higher and wider than the window, thus creating the illusion of the window being larger. The blinds, at the far end of the kitchen, united the odd proportions of the window and wall.

How The DIY Home Staging Report Works – A Case Study

In June 2005 I was called by Sally & David who had a three bedroom terraced house in North London. They wanted me to carry out a full written report with a view to them doing some of the work and The Property Coach doing those aspects of the report that they didn’t feel confident handling.

“We knew that we could do some of the work, we just didn’t know what needed doing” says David.

Read more about Sally & David's property makeover take a look at the DIY Homestaging service