Interview: Sort, style and stage

SORT ! STYLE ! AND STAGE !

Tell us a little about the background to sort style and stage, how did you get started?

We’ve been developing property for 20+ years. We learnt early on to sell quickly and achieve a higher sale price, we needed to turn a house into a home and create a lifestyle that buyers wanted. We’ve always achieved a new sale price record, with some properties even going under offer on the same day they were listed for sale. This led us to create sort style and stage so we can share our expertise with our clients. We consider each and every space, both inside and out, and develop a tailored solution for the target market – this could be the homeowner, the buyer or the tenant. We offer renovation, interiors and staging services and we also have our own furniture collection. Our client base includes investors, developers and homeowners.

For those who don’t know what’s involved in staging, can you explain what this is and why it works?

80% of us struggle to visualise how to use spaces within a property. In an empty property for example, the target market will have doubts about whether their furniture will fit and how to use the spaces. In a lived-in home, the opposite can be true – the target market will be overwhelmed and distracted by the current owner’s possessions. Professional staging overcomes these hurdles. A professional staged home will increase on-line marketing appeal, will attract more viewings, the time spent at the viewing increases, properties sell up to 3 times faster and the value can increase by up to 10%.

What type of staging services do you offer?

We have two key types of staging services – virtual and physical staging. Virtual staging involves digitally editing spaces (inside and out), which is particularly useful for empty, dated, probate and partially renovated properties. In physical staging, we curate a turnkey solution of furniture and accessories and then install and stage these. We offer this type of service on a rental or purchase basis. To give our clients the highest chance of success, we also provide specialist property photography and 360 tours to showcase the property online. For those clients who want to invest to achieve a higher return, we provide a complete renovation service followed by staging.

You also offer a conventional ‘interior designer’ service, do you have a ‘in-house style’ you are known for or is every project unique?

Quite simply, no we don’t have an in-house style - each and every client and project is unique. We pride ourselves on listening to our client’s need and translate this into a final vision. The satisfaction we get from realising our client’s vision is tremendous, and we will search high and low to find a solution to meet the particular need. What do you most like about the Windsor area? Windsor is a most incredible location for so many reasons – the Castle, the Thames, the community feel, being close to some amazing walks, Legoland, fabulous entertainment and shopping. It is also a stone’s throw from key commuter links (both road and rail). Finally, a word of encouragement for anyone hesitating to get in touch? We offer a range of bespoke services that will add value to your property. To help you get started, we offer a complimentary 30-minute consultation call to understand your requirements and come up with initial recommendations to help you move forward.