Elegant fashion is rarely busy. Classic sophistication requires simplicity. A truly spectacular suite at a five star hotel is designed with quiet comfort in mind. What do these things have in common with preparing your home for sale? So often, property owners want to fix up their own homes prior to listing them for sale, but they often confuse the terms ‘interior decorating’ with ‘property styling for sale’. The terms are not interchangeable. As a matter of fact, they are completely different processes bent on results that are poles apart.

Interior decorating involves choosing art, furnishings, fabrics, and décor for the purpose of making the home reflect the personality of the current owners.

Property styling for sale involves eliminating all traces of the owners and their tastes for the purpose of making the home a blank slate to appeal to the NEW owners.

The interior decorator will showcase the collections of art and artifacts the owners have collected on their many trips to exotic places. If the owners love the bright colours and bold patterns of Africa, they will be featured throughout the home.

The property stylist will, in a heartbeat, remove the tribal masks and colourful textiles and replace them with wall art depicting soothing images of oceans and islands. The tiger stripes in the bathroom will be replaced by a soft, muted gray and a collection of pussy willow branches will replace the potted palm in that same room.

A property stylist is in the business of making a property acceptable to many people. An interior decorator is in the business of making a property literally scream out the owner’s name. These are two totally different focuses and only one of them can actually snare a net-full of potential buyers. If you are preparing to list your home for sale, you should consider calling in a property styling expert.

Besides, these days, calling in a styling expert is practically required in the Sydney real estate market. Buyers who seek to relocate here are looking forward to more. They are most likely coming to the greater Sydney area for new jobs with bigger pay packets. They are excited to be living the bountiful lifestyle of the Sydneysider. So, when they look at homes or apartments for sale, they expect the WOW factor. You might imagine that bringing a big WOW to a home that has been neutralised could be a difficult undertaking, but this is precisely the expertise of a professional at property styling for sale.

You see, a neutral home is not a vanilla home. Neutral colours are beautifully diverse and can be made to make the home look more spacious, more elegant, and even more dramatic than the tiger stripes. To use these subtle colour palettes with rich accents is to invite the buyers inside without overwhelming them. The home stylist, or stager, as they are sometimes called, must set a mood that says, “Hey. I can see myself living happily ever after in this house”. It’s that connection that sells houses.

Home sales are all about emotion. Once the buyer falls in love with your home he or she will be very reluctant to let it go. The good news is that if many buyers fall in love with your home, all of them will be reluctant to let it go, which can create a mini-bidding war that can pay off for the seller in a big way. That’s why real estate agents all over Australia are now urging their vendors to hire a good property stylist well and truly prior to placing their home on the market.

At Urban Chic Property Styling, we have been creating homes that buyers fall in love with for a very long time. Before we were in the styling business, we were in the real estate selling business, so we’ve experienced this market with all its ups and downs for decades. We know what we’re doing, which is why our happy clients rave about our services. (We’re always happy to put you in touch with satisfied customers – just ask.)

When it comes to a really successful experience in property styling for sale, come to us first. You’ll be glad you did.