What they do

They will create a neutral, light and appealing atmosphere inside the house.

• House seekers will be looking for clean, well presented properties, and also need to be able to imagine themselves living in the house. This means the property needs to be depersonalised. Taste, as everybody knows, is an extremely individual thing, and if someone looks at your house and is confronted with anything too unique or personal, it is unlikely they will have the courage to buy the house and attempt to create their own individual environment.
• Advisors will also make sure the exterior of your house is presentable, because of course, first impressions are crucial.

You may need to know the difference between a designer and a decorator.

• Imagine a designer as a plastic surgeon and a decorator as a makeup artist.
• If a house needs substantial adjustments, you will need a designer with all the necessary experience, knowledge and training.
• If, however, the changes to your home are more superficial, a decorator will be able to provide useful creative advice about furnishings, room layout etc.

Another crucial element in presenting a house is ensuring a property looks spacious.

• Anyone who has ever bought or rented a property will know how valuable space is, and there is a refined art to making a place look bigger than it actually is (which, though sneaky, is exactly what you will be wanting to do if you want to impress house hunters).
• Typically, consultants may recommend the use of mirrors (the larger the better, and for maximum effect, flush the mirror with a corner, or position mirrors opposite each other), advise you to repaint (light rather than white) or suggest using rugs and lamps, preferably projecting towards the ceiling (to create several distinct visual spaces within one room).
• The importance of creating an impression of openness absolutely cannot be underrated.

Home staging consultants will also have good contacts in the trade business, should you need people to come in and do some work on the house. The experience and contacts they have acquired over their time in the industry will prove invaluable should you need to make adjustments to your property.

• Costs will obviously vary in each different instance.
• Often a consultant will offer a free initial general meeting to discuss what needs to be done, but if you want to have a more comprehensive consultation and report made on your property, it could cost you anything between £50 and £200.
• After that it'll cost you between £20 and £75 per hour for any hands on work (for example, decorating, tidying, furniture layout etc).
• The overall fee will usually depend on how much the house price increases due to the work done on the property, but you'll need to speak to your consultant about your own individual situation.
• Then, of course, on top of that, you'll have to pay the trades people required to perform the necessary adjustments to your house.

At the end of the day, a home staging consultant will make your house look open, depersonalised, and suitable for whatever the market happens to be at the time. However, as anyone who has searched for a house knows, luck plays a massive role in the house hunting game. It may be that the first people who come to visit your house love it, or it may be that the right people just never see your property, which can always happen even if it is in the best presentable state possible. Using a consultancy will, of course, not guarantee a sale, but you will be giving yourself the best possible chance, and it could be the most suitable resort if you need to sell a property quickly and you are lacking in time or universally appealing style.