Christmas is my favourite time of year, and I absolutely love festive decorating.  Twinkling fairy lights and greenery bring a touch of magic to the home, no matter what your style is.  We decided to style two room sets for this post.  For the first one, we went with a very Scandinavian theme – lots of white patina in the form of gorgeous reclaimed doors, and antique skis, hide rugs, fake fur throws and chunky knit throws for rustic cosiness.  The stunning barn star looks absolute gorgeous as a focal point above the mantelpiece, which I simply covered with a lush greenery garland and fairy lights.  On the vintage chest of drawers I put together an elegant yet quirky vignette using mini Christmas trees, huge rustic pine cones stacked in a basket, and fairy lights in a large glass dome.

For the second room set, we decided to go for white and lots of deep, rich red for a touch of Nordic elegance.  We hung these amazing vintage antlers above the fireplace, and laid out a beautiful table for lunch using lots of red accessories – table runner, glasses and vintage baubles.  We made a simple but pretty table setting using brown kraft labels tied to a cinnamon stick and a bauble with twine, and for a striking table centrepiece, more antlers.

I put together a sweet vintage vignette with lots of colourful glass baubles displayed en masse on antique pewter plates or hung on a simple white tree (DIY a similar tree by foraging for twigs and smalls branches, painting them white and sitting them in a large, heavy bottomed vase.  Put sand in the bottom of the vase to keep your branches steady).  Beautiful old Christmas cards are displayed by using mini pegs to attach them to a twine washing line hung across a mirror, for a whimsically pretty display.

I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas, and look forward to sharing more styling ideas with you in 2017!

Tamsyn

 

 

 

 

I was delighted to go back to Home Stagers and run riot again with the glorious props and furniture the warehouse is stacked to the rafters with!  For my first room set, I decided to go crazy with floral patterns and colour.  The stunning canvas is digitally printed from the original artwork  by local fabric designer and artist Carol Lake. It is available by the metre and is fabulous for upholstery projects, but we decided to hang it on the wall, it would make a gorgeous focal point in a dining room or sitting room.  I stacked cushions in vibrant shades on the side table to add texture, and the club chair was brightened with the addition of a sumptuous velvet cushion in Swaffer fabric.

 

I went with rich berry shades for my second room set.  As the winter approaches, it is comforting to surround oneself with deeper, richer colours, and to layer up a sofa with textured throws, blankets and cushions.  Think ruffles, pleats and embroidered detail.  I love these shades of purple – add some lilac into the mix to keep it from looking too heavy.  The dried hydrangea heads on the wicker trunk add a touch of rustic prettiness.

 

I’m very much looking forward to coming back to Home Stagers very soon to put together some Christmas room sets and styling ideas!

Tamsyn

 

I was really honoured when Collette asked me if I’d like to come and style a couple of room sets for

the Home Stagers blog. It’s not every day that I’m given free reign in a warehouse packed full of

gorgeous furniture, accessories, wall art and textiles to play around with as I please. I was like a

child in a sweet shop!

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Unsurprisingly, Spring is traditionally our busiest time of the year and this year it’s certainly no exception!  This year we have received an extraordinary number of enquiries from far and wide around the world! February has seen a wide variety of properties “Staged to Sell” including a new riverside development in a pretty Essex village, a contemporary two bedroom flat in the eye catching Tibbenham House project in Norwich, a beautifully charming period cottage in North Norfolk, to a stunning high end, very individual, new build on the coast! All these properties are unique, very different with each design tailored to suit the architecture, the potential target market and of course, enabling the estate agents to market …extensively!

Spring is undoubtedly my favorite season, with everything shooting to life again, we can enjoy finer weather and longer days, it is just a perfect time of the year with all the promise of Summer to come! Even though the property market now appears to be continuously busy it also seems to spring to newly invigorated life with the longer days and typically has a buzz around Spring to capture the maximum number of viewings when families are together over the Bank Holidays.  There is, from our experience, always a headlong rush to be market ready for Spring and this year seems it is already exceeding expectation.

If you too, are considering a move or simply looking to wake up your interiors, here are a few of our top tips to consider; Freshen your interiors with a wake up white like Farrow and Ball’s wonderful “All White” a very ‘White Company’ shade and arguably the best and purest white. For those who love colour try chalky soft pastels and accents of sunshine yellow. Vibrant greens are very on-trend and always look incredibly fresh and full of energy, it’s a colour that works fantastically well in both contemporary and traditional homes. Keep your eyes peeled for new collections; there are some beautiful fabrics around to choose from, we particularly like Susie Watson’s snowdrop designs from their English garden range, perfect for Spring in the country.

Fresh tulips and clay pots full of spring bulbs are simply lovely for bringing the outside season in and look delightful. Given time, I love to pot up my collection of vintage china terrines with delicate paper whites, it really lifts the spirit! However, not that there is much time to wander through the daffodils at the moment, we have some incredibly exciting projects lined up, including a passive eco house in Suffolk with stunning rural views, and the most fantastic project in Belgravia!

Happy New Year to all of our friends; old and new!

For the Home Stagers team January has become firmly established as one of the busiest months of the year. We have a number of exciting projects to start the year running along side our usual round of trade shows and much anticipated launches of new design collections to preview.  The start of the year for me is always an exciting prospect, it offers the opportunity to review the previous years endeavours and ambitiously plan ahead for the year to come!

“Staged to Sell” by Home Stagers the designer house in Fulham

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There is no escaping it, Christmas is coming! Decorating your home to create a gorgeous festive welcome for family and friends adds that extra special sparkle to the atmosphere, but the big question is “Does it always work if you are marketing your home through the holidays?”   Too many decorations can be distracting and no decorations at all could look spiritless!

While there are many vendors who prefer not to list their home over Christmas, many estate agents will agree that most prospective buyers they meet at this time of the year tend to be serious buyers, on a mission! At Home Stagers we would concur, over the last few years we have seen several of our show homes sell over the festive period. So what are the do’s and don’ts of “Staging to Sell” your home over Christmas? Here are a few of our tips:

• Do create a charming festive greeting at the front door with a pretty, natural wreath or a bough of fresh greenery will always look inviting.
• Don’t go overboard with large flashy inflatable decorations and lights.
• Do create a warm welcome in the hallway, a simple green natural garland running up the stairs will look stunning.
• Do keep decorations classy and subtle and, if possible, stick with a complimentary colour palette that enhances your décor.
• Don’t over decorate the interior; the bedrooms and bathrooms really do not need trimming!
• Do use natural elements; pine cones, dried orange slices, natural pine branches and gathered greenery from the garden, these are cost effective, fragrant and undoubtedly look very festive and stylish.

At Home Stagers we aim to maximise appeal to the broadest target market when staging properties for sale, whatever the time of the year. We compliment the style of the architecture to meet and exceed the expectations of buyers.

In any season we advise our clients to promote the property’s full potential, and at this time of the year it is fundamentally important to create a warm and inviting atmosphere. This key point is valid for modern and period properties either in the city or country.

Visual warmth can be defined by the clever use of colour, and texture in the decor and even more crucially; excellent lighting. However, physical warmth has a profoundly psychological effect, a comfortably warm property will undoubtedly feel more welcoming and homely. If you happen to have an open fire or a wood burner, use it to full potential, gather a Yule log…this is definitely your WOW factor in winter!

 

  

 

HOME STAGERS have been shortlisted in the Intelligent Design category of this year’s SBID International Design Awards.

Home Stagers, a local business, in their 15^th year, “Stage to Sell” properties all over the UK for Estate Agents, Developers and Home Sellers.

The Park Gate Development in Ipswich for developers Landex has been selected as one of the qualifying projects by a technical panel of judges in the first stage of the process. The public are now invited to cast their votes for their favourite entries at www.sbidawards.com, as their votes will be counted towards the overall results.

If you know or have worked with Home Stagers and would like to Vote just click http://internationaldesignexcellenceawards.com/finalist/park-gate where you can find the “Vote for this Finalist” button at the bottom of the page

SBID has firmly established this annual occasion as one of the most prestigious recognitions of design excellence in the interior design industry and the increased volume of entries this year has resulted in the biggest selection of finalists to date!

The 14 categories range from best Healthcare Design, Retail Design and Intelligent Design to best KBB Project, Public Space and Visualisation. The closing date for the public voting will be on Friday 18 September 2015 at 5.30 pm GMT.

The winners will be announced and awarded with the crystal SBID International Design Awards 2015 trophy at the official ceremony, held at The Dorchester hotel London on Friday 27 November 2015. An overall winner Award will also be awarded to the project that comes out on the top after an amalgamation of the judge’s choices and the public votes have been considered.

VIPs and a distinguished panel of sponsors including ABB, Natuzzi Italia, Maison & Objet, Wools of New Zealand, the Stone Federation and Sans Souci Glass Deco will attend the annual afternoon tea at the House of Lords in November 2015.

The judges this year included Lewis Carnie, Head of Programmes at BBC Radio 2 & 6; Sir Michael Dixon, Director at the National History Museum, London and Kevin Mau, Senior Creative Director at The Boeing Company; Ben McOwen Wilson, Director of Content Partnerships at YouTube; Jane Preston, Facilities Manager UK, Real Estate & Workplace Services at Google; David Lewis, Managing Director of Sunseeker London; Carolina Calzada, Managing Director at Global Color Research; Patrick Taylor, Managing Director of Taylist Media; Theresa Dowling, Editor, Group Editorial Director for Progressive Market Intelligence (FX, Blueprint) and Robert Hudson, Chief Executive of the National Association of Shopfitters.

All of the winners and finalists will be featured in the Global Interior Design 2015 coffee table book.

 

  

– ENDS –

The SBID International Design Awards has come to be regarded as one of the highest accolades in the interior design industry. Each category undergoes an exclusive two-tier judging process by panels of leading industry experts for both technical content and aesthetic creativity and evaluates elements such as brief compliance, budget, health & safety, and fit-for-purpose design. The past Awards received entries from over 30 countries, across 5 continents around the world.

The winners will benefit from extensive media and social media exposure throughout the year as well as the right to use the ‘SBID Winner 2015′ logo on their website. They will also have the opportunity to network with top design professionals and potential clients and will receive the crystal SBID Awards 2015 trophy at the ceremony. Shortlisted entrants will also receive media and social media exposure and the right to use the ‘SBID Finalist 2015′ logo.

About SBID (Society of British International Design)

The Society of British and International Design (SBID) is the professional accrediting organisation for the interior design industry in the UK supporting the interests of interior designers and manufacturers by guiding and measuring the profession’s trading standards through practice, competence and education.

The organisation supports the profession locally, nationally and internationally and is part of a global network of 50,000 designers who are professionally accredited. SBID is the British organisation selected by the 16 nation members of the European Council of Interior Architects and the NCIDQ in the USA and Canada to represent their professional accreditation standards in Britain.

www.sbid.org

For additional media information or pictures please contact:

Jacqui James, Marketing, PR & Communications Manager

T: 020 7738 9383 E: pr@sbid.org  W: www.sbid.org