FAQs - For home styling

 

Why should I spend any money on my house before it goes on the market?

Remember our primary goal is to make you money. Your financial investment in having your property professionally styled will reap rewards by increasing the pool of prospective buyers which will in turn drive the sale price up. A property will usually fetch the highest selling price in the first 30 days on the market. Your financial investment is often less than the first price reduction you may need to make if the house did not sell in the first 30 days.

What happens if my house sells in less than 6 weeks?

Congratulations! If your house sells in less than 6 weeks, we have the right to pick up the hired goods earlier than the contracted period without any refund as our job is complete.

What if my house doesn’t sell in the 6 week period?

You will have the option to continue to hire the goods on a weekly basis, otherwise we will be picking up the goods on the date specified in your contract.

Do you clean & declutter my house?

No. The cleaning and decluttering of your house will be your responsibility, however we will give you clear guidance on what is needed and refer you to the necessary trades.

If I am still living in the house can I use the hired goods?

Yes, within reason. We wish to keep all our stock in top condition for our clients. For this reason we will supply loose covers to go over upholstered furniture and storage bags for small soft furnishings. We will show you how to easily pack up and set up again ready for your open homes, however if you are time poor, we can come and do this for you for an additional charge.

Can I pay for your service after the house sells and my money is available?

You will have the option to pay later after the sale of your home with Elepay. This makes home staging an investment worth making without the financial stress.

Do you organise any trade work that is needed?

No. The maintenance and repair issues will be your responsibility, however we will give you clear guidance on what is needed and refer you to the necessary trades.

Is it really worth spending money fixing maintenance issues once I have decided to sell?

Your stylist will not recommend any improvements be done unless they are confident that the investment will bring a financial return in the sale price.

Will I be able to choose the furniture and decor?

No. Your stylist will use their professional experience to select items that will highlight the positives and detract from the negative aspects of your house. We will be using a fresh, contemporary style that will appeal to the broader majority of prospective buyers.

Can I keep some of my own furniture and decor?

Yes. Your stylist will be conscious of keeping your costs down and will endeavour to use any of your furnishings that meet the above criteria and then compliment with a few hired goods.

What happens to my existing furniture that will not be used?

There maybe some existing furniture or decor that will not be used in the final styled set up. Preparing your house for sale is a good opportunity to declutter. That way you will have less to pack and move once your house is sold. You may wish to donate or sell some unwanted items or you may need to put some things in short term storage.

What is the lead time my stylist needs to have my home staged ready for the property market?

Ideally we would need at least 2 weeks prior to listing your house on the market, however if you have been living in the house for the last 20 or so years, you may need up to 2 months to deal with any maintenance issues and clutter.

Testimonials

Testimonials

“Working with Emma and Sharon to design and decorate my salon was a rewarding experience! The girls sat with me and heard all my likes and dislikes, combining my ideas and vision with their expertise and experience, my dream became a reality. They delivered a beautifully designed space for my clients to enjoy with hand picked furniture that surpassed my imagination. Throughout the entire process they were easy to deal with, offering design ideas mirroring my vision and their attention to detail was second to none. I am extremely happy with the service provided by Home instinct. My salon is a place of elegance where clients feel relaxed and nurtured, simply exquisite! I would highly recommend Home Instinct to anyone who is looking to renovate, style or redesign their space, without a doubt the best value for money! I often receive compliments on my salon design. I would not hesitate to recommend these lovely ladies. Thank you Emma and Sharon.”

— Exquisite Hair and Beauty

“We would highly recommend Home Instinct for any design work you want done around the home. Sharon and Emma styled our 4 bedroom townhouse in preparation for selling. Bruce wasn’t sure if styling would make much difference to the sale. He hadn’t seen other properties that Sharon and Emma had styled whereas I had. He was totally convinced after seeing the transformation of our place. The listing photos looked absolutely fantastic. That brought a lot of interested viewers to the property. We got three offers the first day.
The styling considerably increased the final price well above the expected market valuation and enabled a very quick sale.
Sharon and Emma gave great advice on colours and design. They were very easy to work with, extremely professional and reliable. “

- Bruce and Wendy

“Emma and her team are extremely professional, easy and efficient to communicate with, which is important when time is short.
Home Instinct captured the ‘voice’ of our brand through their styling, direction and eye for detail. We will definitely be hiring Home Instinct again and again.”

- Amanda

“I asked Home Instinct to create a mood board for my young daughter’s bedroom. I had no idea where to start, so I followed Emma’s lead in the design. I absolutely loved the concept in the mood board and purchased everything included in the mood board. The final result was beautiful and on trend and will remain a perfect space as my daughter continues to grow.”

- Carly

“Thank you Sharon and Emma for creating such a beautiful space for our Airbnb in the Blue Mountains. From the get-go you knew what we envisaged for the space, and you delivered this vision with creativity and passion, and within budget. Day-to-day you were collaborative, and always available to guide and advise, making our experience joyful and not too stressful.”

- Tania Netterfield

“I would highly recommend Emma and Sharon for any interior design and colour consultation during any part of the building and furnishing of a house. Emma and Sharon helped us co-ordinate colour choices during the building process of a project home. They were able to give great ideas to blend wall paint, tiles and carpet colours with our existing furnishing while still creating a stylish, modern look that suited our personalities and taste. They helped create a great flow of colour throughout the new home. They also helped at the furnishing stage with creative, stylish ideas that fitted our limited budget which resulted in a lovely, relaxed and beautiful living space. They made such a huge difference to the joy of living in our new home without blowing our budget. I cannot recommend them highly enough.”

- Wendy

“We made use of Emma’s expertise when doing our home renovations two years ago. Emma helped us navigate through the colour selection of kitchen cabinetry, hardware and painting of the living areas. We found Emma to be very professional in her work ethics. She is a good listener, and easy to talk with. She had wonderful suggestions and advice on all aspects of the interior design. We were extremely happy with all the choices we made with Emma and have used her numerous times since to help with furnishings and an external colour scheme for our home. We will continue to ask for her expert advice in the future and would highly recommend her services.”

- Lynette

“Emma provided us with colour consultation for the repainting of our entire home in mid 2017. Emma's attention to detail and creativity were excellent and her recommendations sympathetic to our own preferences and to the style of our home. Emma took our thoughts, decor and needs all into consideration. She came very well prepared and had some fantastic ideas which we hadn't thought of, but loved! We would love to have Emma back any time as she made the whole process, which was starting to overwhelm us, so easy and fun!”

- Richard and Kristin

“We approached Sharon to come up with a design concept for the foyer of our church building. Sharon had previously renovated a number of homes and her eye to detail and ability to get it right gave us confidence to hand this project over to her. Sharon worked with an Australian artist in creating the concept for a very large unique painting, which became the centre piece of the design. Gone is the cold corporate feel. Sharon has brought warmth and sophistication into our foyer.”

- Ray (Senior Minister)

“Two years ago I needed to get a 5 bedroom, 2 storey house ready for sale. At first I thought that just meant tidying and decluttering, but Sharon talked to me about the benefits of styling a house for sale. Sharon came to my house 6 weeks before listing with the agent and identified which items could stay and what to put into storage. My family had a lot of clutter to remove, which seemed overwhelming at first, but Sharon helped me to set goals of what was to be done each week. Just before the photographs were to be taken, Sharon brought in her supply of furniture and decor pieces to transform my house into a stylish home. The photos looked so amazing, I wanted to live there! Even better, the house sold from the first open home for the price I wanted. I have recently bought another house to live in and am again using “Home Instinct” to help with the styling of my “forever home”. I am getting so excited to see how the colours and pieces Sharon has suggested are creating a relaxing yet very stylish home. I can’t wait to move in and start enjoying it all.”

- Robyn