Gold Coast stylists share their tips to help you sell your home for top dollar
Investing $3,500 in professional styling before putting your home on the market could add $100,000 to the sale price. Meet the experts who can help you pull it off.
Property
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Homeowners selling the Gold Coast dream to eager house hunters are turning to stylists to add up to $100,000 or more to the sale price of their property.
Gold Coast Property Styling director Meg Ritchie said the service also helped vendors bag a fast sale by creating an enticing visual aesthetic throughout the home and prompting an emotional response in buyers.
Home styling packages range in price from $3,500 to $8,000.
Ms Ritchie has seen the industry evolve over 20 years, with styling to present a home for sale now considered an essential element of a successful marketing campaign by real estate agents and owners alike.
“I used to bang on agents’ doors to persuade them to stage their properties – now agents come to us,” Ms Ritchie said.
“Vendors realise that staging will create more interest in their property and so give them more buyer potential.
“The industry is now taken seriously. Results are proven and no longer a myth. Not only is their property more desirable but it is also worth more money,” she said.
The service is also increasingly popular with interstate or expat homebuyers who may be restricted by border closures from visiting their newly purchased property; or simply by homeowners seeking a professional eye to refresh their living space.
We’ve asked six of the best property stylists in the city to share their top styling tips.
JESSICA BALL and SONYA HARWARD
Design Eleven Co.
Instagram: @designelevenco
What makes a good stylist?
We think a good stylist works on highlighting the home’s best features. Styling is about bringing together an array of beautiful furniture and decor selected from an array of suppliers. Research is key to finding a mix of functional and architectural pieces layered together.
Your favourite project to date?
It’s really hard to pick a favourite project. To be honest sometimes it’s the smallest and oldest homes that are the favourites because the transformation can be so rewarding. We have had owners in tears of happiness when they first see the home after the styling. When we get to see their faces as they walk in it is priceless and heartwarming.
The most lavish project you have worked on to date?
This is a hard question. We have worked on many beautiful homes. In terms of property styling for sale, the most lavish home to date would have to be 12 Freyburg St, Sorrento. This home got a lot of attention and looked incredible. 88 Clear Island Rd, Broadbeach Waters; 160 Oxlade St, Newfarm; and 16 Michel Dr, Currumbin also got a huge amount of attention.
What are you working on currently?
We are currently working on a very famous tennis star’s new forever home which is exciting. Our clients’ privacy is important … so we won’t tell!
Your personal interior style?
We personally love a travelled vibe home, a home with personality, integrity and style. We love an interior space that feels like home with a selection of collected special pieces that are really important to us.
What’s your best tip for styling your home?
Styling your home to live in is very different to styling a property for sale. Style with things you love. Don’t buy something just because it’s in fashion, rather, wait for those special things to come along that make you smile and feel good when you look at them. With people spending more time at home these days, they seem to be placing a lot more effort into making their living spaces shine, feel good and reflect who they are. This is really great to see, because if your surrounds and spaces you live in change the way we feel in a positive way it’s going to be a good day!
MEG RITCHIE
Gold Coast Property Styling
goldcoastpropertystyling.com.au
Instagram: @gcpropertystyling
What makes a good stylist?
One who can create a look that buyers fall in love with and want to purchase! Especially when you have minimal stock.
Your favourite project to date?
Project 4A – a super yacht valued at $15m.
The most lavish project you have worked on to date?
The super yacht, and my favourite property would have to be 22 Grevillia St, Southport which we just staged. I fell in love with the fitout, it was my dream home.
What are you working on currently?
We have a few projects coming up, in Logan, Ashmore and Ormeau. They are all standard homes but the vendors believe in the staging concept to get them the highest price.
Your personal interior style?
We can work with any style. I think that makes us different. We also use many colours, again not sticking with one particular colour palette. I don’t style with anything I don’t love, so when I see new stock in a property, I get goose bumps because I genuinely love it.
What’s your best tip for styling your home?
Pare back and aim to be cohesive throughout, using colour and pieces. That is the easiest DIY tip. Stylists don’t have to be cohesive, that’s why we do what we do, we know how to bring looks/ styles together to make them work.
KYLIE KIMBERLEY
Paradise Interiors
Instagram: @paradiseinteriors_goldcoast
What makes a good stylist?
When styling a home for sale, a professional who styles a home to not only showcase features within a home, but also emotionally engage buyers. We understand styling is best when layered and interesting, combined with unexpected moments. These factors capture the buyer’s attention and we have seen exceptional results with our styled properties, using these principles.
Your favourite project to date?
We have been privileged to style some extraordinary homes on the Gold Coast and really struggle to name a favourite. However, we really enjoy the transformations that we make
to our clients’ homes, the value that we add and their reactions to our styling. We are also thrilled when our clients sell for well above expectations, which is a team effort, but one we are always excited to be a part of.
The most lavish project you have worked on to date?
The WOW house in Tallai, a multimillion dollar property which sold recently.
We have styled several multimillion dollar properties all over the Gold
Coast.
What are you working on currently?
As always, we have several projects underway, including styling for sale a stunning new build in Riverstone Crossing, Maudsland, a renovated dual living property in Coomera Shores, a large four-bedroom penthouse in Broadbeach and also sourcing and furnishing a brand new property in Biggera Waters for an interstate client, along with several other properties across the Gold Coast that we are styling for sale.
Your personal interior style?
I am a professional stylist, so my personal tastes change regularly. Currently though, I am enjoying very high-end pieces with accents of caramels, blacks and bronze. I
am partial to leopard prints and my current favourite furniture piece is a velvet leopard tub chair.
What’s your best tip for styling your home?
Leave it to the professionals! Trust your stylist and trust the process. At Paradise
Interiors we style to sell, we add value and our clients are constantly achieving premium prices in their neighbourhood and selling very quickly. In the current market, a large proportion are selling prior to auction.
CLAIRE BALL
Look Property Styling
Instagram: @lookpropertystyling
What makes a good stylist?
Attention to detail, knowing what style and colours will suit each property and potential buyers, size and scale of furniture, and be prepared for lots of ironing.
Your favourite project to date?
The Oaks Penthouse, Surfers Paradise
The most lavish project you have worked on to date?
40 Knightsbridge Pde West, Sovereign Islands
What are you working on currently? Installs at Miami, Hope Island, Broadbeach and Mt Nathan
Your personal interior style?
Neutrals with black and greens
What’s your best tip for styling your home?
Sometimes less is more. Artwork and cushions can completely change a room pretty much instantly. Greenery and flowers work wonders and no clutter and mess.
SHAREE GLASER
Salty Daze Styling
Instagram:@saltydazestyling
What makes a good stylist?
To be versatile. Being able to adapt to variety of homes.
Your favourite project to date?
My own renovations. I’m completely in control of all the decisions.
The most lavish project you have worked on to date?
A beautiful Spanish home in Tallai. I personally adore the Spanish revival architecture with arched windows and doors.
What are you working on currently?
A small renovation in Burleigh Waters for interstate vendors. Once complete the home will be styled and ready to market.
Your personal interior style?
I’m quite eclectic — loads of layers, textures and patterns.
What’s your best tip for styling your home?
Choose what you love; it’s your home. Engage a stylist to help you pull it all together.
ELEESHA QUINN
The Quinn Girls
Instagram:@the.quinn.girls
What makes a good stylist?
A good stylist is someone who can unlock a project’s full potential, making an aesthetically pleasing space that not only looks beautiful but is also very practical.
Your favourite project to date?
I still love the girls’ Hamptons cubby house. The fake stone fireplace, hanging chair over the deck, string lights over the pergola … it really is a dreamy little space to hang out.
The most lavish project you have worked on to date?
Definitely our current renovation. It’s taken a lot longer than anticipated, but we are so excited to share the end result.
What are you working on currently?
I have recently partnered with property developer Stockland on their Dreamcatcher platform, which is a glorious online interior design tool entirely filled with inspiration for those who are looking to begin their styling journey. I found that Dreamcatcher was the perfect way to find a style that suits me before I committed to styling my space!
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From using the Dreamcatcher tool, I now know that my style DNA is 65 per cent Coastal and 35 per cent Hamptons which helped me to better understand my interior style and to achieve the Coastal/Hamptons home of my dreams. I think there’s something just so quintessentially wonderful about coastal styling and the way it makes you feel, reminiscent of long lazy afternoons by the beach — lush.
I just love styleboards as they’re so helpful in sourcing your inspiration and direction if you’re not 100 per cent sure of what you want.
Your personal interior style?
I love a contemporary coastal interior, the mix of modern lines and fixtures together with the relaxed vibe of coastal furniture and textures.
What’s your best tip for styling your home?
Find styles that make you feel good. Interior trends will come and go, so I always like to style a home to suit your personality and lifestyle. Find your colour, texture, tone and sizes first. Don’t be afraid to mix and match themes to show off your personality. Create a vision board of all your favourite interior images and styles, hang sample textures and colours. You’ll soon find certain styles and looks coming through and find what does and doesn’t work together.
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