Yohan May Lecture at KLC School of Design

After previous successful sessions at KLC School of Design, on Friday 26th October I gave a presentation on our Home Staging to a class of 20.

We are invested in collaborating not only with established industry experts but supporting institutions like KLC, where new knowledge is formed and where home staging can evolve as a recognised practice in the UK market.

During the hour-long session, I discussed the emergence of the industry as a whole since Yohan May Interiors was founded in 2015, I then went on to share our entire process from enquiry stage, to design process and the final transformations – as well as how crucial having amazing photographs is.

OUR DESIGN PROCESS

I spoke about the process we undertake when assessing a property and its requirements. Each of our projects is completely tailored to the property - we look closely at the location, the style of the building and the target buyer before we design the customised concept using a combination of stock we hold and sourcing special pieces, our projects are never repeated.

SELLING A LIFESTYLE

We compliment the Estate Agent's marketing campaign by shooting the property with our super-talented photographer Veronica Rodriguez. We like to create a narrative in the images showing some kind of life happening in the home - but only in the most sophisticated way as ultimately we are selling a lifestyle to a buyer.

DECLUTTERING

I have spoken about the impact decluttering can have (topic for another blog!) - this before and after clearly demonstrates that even the most basic decluttering and styling can completely transform a room. All we did was remove the excess books and created small coordinated arrangements of books our client had and added some decorative objects to balance the arrangement. The glass desk and Wishbone chair creates an open, light and inviting space to read or do some work from home.

HOME STAGING IN THE UK

I found it so interesting to hear how the real estate market is transforming as a result of Brexit and that so many home owners are choosing to rent out their property rather than sell.

Home staging is even more crucial in a market like we have now, sometimes the investment seems scarier to home owners but the stats prove that it works! The goal is to sell or rent faster and for more – did you know that a staged home spends on average half the time on the market than a non-staged home and sells for up to 10% more? (Home Staging Report, 2018). 

We are so lucky to have the newly founded Home Staging Association to bring the UK industry together and provide statistics that our North American peers have built over a much longer time.  

I had such a great time presenting to the class. They were so engaged with so many good questions! Looking forward to the next course in early 2019 to share more about our progress as a company and discuss the future of home staging!

Michele, x