We are not fans of home staging a property with all-new, modern, sleek and colourless furniture. Old is not bad… Vintage is beautiful. Colour warms the soul. And fixtures do matter. And we will always advise you in favour of real-life home staging.
What we call a real-life home staging
Our projects start with an inspiration that comes from the house itself. We take into account the colour of the flooring, the type of window coverings, the style of the kitchen backsplash… and everything else. Then, we try to tiе all up into one cohesive and pleasant look.
We don’t care about trends. What sets our brains on fire and keeps us going at weekends and late-night installations is the creation of a space that feels like a real home.
This is why our cushions don’t have perfect corners, furniture is not all new and styles can sometimes be a bit of mish-mash. What we always try to achieve instead of a magazine-like look is a SENSE OF PEACE. Our work is inspired by and we prepare properties for sale, rent or living following the quote below.
“Peace – that was the other name for home.”
Kathleen Norris
Environmental psychology is still a discipline in development and we don’t understand in detail how our homes affect us. But we do know that some houses make us feel good and others make us feel anxious, like an instant little depression kicking in.
The little we know involves using all senses to create a space that is not perfect but instead – feels good. It feels real.
Addressing the senses to create spaces that feel good
Sight
With styling, the first sense that is always addressed is Sight. Beauty ‘lights up’ the brain. For our brains, beauty is a pleasure and that pleasure is a deeply personal experience.
Touch
The other very important sense to address is Touch. We don’t need to touch it to feel it. By just looking at a velvet couch, you know how it feels, because you have touched velvet before. This is why textures are important in interiors.
Hearing
As stylists, we don’t always have control over the Hearing sense. We can’t stop the neighbour’s dog barking, or the airplanes flying over the house. What we can do is add a fountain that will murmur and create a feeling of relaxation in the background.
Smell
When it comes to Smell… Well, surprise surprise – humans are as good as dogs sniffing around! The sense of smell influences our behaviour, often unconsciously. It elicits memories and emotions, and shapes perceptions, says John McGann, the neuroscientist who did the research.
Proprioception or the Sense of Space
Proprioception or the Sense of Space is the sense that helps your brain understand where your body is in space. It includes a sense of movement and the position of your limbs and muscles. People with poor proprioception are clumsy. Therefore, when you are in a room, you perceive the space around you in accordance with your sense of movement. What the space allows you to do or not.
There is no way you can convey a tangible sense of calm through virtual staging. The flawlessly styled space with ideal cushion corners and smooth lines might look perfect but does it feel homey? We believe that homes, just like people, are best when they are authentic and real. This is when we can feel a connection.
