HOME STAGING company Lemon and Lime Interiors has seen great success with the first trials of its new virtual service after partnering with an East Midlands-based property developer on two new homes.
The Lemon and Lime Interiors team are experts in presenting houses to make a memorable first impression for potential buyers. Elaine Penhaul, the owner of Lemon and Lime Interiors, quickly adapted the business to continue to operate throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and has introduced two new services – virtual home staging and remote staging.
Elaine, who began staging homes in 2012 and set up the company in 2015, said: “With the lockdown and social distancing measures still in place, buyers have never had more time on their hands to browse on apps like Rightmove. Viewing on property portals has gone up by 500% since the country effectively went into lockdown and despite the difficult circumstances, buyers are still expecting to see beautifully staged properties.”
The first two properties on the market that used Lemon and Lime Interiors new virtual staging service were both built by developer Hereward Homes and are for sale, one through Richardson Estate Agents and the other through Newton Fallowell. The four-bedroom barn conversion in Stamford and the five-bedroom detached house in Oakham have both been virtually staged to help appeal to buyers during this challenging time.
Elaine added: “This new service is really important to the property market – during these unprecedented times estate agents needs to ensure their properties are catching the eye of buyers. With viewings all over the country being put on hold or not taking place, beautiful home staging has never been so important in the market.”
Peter Ledger, director at Newton Fallowell, said: “When it comes to Lemon & Lime Interior’s new virtual staging service, the results really speak for themselves – the images have massively helped in the hit rate for the Oakham property already. In these difficult times, we must do everything we can to elevate the online profiles of our properties and virtual staging is the perfect way to do this.”
The virtual home staging service requires vendors or the agent to take a high- resolution picture of an empty room, which is then sent to Lemon and Lime Interiors. The team use this photo and virtually fill the room with an interior design scheme and luxury furnishings to make the property looked lived in, which in turn, helps people to visualise themselves living in the property. Even better, all the furniture used is available to purchase, so the whole scheme can be bought with the house upon request. Elaine is even working with a videographer to create video including the virtually staged photos to attract more buyers.
Home staging has been proven to help generate faster sales for more money and the team are experts in how to furnish a property in order to secure the best sale price. In the year 2018/19 the occupied properties that Lemon and Lime Interiors staged sold – on average – four times faster after staging.
Elaine added: “We are offering this service because it means that developers and estate agents can still get advice and top-quality service without having to leave their homes. We can also give guidance on how to dress their homes, which will help them to get a quick sale for more money when they do come to put it on the market.”
