Whether this is your first design project or you're experienced working with designers for a variety of real estate services, we're happy to walk you through this or step into your already-detailed plans.
Prepare responses to the checklist questions for your complimentary 20-minute chat to make the best use of your time.
Complete the QUESTIONNAIRE and download the PLANNING GUIDE before the call.
BONUS: The 20-minute chat is COMPLIMENTARY. Learn how we think about our work from the Frequently Asked Questions below.
Please contact us if you cannot find an answer to your question.
Of course! Designing a home is exciting, and also a mountainous list of a thousand big and little decisions that all impact guest experience. We can join you at onsite consultation to discuss your project, have you review and approve the design concept, then we handle the details of sourcing, purchasing, receiving, installing, styling, and photography, so you return later for The Big Reveal when the design process is complete. It's like magic.
Professional designers consider use of color; intentional use of space; selection of furnishings, accessories, and inventory to add to the curated experience; and luxury -- matched to the architectural style, region, and function for the property. If your home is a rental, and you are not at desired occupancy, or want to up your brand game, a design refresh is a necessary next step.
Remote investors need a team of services locally to manage their rental, and a COLLETTE designer to prepare the property for the first guest. We can conduct a remote consultation and video walkthrough to discuss your project and make recommendations, then proceed as we would with any design project. Your property does not need to be local to our team -- we can manage the design project remotely and travel to your project for the onsite installation (at your expense).
Our design services are tailored to the luxury level you desire. This means we can source products from retail, as well as from exclusive trade vendors which have higher-end products that are only accessible to the design trade. We have design packages to meet every investment level, square footage, and experience you want for your lived-in home, or rental property for guests.
While we don't do renovations, we can consult and advise on improvements to help you target your funds where you'll get the biggest return, with paint, light fixtures, and flooring, for example. We're happy to custom create a renovation design package including a concept board to help you visualize and plan your project, and even meet with your contractor to discuss.
It's not uncommon that investors put professional energy and use professional services to find, purchase, and renovate property, but don't use design experts to prepare property interiors, unaware of how the design presents or could be improved. With our Instant Refresh design package we can evaluate your furnished rental and make design recommendations, limited purchases, and some restyling, to make it present better in online photos, where prospective guests compare your rental with others. Remember that better design is the way to increase nightly rates and occupancy.
As design experts we're trained to consider architecture, unique features, and location; know about furnishings and product selection; and know how color, style, comfort, quality, function, flow, space and light intersect with your investment level and desired living experience. This expertise comes together for your benefit as "good design."
Cost depends on your unique property, square footage, project scope, and the amount of time involved. We have design packages for every investment level, and can create custom packages to meet your vision and budget. You'll need to budget for the actual cost of inventory (furniture, art, accessories), as well as the fees for paying your interior designer for design work and time.
Your property might be a historic one-room furnished log cabin, or a newly purchased 5,000 square foot unfurnished modern glass house.
For the Full-Service Design Package, timing is dependent on your project's unique scope and variables, and can take four weeks, to ten weeks depending on complexity. For the Instant Refresh Design Package for already-furnished rentals, refresh can take days to weeks, depending on your project scope. Our E-Design Package timing depends on the number of spaces/rooms for design concept boards and luxury level, as well as product sourcing your project requires.
We're aware of the need to complete projects as quickly as possible, and strive for efficiency. We can estimate the timing once we know the scope of your project.
Our Instant Refresh or Redesign design packages work with your already-furnished space, restyling what you already have, and sometimes adding new products that add the greatest return on investment for better design. How quickly the project is accomplished always depends on your unique property's scope of work and custom requests. One Refresh might be accomplished over days, while another might have components that stretch out the project.
Absolutely. We can work with anyone engaged in vacation rental, short term rental, property sales, and other supportive real estate services on design projects to prepare properties for rent or sale.
Absolutely. We can work with investors that have an ongoing acquisition of properties in their real estate empire, and need a turnkey design partner that can respond to the timing of renovation completion; remote investors with properties across several states; and the investor that has a one-room vacation rental.
You can read about our 6 STEPS TO NEW DESIGN on our website. You'll start by completing an online questionnaire about your design project; review the design investment guide before our call so you can estimate your scope and project costs; schedule your discovery call with us; pay to initiate your project and meet us at your property to discuss your design plan; choose and pay for your design package and approve the design plan; and be updated along the way until The Big Reveal, when the magic is complete!
Reach out if you cannot find an answer here.
As a property stager with the Certified Staging Professional accreditation, our job is to present recommendations during a consultation to help sellers prepare their homes to sell fast and for more -- which is the reason we're hired. Our recommendations are objective and offered respectfully, and we work with you to encourage your clients to receive the recommendations with their eye on the prize. We'll always try to present recommendations knowing there's an emotional legacy attached to homes where your clients have built their lives. Your clients are not obligated to accept any recommendations, or move forward with property work or staging. But we are committed to providing an objective and successful plan for them to do so.
Don't let anyone tell you your house isn't beautiful. As a Certified Staging Professional, we're trained to provide a plan to sell any house for the most money in the fastest time. Our plan is for your property, not the property next door. Most properties on the market are not new luxury homes you see in marketing photos. Preparing your house to sell with the proven strategies from our training and accreditation will have the same goal -- of selling your property for the most money in the fastest time. That's our goal together.
Short term rentals live in a competitive market. Even if you don't have your rental professionally designed, many competing properties near yours will be. You want your rental appreciated and occupied for the best design it can be.
Staging is not designing a home for occupancy! Staging is preparing your property for sale to make it photo competitive for its debut as a listing on the Internet, so someone new can move in. Most of today's buyers want a new house, and can't imagine their lives in empty spaces. This means you'll need to prepare your not-new house to look new, with strategies for furniture selection and placement, and decor, to appeal to a broad range of buyers. Staged properties are more likely to sell faster and above asking price. Most sellers want the most equity out of their property, and staging is your advantage -- as a seller, and an agent responsible for getting the most for your clients.
Of course! We can join you on a walkthrough of your property and provide recommendations you can use to prepare your property for sale. There is a charge for the in-home consultation which varies based on the size of your property.
Every real estate project is different. A one-bedroom condo requires less than a 20-room estate on seven acres with farm outbuildings and water features. Occupied homes and vacant properties require different services; as do new vs. historic properties. An exploratory call will help us determine the scope of your project.
Have you seen listing photos where the way many of us keep our home space is shared openly with the Internet universe? How we live is comfortable and sacred, but not always pretty in pictures. You don't need to pay a professional photographer to capture your every-day. You always need a professional photographer who understands how to capture the best of your property after you've prepared it for sale or vacation rental. And with the CSP designation, your COLLETTE photographer can advise on what looks great visually in photos, to capture your property's best.
In addition to working and living in the city and suburbs respectively, we have over ten years of living in a rural area on a farm. Or, it used to be rural, but is becoming more suburban every day. That's a sad tale for another time... We understand that, unlike suburban planned neighborhoods, no rural property is alike. Each is a unique collection of land and slope, outbuildings, water features, barns and sheds, quirks and views. Photography of the land and its features are as important as the main house, if one is present. We can advise on how to prepare and stage your vacant land for sale as well so it does not show up online as just a picture of trees.
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