b'fresh and funChanging the look of your living area doesnt have to involve buying a loadpresentationand moreof new furniture. As interior designers Anthea Baker-Shreeve and Ingrid Lavelle from home-staging company Homebase (part of the Property Pro lers network, see right) have shown, you can keep the same furniture but easilyHomebase is part of a network of companies allied change out the wall colour and accessories for a completely new look.toPropertyPro lers,aservicewhichcritiquesa property and advises on how to best prepare it for Says Anthea: If you spend your money investing in good quality furnituresale. The report not only includes details on home-that is reasonably timeless, you can then easily change the look with paintstaging, redecoration and refreshing, and open home and accessories. presentation but also recent property sales data and She suggests working in a restrained palette of no more than three colours,explanations of sales methods. especially if you are using a strong colour like Resene Lipstick. She and IngridIt includes information on a particular property target used the simple neutrals of black and white (from the chair and lamp) withmarket,andhowtoappealtothatmarket,says the pink, and introduced greens to go with the Resene Wild Thing. BecauseChristine Neil of Property Pro lers, and is often best the glass-topped side table is a neutral material, it doesnt count as a colourcommissionedsixto12monthsbeforeputtinga in the scheme. If you were using timber furniture, however, you would needproperty up for sale.to factor that in as a colour.Itsnotacushion- uf ngexercisebutacompre-They suggest using different shaped and sized cushions to complementhensive report on a number of things. We have a one another.database of services and products, like a walking home The designers chose these colours to inspire others to experiment with strongshow, including a great deal for clients on Resene shades. The trend for neutrals and tone-on-tone schemes has been aroundpaint and home-staging companies like Homebase, for so long now, it would be good to see people being more adventurousshe says.with colour, says Ingrid.Theservicecanalsobeusedeffectivelywhen When gathering accessories and furniture to use in their home-stagingrenovating, for those who want to balance their own business, Anthea and Ingrid often commission artworks to match. But youneeds and tastes but also want to ensure theyre not can easily make your own artworks, whatever your level of talent, suggestsundermining a future house sale.Anthea. You can simply buy three Resene testpots, paint three small squareChristine explains a common scenario where a young canvases and hang them vertically or horizontally. couple buy in a family-oriented area, for example one Or cover the one in the middle with wallpaper or fabric, suggests Ingrid. with a good school zone, then proceed to convert bedroomsintolargeentertainingareas.Whenits You could even use a bit of Resene Wasabi and replicate the pear artworktime to sell, the house is therefore less appealing to its weve used here, says Anthea.target family market. keep it simple The report can also indicate where best to spend (ie not over-spend) money when renovating. Any interior looks best when tightly themed, a sentiment echoed by the designers at Living Edge. As not only retailers of furniture and accessories,Property Pro lers is mainly Auckland based at present but as house-dressers for showrooms and houses for sale, they have a fairbut is extending its network into a nationwide service bit of experience at putting together appealing interiors. by the end of the year. Visit www.pro lers.co.nz. In the two settings created by Living Edge for Habitat, each has a strong themeone classic and one contemporary. They are also tightly colour schemedone in red, gold and black; the other in silver, white and black. The use of threes when it comes to colour and accessories is not an accident. Three (or any odd number) is always an effective grouping when used to accessorise an interior, for example, the three gold candlesticks used in the last setting. Resene Starbell18 |'