Luxury and style spring to mind when viewing your business online, how important is this to you when staging a home for sale?
 
When attracting high-end buyers is the client’s goal, then not only does luxury and style count, but decor, ambiance, and colour coordination should always be the main focus and selling points. With the current economy, buyers have a plethora of choices when it comes to homes, so artistic home-staging goes a long way in making a home stand out.
 
Where do you pull your inspiration from when collating a design for a client?
 
It all depends on a lot of factors that come through after first visiting the location, the setting and most importantly the client. You have to make sure the client’s persona shows through the visual ambience otherwise it will look like they just ordered their mismatched decor from a catalogue. I guess what it comes down to is after flipping houses for years and furnishing apartments, you develop an innate sense just by looking at physical attributes like ceiling depth, room size, and the pre-existent furniture of a client. These mundane aspects then transform and move about in my head. After many permutations, a visualisation emerges which is then tweaked with practicality. That’s my inspiration anyway. The client themselves and their setting.
 
Designing a home is a balancing act, especially with children, how do you create a stylish home while keeping that practical aspect?
 
This one's easy. Style and decor comes second to your child's comfort and needs. My advice to anyone who has kids is firstly, to include them in any decision making process to decorate your home so that they take ownership. Then even when you put your own style or spin on an aspect that has been discussed, your children feel a familiarity that wouldn't really exist if you just plopped a new sofa into the middle of the room for example. Secondly, as a parent you know your child is going to mess up the place. What's important is getting them involved in the cleaning up as a matter of routine and fun rather than a chore. Introducing responsibility from a young age is key along with a healthy respect for belongings and family values.
 
What is your favourite piece of (Hawthorne) furniture/decor right now and why?
 
At present, I’ve had my eye on the Hawthorne modular couch. It’s a gorgeous low back piece that promises to fit easily into both small and medium sized rooms. Plush and comfortable, while being light in design and colour, this couch would definitely be my top pick for a staging or room revamp.
 
Trends come and go, are there any which excite you right now?
 
LUXURY MONOCHROMATIC
For a minimal aesthetic, this decor styling is an ongoing trend that I have not only used with great success, but personally opt for in many of the spaces I design and decorate. Experimenting and blending varying hues from a single colour spectrum offers a more luxurious feel to a room, and seamlessly combines everything from furniture to statement decor pieces. There is a regalness to a monochrome look that I simply love, an elegance that is unmatched, and I tend to create by melding shades and tones to achieve that overall aesthetic.
 
If you could choose a success story from your years in the business, which project would it be?
 
I started off learning the ropes in the family business of construction and development. I loved being a part of the artistic side and especially the designing and staging part. One of our clients took a liking to my work in particular, and throughout the years contracted me often to freelance on various projects he was involved in as well as sending referrals of his friends and family that turned into steady clients. There came a point a couple of years back when the referrals became a bit much, so I decided to streamline by opening Sybelle Design Ltd.
 
Next thing you’d love to do (in life/with the business)?
 
I have been blessed with a lovely family and a successful business, so I would like to firstly see those through. On the other hand, I have had a lot of clients ask me where I get my furniture and fixings from during my stagings. They also call and ask for advice on redesigning or theming parts of their homes. So, I was thinking of maybe starting an advice-blog on fashion and home improvement and am also looking into opening a high-end luxury store for home and lifestyle essentials. Let’s see how it goes, I’ll keep you updated!