Dress To Sell Speeds Up Sale of Prime Property

The Pool House at Oversley Castle Estate is a stunning, one-off home, so when Piers Daniell, the entrepreneur behind its transformation, came to put it onto the market, he wanted the interior design to show the property off at its best. He chose to use furniture rental services from Roomservice by CORT to dress the Pool House, which helped sell the property quickly and achieve its full £3million asking price. Renting furniture was a much more practical solution than buying it and gave access to Roomservice’s extensive ranges of furniture and in-house interior design services. The Pool House is an impressive, contemporary five-bedroom residence set in the private 40-acre Oversley Castle Estate near Stratford upon Avon. With around 7,500 sq ft of sumptuous living accommodation and sweeping views of the surrounding countryside, it was designed on a grand scale. In July 2019 when the build was complete, Piers Daniell enlisted the help of Roomservice by CORT to fully furnish the property in a way that would help capture the imagination of prospective purchasers and in turn maximise the sale price. Piers Daniell comments: “We know that the Pool House is very special but we wanted it to really stand out when it went onto the market. Choosing to rent furniture was the clear solution – it is such a large property that it would not have made sense to buy the furniture needed to dress it, and we could leave it in the capable and experienced hands of Roomservice by CORT’s in-house interior designer to choose the furnishings. The result has made a huge difference in bringing the property to life, showing how the space could be used and helping to sell the high-end lifestyle that is on offer at Oversley. So much so that it was actually the first person to view the property that went on to buy it and what is more they have also purchased some of the furniture provided by Roomservice, as it really looks like it was meant for space.” The Pool House is the conversion of the castle’s former swimming pool building, crafted from traditional brick and stone, with a contemporary green oak frame housing expansive floor to ceiling glazing. The overall design effortlessly blends old and new styles with features such as exposed timber beams, vaulted ceilings and direct access to terraces and gardens. To complement the architecture and style, Alison Finegan, the interior designer at Roomservice by CORT who devised the furnishing scheme, chose contemporary high-end furniture featuring natural finishes such as wood and leather to help soften the look and tie in with the building’s natural setting. Alison Finegan, comments: “With such a vast property where the floor space is so generous it can be hard to make sense of an empty space. Adding furniture helps scale the interior space and divides it into different zones so it doesn’t feel overwhelming. The Pool House has amazing views and beautiful gardens, so we wanted to achieve a look that would link with that, using a natural colour palette with green accents in some of the soft furnishings.” The items chosen for the Pool House all came from Roomservice by CORT’s extensive range of over 300 lines of furniture. Renting furniture is a more cost-effective and convenient way for a vendor to furnish a property with premium quality furniture in the most up to date styles. It avoids the heavy capital outlay of buying furniture, as well as the hassle of moving and storing it, as well as the potential environmental cost when it is no longer needed and potentially ends up in the landfill. Piers is no stranger to making shrewd business decisions to capitalise on his assets. A true entrepreneur since his teenage years, he first made his mark in the IT industry. He founded property company Oversley through which he is bringing back to life historic buildings on the estate including the castle itself and transforming them into premium homes for 21st-century living. His portfolio of interests also includes businesses focusing on energy and political events. Piers concludes: “Working with Roomservice by CORT was very convenient and they came up with a perfect furnishings to dress the Pool House. Their professional installation team dressed the property quickly and efficiently and took away what was not needed at the end. For me, it was more straightforward either than commissioning a bespoke interior design service or purchasing the furniture ourselves and I would definitely use this service again.”   Tim Harling, Field Sales Manager at Roomservice by CORT comments: “Experience shows time and time again that professionally staging a property helps it sell faster and for a higher price, and this is especially true for higher-value properties where it makes sense investing to maximise the price. On average, a property can achieve a sale price of around 6% higher if it is dressed than if it is empty. We have found also that it takes half the length of time to sell a property if it is furnished versus empty.” www.roomservicebycort.com