It’s barely just over a year since Henrietta Perry launched the luxury interior design consultancy Callister Russell , yet she has already received industry recognition with a win for best interior design at The Daily Mail UK Residential Property Awards for her debut project.
Specifically designed to appeal to property professionals and private homeowners and landlords who specialise in the upper to top end marketplace, Callister Russell’s high quality furnishings and window dressings have become increasingly popular with property investors and professional landlords who are becoming progressively more aware of the benefits of dressing their properties for the market. However, up until now, the only way to do this was to buy the bespoke packages which, unless the new occupant decides they want to purchase the furnishings on completion, can often mean removal and storage, incurring further costs.
It made sense, therefore, for Callister Russell to draw on the expertise of their sister company Fully Furnished, who started in the furniture rental field some ten years ago, to fill the gap in the high end niche market for rental of ultra luxury and customized furnishings. Henrietta comments, “Currently, there isn’t an exclusive, bespoke furniture rental company in operation, so the addition of this service is ideal for clients who want a personalised and tailored service to sell a “lifestyle” by dressing their property. In the fast moving interior design world, a rental option provides the opportunity to obtain the exact look they are seeking whilst keeping as on trend as possible and, at the same time, appealing to the design savvy purchaser. ”
Advantages of a rental service to the investor or developer are numerous Henrietta explains, “The initial outlay is approximately a quarter of what the purchase price would be and, on completion of the sale or let, there are no stock disposal issues. At any time, the look can be changed to appeal to a different audience or the latest fabrics and finishes can be brought in to update the project. All schemes are made to order, working on a budget set between ourselves and the client and is determined by the value of the property.
We were recently asked to dress a four bedroom show apartment and the client chose to buy the package rather than rent. The property went on to sell within three weeks which, unfortunately for the customer, meant he had spent considerably more than necessary. In another instance, we installed furniture in a very imposing new build home which, if the developer had purchased the furnishings to fill it, would have cost almost five times that of what he paid in rental which, for the minimum three month rental period, worked out at £4.00 per square foot.”
The calibre and skills of the designers at Callister Russell mean that they can work to tight deadlines which gives developers a great deal of flexibility in their marketing plans as they do not have to make any decisions on whether or not to dress the property until nearing the end of the build.
