Behind the Scenes at Elite Living
People usually see the finished home: the made beds, the set table, the perfectly placed cushion. They don’t often see everything that happens to get it there.
Here’s a look behind the scenes, and at how Elite Living came to be.
Where it started
Hi, I’m Alicia. I’ve always had a passion for interiors. I started my career running an interior decor store, with a big emphasis on displays and design.
From there I began renovating houses to sell. Over four years I renovated and sold more than 20 homes, and I learned a lot about what buyers are really looking for: how to make the most of a home’s strengths and draw attention away from its weaknesses.
Property is all about people. My staging business grew because my styling worked, first in the homes I was renovating, then for other sellers who wanted the same results. That business became Elite Living.
I’ve been in your position. I know the stress and excitement that comes with selling, whether you’re upsizing, downsizing, investing or developing. Selling a house is a rollercoaster, and a fast, professional service makes it easier.
What goes into every home
Today we stage around 700 properties a year. Behind each one there’s a lot going on: loading bays, an art room, vehicles on the road across Wellington every day, and a team carefully choosing every piece that goes into a home.
If you’ve walked through a staged property in Wellington lately, there’s a fair chance it was one of ours.
We check every room twice
Sometimes three times.
The devil’s in the details. We don’t want to leave with one thing wrong. Not one cushion, not one light left off. So we go back through, then again, until every room is right.
It’s the small choices that create a finished, inviting look: setting the coffee table, layering the bed, placing the art. On their own, each one is minor. Together, they’re what buyers feel when they walk in.
Pack-up day
When a home sells, we’re back. It takes a team to pack up a property: wrapping, packing, loading the truck and leaving the home empty for its new owners. Many hands make light work, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
The day our warehouse burnt down
Two years ago, our warehouse burnt down.
I remember standing there thinking, what on earth do we do now?
Within 24 hours we’d found another space. We saved what we could, cleaned up the rest, bought what we needed and got straight back into it. By Monday, every job was still going ahead. Most of our clients had no idea anything had happened.
It took a year to fully rebuild, and when we finally moved back in, the space was better than before. Looking back, the biggest thing we got from it was knowing we can handle a lot more than we thought.
Why we do it
I love what I do. Every home is different, and there’s real joy in turning an empty or tired space into somewhere warm and inviting that someone will fall in love with.
If you’re selling in Wellington, the Hutt Valley, Porirua or Kapiti, I’d love to help transform your home into the beauty it deserves to be. Get in touch or call me on 021 211 2836.
Alicia Walker, Creative Director, Elite Living
Related: Home Staging in Wellington: What It Is and How It Works