My own home is an eclectic mix of styles
Margaret McCarron uses her creative skills to transform properties, making them more appealing to buyers.
every working day is different.
My job is to “dress” empty properties for sale, show homes and developer’s projects.
I love viewing the properties and envisioning how I can transform the space.
The properties are often bare and tired, meaning I can treat them as blank canvases.
This gives me every opportunity to be creative when deciding what style I think will suit the property best.
I choose themes and colour schemes for each room in the property and use my supply of furnishings and décor to dress it up.
It’s amazing the difference some interior decoration can make to a space.
Properties for sale go f from having barely any interest to having an influx of potential buyers.
Interior decoration is something of a vocation for me.
I have bought, sold and moved house so many times myself that transforming different home spaces comes very naturally.
My own home is an eclectic mix of styles: each room is filled with different colours, fabrics, unique pieces of furniture and statement prints.
I am constantly decorating it and it changes almost on a seasonal basis!
A few years ago my abode featured on Gok’s “Fill Your Home For Free” on Channel 4.
I am resourceful with my work.
As I use the same supplies of furnishings and decor in a variety of spaces over and over, I am always looking for new ways to create different combinations that will give each home a unique look.
I find great supplies to add to my collection nestled in the jumble of car boot sales, or on secondhand sites online.
I take inspiration from various “fixer-upper” TV programmes and magazines.
I love repurposing furniture to give it a fresh look and often buy pieces and paint them, or add new features such as quirky handles or hooks.
My style is unique; I don’t follow the crowd, but mix what’s new with what I like.
As well as designing, I deal with the practical side of things.
This means co-ordinating the transport to collect the supplies from my storage space and move them to the property.
Once I have all the bits and pieces at the property, I start with the big things and work my way through to the tiniest details.
My favourite part of the job is the satisfaction of standing back and drinking in the finished product.
This is not without its difficulties.
The stressful part of the job is getting all the furnishings and decor to the properties in one piece and ensuring delivery men do not scuff newly painted walls or trail dirt on to brand-new carpets!
I have been running my own staging business, the Pop Up Room Company, for seven years now, and there is no doubt at all that I definitely love my job.
Advice to your younger self
I would tell my younger self no-one is perfect and to learn from your
mistakes!