The Art of Home Staging with Box Clever's Hilary Sharp

Hilary Sharp shares her transformative journey from Ireland to Australia and the evolution of her career in interior design and home staging. The episode highlights the importance of emotional connections in design and staging and offers insights into the misconceptions and deeper significance behind creating functional and appealing spaces. 

• Hilary's early love for design influenced by her mother 
• Decision to move to Australia and its impact on her career 
• Launch of Box Clever Interiors and its services 
• The critical role of home staging in selling properties 
• Challenging common misconceptions in the design profession 
• Importance of emotional connections in homes and spaces 
• Insights into balancing aesthetics, functionality, and buyer psychology 
• Personal anecdotes illustrating Hilary's career journey and philosophy

Episode Transcript

Amy Bennett (00:02):
Welcome to Beyond the Signboard, where you get the
opportunity to learn all thereis to know about your real
estate journey fromprofessionals who are passionate
about property.
I'm Amy Bennett, your host, andI look forward to providing you
with education, inspiration anda behind-the-scenes look at the
world of real estate.
Well, welcome to Beyond theSignboard, season 2.

(00:32):
I am delighted to have thelovely Hilary Sharp here from
Box Clever Interiors and BoxClever Staging.
Hello, hello, how exciting.
It's great to be here.
Thank you, amy, my pleasure.
We were just chatting off airabout the time that we've known
each other.
So, working out, it's probablywell over 10 years, maybe even

(00:53):
longer.

Hilary Sharp (00:53):
Yeah, yeah.
Early days of tentativelycoming down to the Chamber of
Commerce in Caloundra andnervously introducing myself to
the business world.

Amy Bennett (01:03):
And there you were with your smiley face going hey,
come on, welcome, welcome, andI was like oh okay, such a
special time and, yeah, forthose that that listening in,
that don't know, I did have,yeah, four years at the Calandra
Chamber of Commerce.
We were growing the businesscommunity and supporting so,
creating networking events andan ability to really highlight

(01:24):
businesses, certainly usingsocial media, I would suggest,
when it was quite new as well.

Hilary Sharp (01:30):
Yeah, you were fantastic at that.

Amy Bennett (01:32):
So lots of fun events, which is amazing, and
obviously, with my foray intoreal estate, you know, obviously
our paths have crossed.
From a staging perspective, wecaught up recently and it really
inspired me to have you on asthe number one guest for this
season.
So no pressure, thank you.
What I'd love, hilary, is tointroduce our listeners to your

(01:55):
journey, so obviously none of usend up where we are now without
a story.
Oh yes, take us back.
I love a story, I love it.
I love a great story.

Hilary Sharp (02:05):
So obviously I think the first thing the
listeners might hear is that Idon't sound like I'm from here.
So Australia is my adoptivecountry and my birth country is
Ireland and my love affair withAustralia and design both
probably coincide around thesame period of time.

(02:25):
So I think it was roughly aboutwhen I was 10, we had
neighbours enter Irish TVscreens and I was inspired by a
character, charlene who wasfeisty and was a mechanic and
was gorgeous and fun, and Ithought, hey, that's interesting

(02:46):
.
And this country, australia,just seemed really cool.
It seemed like really nice,really nice people, very similar
to us, but just nicer lifestyle.
I thought this looks cool.
So I decided I would do aproject on Australia.
And in those days there was nointernet.
So I wrote to the embassy inDublin Amazing and said could

(03:06):
they please provide me withinformation on Australia?
And they did, and I did aproject on Australia, on your
political scene, your geography,population.
I had all the facts done outWent to the travel agent, which
is the other research you dowhen you're a primary school
student and got my pictures cutout.
So my mum still has that projectand that was that was the first

(03:31):
seedlings of this country wascalling me Around.
The same time, then my loveaffair with interior design also
developed.
Now I was quite fortunate thatmy mother had trained as an
interior designer.
I was quite fortunate that mymother had trained as an
interior designer.
She trained in Belfast yeah,amazing.
And unfortunately due to thepolitical situation at the time,

(03:51):
there wasn't more opportunityfor her to practice in interior
design Life in the 1970s inBelfast it was more about being
bomb-proof as opposed todesign-orientated.
So my mum retrained as an artteacher, but at the age of 10,
she taught me how to scaledrawings.
She explored my creativity.

(04:12):
She said, right, design yourdream house, hilary, but do it
properly and do it to scale andunderstand the measurements.
So that was where I learned thebasics, the raw fundamentals of
scale, proportion and design.
What a gift.

Amy Bennett (04:28):
Isn't that?

Hilary Sharp (04:28):
amazing.
So that was really lovely.
Life petered on.
My dad was a businessman andduring kind of growing up and
going to school, dad was verystrict and kind of said oh, you
don't want to do that creativestuff.
Hillary was very strict andkind of said oh, you don't want
to do that creative stuff,hilary, you'll never get a job
right.
Just get yourself, do somethingsensible.

(04:50):
You know, so I tried to knuckledown and I studied economics.

Amy Bennett (04:56):
And.

Hilary Sharp (04:57):
I went over to university in the UK and did
economics of all the wild thingsnever done anything like that.
I was quite terrified doing itbut I loved it and it was really
, really interesting.
And I came back and worked inBank of Ireland and my father
was delighted.
Yes, tick the box.
Absolutely delighted.
First eldest daughter graduatedworking in the bank.

(05:19):
She'll be there for life.
My job is done.
So a year later I turned aroundto dad and I said I'm quitting,
I'm giving up.
He goes why?
What are you doing?
I said I'm going to Australia.
He said what I said, yeah, andhe just thought I was absolute
madness.
And I told my mom I'm going toAustralia.
She was terrified.
Who are you going with?
I said no, none of my friendsare going.

(05:40):
I'm going to go on my own.
I'm going to go out there on myown and want to discover what
this country was.
So I did so brave and I traveledall around Australia and I
loved it.
I had, as I said, I'd lived inEngland.
I'd lived in America as wellfor a period of time and I
didn't expect much fromAustralia.
It was at the other side of theworld.
I didn't expect them to knowmuch about Ireland, you know,

(06:01):
and yet they were so welcoming,so knowledgeable.
I just clicked, I just slottedin.
It's amazing, isn't it?
So how long ago was that?
That was back in 1998.
Yeah, okay, amazing.
Back in Sydney.
I had a great time.
I worked for Colonial FirstState there in Sydney, in St
Martin's Place, which was lovely.
And after my year I returnedhome and I worked for about five

(06:25):
years with a financial companyin Dublin.
I was within a sales andmarketing role and loved it sort
of, was getting on really well.
They wanted me to work in toset up a similar business in
Greece at the time and I supposeI was coming up to mid to late
20s and I started looking aroundat these women in their 30s in

(06:46):
the company and I went, yeah, Idon't think I want to be that.
I don't think I want to be thiscorporate woman.
And so I retrained Amazing andI did interior architecture in
Dublin at night and I quit myjob and I thought, okay, if I'm
going to retrain, I need to goback to the beginning.

(07:07):
I need to, you know, learneverything I can about this.
And I approached following myqualification, I approached it
like an apprenticeship and Ialso decided I'd go back to
Australia for a little visitbecause I said, if I have to
like, hand back the company carand learn to live in a modest
salary.
I might as well go travellingagain, because that was a great
way to save money, live inhostels and all the rest.

(07:31):
I'll go back to travelling, youknow, amazing.
So I did that for another yearand then I came back and started
my design career and I startedworking as a kitchen designer
initially, which was fantastic,very fundamental area of
functionality in everyone'skitchen.
I then worked for a companythat specialised in hotel design

(07:53):
and commercial design.
That was super interesting.
At this stage my family weredelighted I'd got Australia out
of my system.

Amy Bennett (08:01):
Yeah, I was wondering how Dad was feeling
along this journey.

Hilary Sharp (08:04):
Yeah, yeah, She'd settled down now you know, She'd
bought herself an apartment inDublin and got all that
travelling stuff out of her, outof the way, you know, and that
was all going well until I wentinto a building site in Dublin.
It was my first building site Ihad to go to.
It was a big hotel being builtand I was rather nervous going
in and it was a big table fullof engineers and architects and

(08:26):
everyone else all male and Iwent in there with my little
notebook and then this angryAustralian marches into the head
of the table and bangs thetable and anyway, that turned
out to be my husband.

Amy Bennett (08:42):
So Australia came back for you.
Australia came back, therunning joke.

Hilary Sharp (08:46):
Um, he's a bit of a rough and tumble Australian.
I love it.
His first question to me waswhat the bleep is going on, and
I like to say I've been tellinghim what the bleep is going on
ever since isn't that amazingthat you'd had that connection,
though?

Amy Bennett (09:03):
Yeah, I mean, look, this is why I love, you know,
having guests on and sharingstories, because, like I said,
we get to where we are with astory.
Yeah, I also love that youstayed true to your belief, and
I had a similar scenario wherebyI always wanted to be a wedding
planner and everyone said, oh,you know, you have to work
Saturdays and work withbridezillas, but it was always

(09:26):
there, and so I fulfilled thatpassion about 10 years ago.
So there's somethinginteresting you've got, isn't it
?

Hilary Sharp (09:34):
Yeah, I think sometimes in life society can
expect certain things of you.
So, for example, I thought Ishould go and do business and
you know, the school I was inwas very academic and I wasn't
so sometimes you try andshoehorn yourself into shoes
that might not be suitable foryou.

(09:54):
Yeah, so yeah, life is a journey, and accept the twists and
turns, and sometimes thingshappen for a reason.
I've always been a big believerof that, you know.
Things happen for a reason.
I've always been a big believerof that, you know.
I mean, when I was 18, I didn'tget the school results that
were going to send me to Trinity, which is where my father had

(10:14):
gone to university.
It was a prestigious universityin Dublin and I sort of thought
the gates have closed on me,but the best thing was that I
went to England.
I had a whole life experience inthe UK that I would never have
had had I just stayed in Dublin.
So, everything happens for areason.
If it's a bad result, ithappens for a reason, you know.
And as our journey continues, Iwent on and I married Howard.

(10:38):
We had two children.
The GFC hit While I waspregnant with my first child.
I was made redundant.
So at that stage I had changedcareers.
I had changed jobs Again.
I was now working for a largearchitectural practice in Dublin
and we specialised inhealthcare design, which was
fantastic.
All learning about how yourinteriors can support health,

(10:59):
how you can help nurses anddoctors work better within a
space Fascinating.
So much knowledge to try andunderstand and things work
better within a spaceFascinating.
So much knowledge to try andunderstand and things like that
Love that.
But the GFC hit.
So during my pregnancy, theentire architectural practice,
which employed over 120 people,went into redundancy.

(11:20):
Wow, and I think I was like thelast of seven employees to be
let go and at the same time, myhusband's job.
He was transferred to build ahospital in northwest Ireland.
So we ended up living in arural area in northwest Ireland
and I had my son in Dublin andleft hospital and went straight

(11:41):
up to the north of Ireland andlooked out the window with cows
around and a young baby and wentoh crikey, what do I do now?
You know?

Amy Bennett (11:52):
Because, you know, my understanding is Ireland has
been really heavily affected andreally struggled.

Hilary Sharp (11:58):
It was a really interesting time.
So growing up in the 80s inIreland was recession.
All we ever knew was recession?
We never knew abundance ofwealth.
We had what we called the braindrain.
Everyone emigrated.
Our greatest outport was ourpeople.
We set them around the worldand then, just as I was
graduating school, coming backto university, they had a period

(12:18):
of time of enormous wealth,which was what was known as the
Celtic tiger, and Howard, myhusband, had left Australia
because he had heard there wasgreat money and great things
happening in Dublin with theCeltic Tiger, and he did.
You know, he was planning to goover for a year and he came
back seven years later with awife and two kids.

(12:38):
So it was, it was fun, it wasvery strange, but, as with that,
then it changed, crashed veryquickly.
It has then recovered, but atthat time, because Howard and I
were both in the constructionindustry and it was a property
bubble that had burst, we werehit pretty hard with it.

(13:00):
So we survived a good bit, inthe sense that we continued on
till 2012, living in NorthernIreland.
Howard was building a greathospital there and I decided to
set up my first business inNorthern Ireland, which was
interior design, and I focusedon residential design, which was
something I'd never done before, because I'd always done

(13:20):
commercial design, but I haddesigned kitchens way back in
the day.
So I knew what I was going todo and, yeah, I got stuck in,
and having economics meant I hadsome sort of idea of the
business-y side of things.
I was able to do sort of localcourses with set up your own
business and things like that.
So I did that.
And then after a period of twoyears, my husband's job, the

(13:43):
hospital, was built.
It was kind of like what are wegoing to do?
He's like, well, I could go tothe Middle East.
And I said I'm not being adesert wife, yes, he goes.
Maybe we should go back toAustralia.
And at that stage it was backto Australia.
It was back and forth becausewe'd been back and forth
bringing the children to seetheir grandparents and things
like that.

Amy Bennett (14:01):
So, australia- they're here on the Sunshine
Coast.

Hilary Sharp (14:10):
His father has passed away now, but he was in
New South Wales and his sisterswere down in Melbourne, which is
where he's originally from.
So it was sort of right it'stime to go back.
We had always said we weregoing to rear the kids in
Australia, but we sort ofthought, well, maybe they'll
have their primary education inIreland and then teenage in
Australia.
So that was kind of always ourgame plan.
But it was brought forward alittle bit quicker than we had
anticipated.
So we had a bit of an argumentas to where we were going to

(14:32):
settle, because I loved Sydney.
He's from Melbourne.
Apparently, they don't alwaysget on.
So he said he's not going to goto Sydney.
There you go.
He had actually already movedto Moffat Beach prior to going
to Ireland and at that stage Iwas going.

Amy Bennett (14:47):
Well, I'm not doing regional Australia.
I'm a city girl.
I mean, you know, you've donethe cows, you're not doing the
desert.

Hilary Sharp (14:53):
Yeah, yeah I was like I'm getting right back into
a city.
So we said oh, we'll settle inBrisbane.
That was going to be the happymedium and we were in Brisbane
for about a year.
I arrived over with atwo-year-old in the.
I seriously would not advisethat again as a lifestyle choice
.

Amy Bennett (15:11):
We need to put a disclaimer there Do not
recommend.

Hilary Sharp (15:13):
Like Howard and I were so naive.
We both travelled extensivelyin our lives independently, we
both loved travel and adventureand we just did not factor in
the full adventure.
I'm sure if there's parentslistening that have toddlers and
young children, it's adifferent side of an adventure
and it's one you don't need.
Leave that in the past.
Leave that in the past.
That was a bit of a stressfulyear of our lives.

(15:36):
Moving.
Harwich then was brought on tothe job the hospital up here
that was being built and thatspurred the move up to here.
Amazing and I was about twoweeks here and I went, wow, this
is great, I don't want to moveback to here.
Amazing.
And I was about two weeks hereand I went, wow, this is great,
I don't want to move back toBrisbane.
This is, this has goteverything I need within a five

(15:57):
kilometre radius.
This is beautiful.
This is what I wanted fromAustralia.
Yeah, amazing.
So that has been brilliant.
We got the kids settled andthen I was very anxious not to
leave big gaps in my career.
I wanted to get back workingagain and just navigated a way
that I could do that withsupporting the kids.

(16:20):
It was all a little bit dauntingbecause we didn't have family
support here, I didn't have anestablished network of people,
friends or anything, so Itiptoed into the industry.
Actually, no, I first set upanother little business.

Amy Bennett (16:34):
I set up a little online business, initially,
first doing design work.
She is a renaissance woman.
I love it.

Hilary Sharp (16:40):
If in doubt, try something, which was fine.
You know, that period of timetaught me how to set up websites
, how to set up social media,how to do those kind of things,
but ultimately, design was goingto weigh out.
And, yeah, different people,once they heard my background,
asked could I do this, could Ido that?

(17:00):
And I sort of said, yes, I can.
And yeah, box Clever Interiorstarted in my back bedroom.

Amy Bennett (17:08):
That's amazing, yeah, isn't it interesting when
you were just saying then, too,about when people understand, I
guess, your history and I thinkit's really difficult sometimes
to articulate.
We're going to talk about, Iguess, misconceptions with your
industry, and I like that thatyou said it's not just about
picking colours, and I thinkthat's a really important thing

(17:30):
in building strong businessconnections, isn't?
It Is really understanding,especially if you're referring a
business, but also for yourclients, you know, for them to
be able to articulate whatyou've done to help them in the
process.
But you know all of thoseskills that you've brought.
You know whether it's yourindependence and courage and I
know we spoke offline about bothof our energy and our little

(17:52):
superpowers that we have.
But I love your quest forknowledge, so it seems like it's
always been something thatyou've always wanted.
I guess it sounds like anatural curiosity.
Oh, 100%.

Hilary Sharp (18:03):
I love learning so , despite my school not
providing me with the bestlearning environment, I actually
enjoy study and learning somuch I have a thirst for
knowledge Reading as well.

Amy Bennett (18:15):
Yeah, I love reading.

Hilary Sharp (18:16):
I mean I, still listen to my economics pods.
I love my reading.
I am a boring reader.

Amy Bennett (18:21):
I love it.

Hilary Sharp (18:23):
I love history.
I love neuroscience, I lovebrain.
I love all of those differentaspects.
I'm fascinated in them all.
Yeah, so love brain, I love allof those different aspects,
fascinated in them all, yeah, soI think, gosh, if I had my
lifetime over so many differentareas I would love to have, if I
had a life that you could justread and learn, I know it would
be amazing.

Amy Bennett (18:41):
And you know people speak so often now about having
multiple careers and not sortof having you know, I mean gosh,
I couldn't even imagine havingyou know, having the same
nine-to-five job where you'resitting at the same desk for 40
years.

Hilary Sharp (18:53):
You've got to change.
I've still got to figure outwhat I want to be when I grow up
.
I know, I hear you.

Amy Bennett (18:59):
I know this real estate gig might not be forever.
Oh, listen, I guess mum beingsuper creative and I imagine
even her having a career,probably back then.
So my mum was actually English,living in Ireland in the 70s.

Hilary Sharp (19:19):
Really yeah, I never knew that.
There you go.

Amy Bennett (19:22):
Yeah, so she was.
She was there, butunfortunately it was troubled
times and being English, yeah,so she went back to England and
then obviously came to Australia.
But I've taken a couple ofpilgrimages there and kissed the
Blarney Stone two times.

Hilary Sharp (19:36):
Oh, my goodness, you tourist.

Amy Bennett (19:38):
Yeah, hey, I've had the luck of the Irish, but,
yeah, like it's a beautifulplace to visit.
So, going back to mum and dad,so you had mum's, I guess,
creativity and then dad's, youknow, and again, you know, we
say all of these things.

Hilary Sharp (19:52):
We are a balance of both our parents.
Yes, yeah, so I mean, mum wassuch fun.
She used to kind of rip thewallpaper off the walls and go
right, create children, you know.
And I was like, ooh, okay, cool, isn't that amazing.
And then I got into enormoustrouble one time when I was a
little girl and she had re-put,re-wallpapered a guest bedroom
and I had gone in there anddrawn big bumblebees all around

(20:16):
the world Sitting in the bedgoing.
I was like look, mom, and shewas just like, oh, what have you
done?
Oh, my God.
But she sort of said half of mewas so delighted with the
lovely bumblebees you did.
They really were a perfectHillary, you know.
And then she goes, but my heartwas breaking at the wallpaper
being drawn on, isn't it?

Amy Bennett (20:36):
It reminds me so much of my gran and my granddad,
because my granddad was soserious, you know, he was so
analytical, so intelligent, andgran was the creative.
She was the you know Danish,you know wild woman.

Hilary Sharp (20:48):
Oh yeah.

Amy Bennett (20:49):
So now, having had that experience now, what are
you like with your boys, withtheir I guess plans for the
future?

Hilary Sharp (20:57):
Gosh, I'd like to think I'm very supportive with
them and just help them discoverthemselves fully.
I think is what's so important.
Yeah, amazing, we're luckyagain.
How lucky are we here, which Ialways remind them that they
have so much opportunity ontheir doorstep?

Amy Bennett (21:15):
Yes.

Hilary Sharp (21:15):
So my children are quite sporting, and what better
place to grow up?
Absolutely so.
I suppose things that I try todo is reinforce their
understanding of that.
We live right by the beach, sofrom a very early age I was
insistent that they did nippers.
Yes, and what we wanted fromthat is that they would be able

(21:38):
to give back.
So, and with that I ended updoing nippers too, yes, yeah,
that's right, you did surf lifesavers.
right, I know, listen, myswimming career to date had been
an I Can Swim 25 metre badge,which I acquired.
That's an accomplishment, right, because I acquired it in
Ireland's largest swimming poolat the time, which was 33 metres

(22:01):
long.
Oh, we didn't have any 50 metreswimming pool in the entire
country when.

Amy Bennett (22:06):
I was growing up, wow, so that badge was worn with
pride, Well, sort of.

Hilary Sharp (22:12):
My mum was from a swimming family and I did my
swimming, but I loved gymnasticsso I didn't continue with
swimming and I continued on withgymnastics up until I don't
know teenage years, and then Igave up and just went partying.
And now the Surf, Lifesavingyeah so about six years ago I
had a big accident skiing andsmashed up my leg.

(22:35):
Yeah, and I couldn't walk forabout three months and the
doctors pretty much said lookrealistically, I wouldn't do
jogging, you're going to have tolook after yourself.
And I said, okay, well, youknow I do like jogging, but it's
not the biggest thing in theworld.
I'll get swimming again.
And so I started swimming downat Rackleys, nearly killed me my
first 50-meter length.

(22:55):
That I did.
Hey, you graduated new badge.
I did new badge and then I justset myself a goal and said I'm
going to do my surf rescuecertificate and I was applying
to do that and one of the peoplesort of said, oh no, you can't
do that.
I was applying to do that andone of the people sort of said,
oh no, you can't do that, youhave to do your bronze.
So your surf rescue, you haveto swim 200 metres bronze you
have to swim 400 metres.

(23:16):
So anyway, yeah, I did, it gotmy bronze.
And I do surf lifesaving downat Kings Beach and the boys my
son, does surf lifesaving withme now and my younger son is
just finishing nippers.
So in my mind, that was theleast that the kids would do if
they're going to be beach bumsand live on this.

Amy Bennett (23:34):
Enjoy the surf.
Where do?

Hilary Sharp (23:35):
they do nippers Down at King's as well.

Amy Bennett (23:36):
Me too.

Hilary Sharp (23:37):
Yeah.

Amy Bennett (23:38):
So 93 and 97, I did two years of it but my eyesight
deteriorated.
Oh no, yeah, so that's avoluntary position that you do,
yeah.

Hilary Sharp (23:45):
Incredibly rewarding.
Actually, one of the areas Ilove is doing water safety with
the younger kids, especially thechildren that are nervous.

Amy Bennett (23:53):
Yes.

Hilary Sharp (23:54):
Bringing them out and swimming and being beside
them is just amazing, yeah,amazing, seeing the bravery of
them, you know.

Amy Bennett (24:01):
I think you take it for granted.
I mean, I obviously, born andbred here on the coast and Kings
Beach was my, you know everysingle weekend just went to the
pool there and did nippers andwas fortunate.
In my hometown of Beowar too,we had a swimming pool that my
mum helped to fundraise for, soI was there every day.
So I'm an absolute water baby,water baby, so you forget, don't
you, that when people you know,kids, come from the outback or

(24:23):
people from overseas, well,there's a lot of kids that are
just very nervous, even ifthey've grown up here.

Hilary Sharp (24:29):
They're nervous and it can be quite daunting.
So you get two sets of children.
You'll get the.
You know the kids that are justso athletic, so strong and
their little guns in the waterand that's awesome and they go
you know, and then there areother kids that are still
sporting and things like that,but they just might be nervous,
absolutely.
And and quite right, it's bigsurf and there's lots of funny

(24:49):
things in the water and there'slots of scariness about that.
So just to be able to encouragethem to understand that fear
and not let it cripple them, andthen be with them and support
them and swim around and then,yeah, just see their lovely
faces when they actually getaround the other side and go, I
did it, I was like you did itand I'm so proud of you.

Amy Bennett (25:11):
I mean, we're so blessed, aren't we, on the
Sunshine Coast, to have acommunity of giving you know,
and that's something we bothhave in common.
I have to ask, a bit off topic,but how much sunscreen do you
have to wear, being Irish?
Oh God, yes, well, you know.
Yeah, you learned that mistake,right.

Hilary Sharp (25:25):
Oh, I'm very, very sun safe.
Yeah, I wear lots of sunscreen.

Amy Bennett (25:30):
So important here, awesome.
All right, let's chat aboutyour business or shall I say
businesses?

Hilary Sharp (25:36):
Businesses.

Amy Bennett (25:36):
yeah, I want to hear a little bit about your
team, and obviously you're now10 years young.

Hilary Sharp (25:42):
Yes, we are.
Yes, yeah, as I was just saying, I'll do the before and after
of the wrinkles on my face,won't?

Amy Bennett (25:48):
we all.

Hilary Sharp (25:48):
Here's me, 10 years ago.

Amy Bennett (25:49):
Here's me now.
Wonderful.
So you're not in the backbedroom anymore?
No, we're not.

Hilary Sharp (25:56):
So we first started off with a studio in
Calandra and it was myself andwe had a lovely girl came in and
helped us with theadministration side of things.
And about five years ago thenthere was more people around I
think it was a state agentoriginally that was working in
McGrath who sort of said youknow you should do staging and I

(26:20):
was in a B&I group at the timeand they were going you know,
have you ever tried that?
And it just no one was doingstaging at that stage.

Amy Bennett (26:26):
We spoke about this recently, didn't we?

Hilary Sharp (26:29):
It was big in Sydney and Melbourne.
They were switching on, butpeople weren't really even doing
it in Brisbane or whatever.
So I was really busy with theinteriors still am but I said,
oh, this is something that canjust tick along slowly in the
background and ultimately wewere running out of space.
We were just sort of it wasorganically growing through word
of mouth and we were runningout of space.

(26:49):
So we moved the design studiofrom Caloundra to Premier
Circuit and we've got abeautiful studio space with
heaps of storage out the backand we're actually bursting out
of that space now, which isterrible.
I need more space.
I need more space.

Amy Bennett (27:04):
Good problem to have.
So for those listeners whomight not know about what a
staging business is, and whatstock have you got that's
growing?
Let's delve a little bit intowhat that service is.

Hilary Sharp (27:14):
Yes, yes, so we provide two distinct services.
So interior design, first ofall, is very personal service.
It's about designing a housearound your needs, around your
functionality, or, if it's acommercial design, around your
business.
Staging is essentiallymarketing, correct.

(27:34):
It's selling a property.
In this particular case, ifit's a home, it's selling an
investment and it's for mostpeople, if it's their own
private home, it's maybe one ofthe biggest investment choices
they are doing, or biggestinvestment transactions they're
doing, and so I'm verypassionate that they get that
right.

(27:54):
I love it A hundred percent.
I mean in my mind.
It's like going to an interviewyou do not turn up in.
I'm old school.
You don't turn up in aninterview in a pair of runners
and shorts.

Amy Bennett (28:03):
I like it.
Well, what do they say?

Hilary Sharp (28:06):
You never get a second chance at a first
impression, absolutely, you know, and you say people, you know
you shouldn't judge by looks,but at the end of the day, our
eyes are visual and we're ocularpeople and it's going to make
an impact, right or wrong.

Amy Bennett (28:18):
Correct.

Hilary Sharp (28:19):
Yeah, so I I like to advise people that if you are
staging, if you are sellingyour home, you need to dress
appropriately.
I love it.
You need to prepare.
Yeah, no thongs.

Amy Bennett (28:28):
No thongs, yeah.
So it's an interesting conceptand I mean we've already had a
chat a few weeks ago offlineabout this, because let's really
break down some misconceptions,because you know, ultimately
staging what you do is it's notcushions, you know, and you know
a nice throw is it.

(28:49):
Let's get really down to thenitty gritty of what it is,
because I guess I didn't evenrealise the depth of, I guess,
the rationale behind it.
I mean, I know the psychologyof selling and obviously I do it
every day, but what you cangive is a real gift.

Hilary Sharp (29:06):
Yeah, so I guess there's a couple of things to
look at there.
First of all, you mentioned theemotional selling.
So there is an emotionalconnection to someone selling
their own home.
It's a massive emotional thingto do and they're not always
able to view their home withfresh eyes.

Amy Bennett (29:22):
Yeah, absolutely so , that's sort of that emotional.

Hilary Sharp (29:24):
The other emotional connection is your
buyers, correct?
They are buying because theyare making an emotional
connection, correct?
They everyone who walks into aphysical space has an emotional
connection to that space.
It can either be positive ornegative.
If you're, for example, ifyou're, sitting in a restaurant
and it feels great, you're goingto stay there longer.

(29:45):
You're going to have that extradrink that's going to that
interior is good for business.
You'll take the dessert menu.
You'll take the dessert becausewhy you like being in that
space?
If you're in a restaurant and itjust feels horrible, it's
making your skin crawl, youcan't wait to get out.
You're eating your meal asquickly as you can because you
just want to leave.
The seats are uncomfortable,you're out of there.

(30:06):
So that's a classic example.
That's a great analogy Of howyou are having an emotional
connection to that physicalspace.
So some places can make youfeel calm, relaxed.
You want to stay longer.
So when you're coming in to buya home and look at a home for
the first time, you want toenvisage yourself living there.

(30:27):
So, true, you want to feel likeyou're slipping into something
comfortable.
You don't want to have anythingthat's going to make you feel
uncomfortable in that space.

Amy Bennett (30:37):
So what would something be that would be sort
of polarising, what would bethings that you would take out
of a home?

Hilary Sharp (30:43):
Well, number one, we take away anything personal.
Correct.
You don't want to feel likeyou're walking in and walking
into someone else's home.
Yes, because you're trying toimagine yourself here.
Yes, so you take away all thepersonal items.
The photographs go away,personal artwork that might have
names like your children'sartwork or things like that.
Clear all of those items away.

(31:05):
The trophy cabinet.
The trophy cabinet it's abeautiful day, the wedding
photos it was a great day.
Take them down, you knowneutralising the home.

Amy Bennett (31:15):
It really is, and I think that there's a real gift
in the ability to be able toeducate clients with that,
because you're so right and Ialways say you know in what I do
.

Hilary Sharp (31:27):
You know, no one really gives the key to their
home to many people, no, andit's the start of that emotional
detachment, correct, and I'msure you've seen, when people
finally move out of the homethere's tears and everything.
But this is the first step ofthem detaching out of that.
And real estate agents likeyourself you're great, you'll
come in and support them.

(31:47):
We also come in as that secondvoice, you know, which can also
help real estate agents.
You might be saying something,but we can come in then as like
hey look, we're just neutral,we're just coming in to give
that second opinion which canalso just be reinforcing and
comforting for people.

Amy Bennett (32:04):
I think also as well.
You are the professional, so Ithink you know it's really
important to align yourself withprofessionals that have a
genuine understanding.
I mean, we even spoke aboutthings like window dressing, so
I know that's a big part of yourbusiness.

Hilary Sharp (32:17):
So the other big thing that we do when we're
coming in to critically examinea house, which is essentially
what I do I like that, drHillary.
I do Like I usually say topeople I said look, I'm coming
in here with a very critical eye.
I don't mean to insult you withthe things I say, but I am
analysing this house literallyto market it for sale, okay, and

(32:38):
if you'd like an interiordesign service that's going to
be tailored to you, we'll dothat separately, yes, and you
know, the people are like, theylaugh.

Amy Bennett (32:44):
Yeah, of course.

Hilary Sharp (32:45):
Okay, that's good, so long as we're on the right
page.

Amy Bennett (32:47):
I don't want to insult anyone.
Yeah Well, you're ultimatelyhelping them.

Hilary Sharp (32:50):
Yes.

Amy Bennett (32:51):
And we'll talk about the financial benefits.

Hilary Sharp (32:53):
And they're good, because they usually kind of go
oh be brutal here, yeah, bebrutal.

Amy Bennett (32:57):
So don't encourage me.
Be careful what you wish foryeah don't encourage me.

Hilary Sharp (33:00):
I know, yes.
So the first thing I will doprobably eyeball the faults in
the room.
Yes, faults in the property,and they're the things that we
want to actually play down.
Yes, so classic example ifyou're going to sell your house
empty, you're giving the buyersnothing else to focus on but the
faults.

(33:21):
Yes, okay.
So if you've got a cracked tile, if that's the only thing that
they can see in the room, theyare going to comb in on that
cracked tile.

Amy Bennett (33:28):
That's right.

Hilary Sharp (33:29):
They're looking for something, yeah, and then
they're going to be looking upto see if any of the cracks are
in the paint or you know,because there's nothing else for
them to stimulate them.

Amy Bennett (33:37):
I always think as well.
They're looking for freeresidence like the cockroaches
they're in, aren't they, oncethe house is vacant, yeah?

Hilary Sharp (33:43):
Yeah, so all of those negative things are
flashing up and so that's kindof cutting out a big segment of
your buyers.
Investors might still make acritical choice because they're
a different mindset, but theaverage buyer you're not giving
them a great chance to reallyplay it.
So if we're coming in, we will.

(34:04):
You mentioned window treatments.
They're usually a bugbear ofmine.

Amy Bennett (34:09):
I know so much so that it's part of your business,
right?

Hilary Sharp (34:13):
Yes, yes, especially like vertical blinds.
I kind of twitch the green ones.
Especially if the chains arebroken on them and things like
that.

Amy Bennett (34:21):
Yeah, yeah, I just sold a property with green ones.
Didn't even know they existed.

Hilary Sharp (34:25):
Yeah, I know, I know it's scary.
I always get that song by Elbow.
You know, throw those curtainswide.

Amy Bennett (34:33):
Oh yeah, it's amazing.
I was really surprised thatyou'd sort of said, look, that
was something that you werereferring to and then thought,
look, we'll take it in-house.

Hilary Sharp (34:41):
We've done it a few times.
You know, you stage a housebeautifully and then they've got
like daggy curtains hangingdown that are blocking half the
light.
They just don't work for thespace.
So very often we'll just saylook, remove everything Agreed,
remove everything the old, rustyrods and things like that.
Take them down.
A little bit of polyfill willpatch.
No one will notice a little bitof polyfill in patch as

(35:02):
compared to the big ugly blinds.
They look terrible in photosand they look even worse in real
life and they also just canmake the room sometimes feel
dark and small and things likethat.
So that's not what we want.
We want, you know, the space tofeel bright, light, airy, all
of those lovely things that makeyou Warm and fuzzy.
Yeah, just make you feel nice.
You don't want to feel like.
Yeah it.

Amy Bennett (35:23):
So vacant property we've spoken about, and I guess
that's a lot easier, isn't it?
But that's a lot easier, isn'tit?
But what about?
I think what a lot of peopleare going to love to learn is
really about more so anintegrated service.

Hilary Sharp (35:34):
So integrated staging is when the owner is
occupied and still living in thepremises when they're selling
it.
It's a lot trickier to sell I'msure you've experienced that
sometimes as opposed to like anempty house when you can come in
and do it.
So we really hold people's handthrough this.
We actually offer a completelyseparate consultation service
where we will come in andprovide them with a full report

(35:57):
of everything that they can dowhat furniture if they're
thinking about like getting ridof some furniture.
Sometimes people are downsizingso they're going to be getting
rid of furniture anyway.
So we will encourage them say,look, sell it now, get on
Marketplace, sell it now or keepit because we can use it.
We can actually use it if wemove things around.
So we recently did a beautifulhome this is a good example Down

(36:21):
in Golden Beach.
Lovely lady in her senior yearsand it was time for her to
downsize.
The family had left.
This was her family home.
She reared her kids here, dideverything here, and it was
architecturally quite an awkward, awkwardly designed house, I
would say.
The rooms and the entrance andthe flow were all going to be

(36:43):
tricky so we were going to haveto relay out her entire house
essentially.

Amy Bennett (36:49):
Because furniture placement is really important,
right, really important.

Hilary Sharp (36:52):
We needed flow.
We needed people to be able tosee the space, understand the
size of the space.
A real no-no for people is whenpeople walk into the back of a
sofa and they've got a reallybig home and then they create
their living room in a corner bytwo sofas going in a corner and
it's like, wow, you've got sucha big house and you've made
your sitting room into a youknow three by three size room,

(37:14):
isn't?

Amy Bennett (37:15):
that interesting.
Well, we had that initiallybecause we've got a big open
plan and we'd kind of created alittle corner for the TV,
flipped it around and it'stripled the space.

Hilary Sharp (37:23):
Yeah, and you know , that can be fine if it's your
own home.
Yes, and if it's your own home,yes, and that's when you're
living at it, yes.
But we're selling, yes, we'remarketing I like it here's Dr
Hillary's back yeah.
So the first thing we'll do is,when we look in, we're also
approaching rooms, as what's thefirst impression when people
walk in, and what angle is thephotographer going to take, what
way will he position and whatis going to be in his camera?

(37:45):
So those are things that weanalytically look at.
When we come in, we startlooking again, just sort of
going back to the fullconsultation service.
We will very often long beforeeven the real estate agents have
been coming.
We sometimes get calls sixmonths a year before people are
thinking about putting theirhouse in the market and they go.
Oh, that's a dream for me.
Just want to bring you in.

(38:07):
We're thinking about it.
Have you got a real estateagent?
Yet that's the first question.
We always ask because we alwayswant to partner with the real
estate agent.
They either do or they don't.
So if they do have a realestate agent in mind, we will
call them, introduce ourselvesand ask their opinion.
What did you feel of themarketability?
What's the target market you'relooking for?

(38:27):
Tell me about your salesprocess and then, once we find
out, you might say oh, this isgoing to be young families, or
this is going to be retirees,this is going to be a quick sale
, this is going to be a longsale.
These are all really vitalinformation so that we can then
service the needs of that houseand those clients.

Amy Bennett (38:45):
There's just so much depth to it, isn't there?
So much, and I think this is.
You know, we spoke aboutmisconceptions and people think
that your job is picking coloursand I think, with styling, like
I said, you know, people thinkit's a few items or it's, you
know, a certain style and Ithink I know, as my husband
always does.

Hilary Sharp (39:02):
Oh, curtains and carpets.
Curtains and carpets.
Yeah, it's classic, isn't?
It, we get about 10% of ourtime is picking a colour.
Yes, and the rest of it is allthe other functionality around
it.
Yeah, absolutely yeah.

Amy Bennett (39:14):
So let's what about ?
Because I know we spoke abouttrends, but you know, obviously
we're by the beach, so it'sprobably going to be a
consistent theming that you do.
Yes, yes.

Hilary Sharp (39:25):
So I suppose what I talk to you about trends is
that trends and interiors I finda certain misdemeanor insofar
as it's not like fashion.
They don't change every year.
People will we decorate everyfive years, let's say.
But trends are an enormousreflection of what is going on
in society at the time and youlook through history like that

(39:48):
where you have Rococo, baroque,all of those periods of time for
art history are reflections ofwhat was going on in society at
the time.
And today, at the moment, theoverwhelming trend, or almost I
still don't like using the wordtrend- I find it like it's so,
like today's buzzword yeah, theperiod of interiors.

(40:11):
I like it, yes, the era ofinteriors that we are in is
really rooted in earth.
Ah, Mother earth Reassurance, ah, really rooted in earth, mother
earth reassurance In a world ofa little bit of chaos and a
little bit of uncertainty.
We're seeing muted tones.
We're seeing soft curves EvenLamin-x Australia is doing and

(40:35):
lots of other companies are notto be plugging one.
But we're seeing this beautifulreturn to nature and, what's
lovely, a focus on Australiannature, which is great.
We've got colours like eucalyptbark Amazing.
All of these wonderful earthytones which are so Australian.

Amy Bennett (40:53):
As a Virgo, I'm very earth based, so I love this
.

Hilary Sharp (40:56):
I love it.
I just think it's great becauseit is so Australian.
Yes, and even the blues thatare coming in are grounded and
melted to go with that.
So that is an era at the moment.
If you see kitchens, they allhave curves.
Yes, if you see wall panelling,it's all a soft scallop, so
that's very popular.
So when we are looking at whatwe're going to do for a house,

(41:17):
it is important where it'slocated.
Yes, if it is by the beach,people very often are buying
because they want that lifestyle.
So it's not so much a trend,it's a lifestyle that you're
selling them.
And yes, we will generally tryand bring elements of that on,
but we are also kind ofconsciously aware that there's a

(41:37):
multitude of people coming intothis house.
So we do try to make a fewdeviations and you will notice
that in the homes that we stagewe might do, for example, the
main living area might be verycoastal, but then the media room
might be slightly different,and each bedroom we would always
try and do a different colourscheme for each bedroom.

Amy Bennett (41:56):
I love that.
Yeah, we spoke about that and Ireally love that because you're
really going to appeal to allbuyers.
We try to, you know, becauseyou know you're really going to
appeal to all buyers there.

Hilary Sharp (42:02):
We try to, you know, because you know you're
never going to get somethingthat everybody likes.
We're all very, very different.
You like pink.

Amy Bennett (42:08):
I like blue.
Yes, you know, try selling ahouse with a black kitchen.
I can tell you.

Hilary Sharp (42:14):
Oh, we have yeah.
Yeah, there's polarising,elements isn't there Very
polarising, See I?

Amy Bennett (42:17):
don't have any wood in my house.
I know, I remember you weretelling me that, yeah, which is
just, you know, obviously soundsbizarre to people, but yeah,
it's all gold.
Yeah, yeah so like all you know, like I've just got a very
basic colour palette in thehouse.
So yeah, it's an interestingthing.
I've looked at homes you knowto purchase and said, no, it's
got all the wood panelling orpaddling or anything.

Hilary Sharp (42:38):
It'll be interesting when you sell your
home.

Amy Bennett (42:40):
Yes, for those that don't know, I do have a pink
cottage with lots of pink andlots of black feature walls.

Hilary Sharp (42:46):
I know I dread having to do a consultation for
you Be careful what you wish for.

Amy Bennett (42:52):
So we've spoken about misconceptions.

Hilary Sharp (42:55):
Sorry, oh no, I was just sort of saying so yes,
when we are staging to make theappeal to as many people as
possible, we might have onebedroom that one person will
love yes, bedroom, so it's like,pick your favorite I like make
it a bit more interesting.
Yeah, that's a talking point,so when that couple or that
family might go away, there'sgoing to be different things
that will appeal to differentpeople.
Little children might say Ireally like this.

(43:17):
Yes.
The wife said, oh, I didn'tlike this, I didn't like that.
But again, it's even a talkingpoint, the more they're talking
about the property the morethey're processing different
elements from it.

Amy Bennett (43:26):
So it keeps the conversation going further.
So true, and I mean that's oneof my good hacks when I've got
kids through is to pick theirbedrooms and let us know why,
and then send them off withtheir bubble one.
We, we often do.

Hilary Sharp (43:37):
A little twin room and a little teddy bear on the
beds and things like that, if weknow it's going to be a
family-orientated space.

Amy Bennett (43:43):
Well, even not.

Hilary Sharp (43:44):
you know, I've just sold a property in a
lifestyle community and it's gottwin beds and the
granddaughters they literallyWell, yeah, we did the same up
at Mullaney and it's been a hugehit for the grandkids and
things like that, because Ithink that's the thing, isn't it
?

Amy Bennett (43:58):
We're seeing a lot more multi-generational living.
You know, we're seeing a lot ofpeople requiring dual living
and flexibility in the home,correct?

Hilary Sharp (44:07):
Absolutely.
What did COVID tell us withthat?

Amy Bennett (44:08):
Absolutely.

Hilary Sharp (44:12):
Office design and you know, everyone incorporates
an office space and showing thatflexibility is hugely important
too.

Amy Bennett (44:16):
I think, when you said as well that we're in this
period of earth, and I thinkthat you know that is really
reflected.
And we did have, you know, alot of time at home and you know
I mean I have no hesitationthat Bunnings has never been
busier and you know we've alldone our garden or.
But I enjoy my home space somuch more because I was forced
to be there.

Hilary Sharp (44:35):
Well, I think Australians do by habit.
So if you look at Europeans,they're far more sort of outside
people, insofar as they'll havea small apartment and they
might, you know, go down to thepiazza and socialise at 10
o'clock at night there.
But the Australians are verymuch more home creatures and
their homes reflect that.
You know they're homes toretreat to, to nurture, to

(44:56):
entertain in.
You know, far different totheir European counterparts.

Amy Bennett (45:01):
Isn't that amazing?
And having your broad sectionof knowledge, so tell us about
your house.
It's by the beach.
Does the designer design?

Hilary Sharp (45:10):
her own house?
Oh gosh, they do.
Well, you know, my husbandactually questions every single
thing I do and I was, like youdo know my business for a living
.
This is my gig.
He goes, yeah, I know, but Idon't trust you.
Thanks, darling.
Thanks, I mean, I win outright,but like he's my worst client,
what the bleep?
Yeah, no, my home is quitemuted, and again I've got two

(45:32):
boys.
So it has been seek and destroyproof.
Yes, you know they have bashedholes, yeah, and that's always a
little bit frustrating becausepeople go oh, your home must be
beautiful.

Amy Bennett (45:42):
I know and I'm going.

Hilary Sharp (45:44):
I have two boys.

Amy Bennett (45:45):
I know they have destroyed it.
I didn't tell you that questionwas coming because I knew it's
just always, isn't it?
It's like the hairdresser thatnever gets time for their own
hair.

Hilary Sharp (45:55):
Well, look, we rebuilt or we did sort of a
traditional beach house.
And I do just have, I preferjust muted colours, soft colours
, not bright blues that I haveon now just to kind of tone it
down quite tropical feel.

Amy Bennett (46:09):
Nice.

Hilary Sharp (46:09):
I embrace the landscape that is, with me, very
biophilic, so I have lots ofplants and nature and breezes
coming through.

Amy Bennett (46:16):
It's beautiful.
That's very much.
My heritage is Danish and it'svery much.
The way the home is set up isso important to us and our
culture.
If you could have any otherhome sort of dream home let's
think the boys have headed andyou get a blank canvas to build
your dream home.

Hilary Sharp (46:35):
Oh, I would quite happily go into a very old
Parisian apartment.

Amy Bennett (46:41):
Do you know what those two double doors?
Yes, I like it, I wouldn't mindthat for a little bit
Mademoiselle.

Hilary Sharp (46:48):
Yeah, just a really elegant, huge, tall, big
chandelier you know somethingcompletely different the colour
opposite.
I could have the time in myParisian apartment.

Amy Bennett (46:57):
I like it.
Yeah, I think that would becool.
Blacks and whites then thatwould be.

Hilary Sharp (47:02):
Not.
I like it.
Yeah, that's cool.
I think that would be cool.
Blacks and whites, then thatwould be Not necessarily Okay.
I'd probably do a neutral wall.

Amy Bennett (47:06):
I don't know, you get me all daydreaming now I
like it.
We'll mood board that yeah,yeah, that's your new project.

Hilary Sharp (47:12):
No need to go to the embassy, it would probably
be a balance of very old world,very traditional, but with
modern.
So I'd have very oldarchitectural features.
I'm imagining a 200-yearherringbone floor but maybe a
modern piece of furniture withit Stunning.
It'd be fabulous, it'd beabsolutely fabulous.

Amy Bennett (47:27):
Gorgeous.
You know, I'm literally lookingforward 20 years.

Hilary Sharp (47:31):
The fabulous Parisian fabrics coming down in
drapes.
Yeah, it'd be great.
That's cool.

Amy Bennett (47:37):
I just always love that concept.
I mean, I'm always flippingthrough magazines and seeing
what's possible and you know I'mreally grateful to you know to
live in a home that you know Ifeel is kind of almost my
fantasy come true already, youknow.

Hilary Sharp (47:49):
I think the problem is I love so many
different designs.
I know, yeah, I'm exposed to somany different things.
It actually makes it reallyhard to design for myself.
Yeah, I bet I think I just needto get really, really wealthy
and have lots of homes.

Amy Bennett (48:00):
That's good, because.

Hilary Sharp (48:01):
I just thought I'd love one in the Henchland too.

Amy Bennett (48:03):
There you go.
I like it Now.
Interior.
So we spoke about staging andobviously that's been my main
focus for you to come on.
But interior?
Who's your ideal client?
What do they need from you?

Hilary Sharp (48:18):
Well, I suppose, interesting.
I often get asked by clientsyou know what's my style?
And I sort of say, well, mystyle is really not important.
So how I design for people is,first of all, to listen.
I really want to be able tolisten to what they like and
what they enjoy I suppose I lookat.
Unfortunately, interiors is aluxury item to a certain extent

(48:42):
and the design service that Iprovide is more of a luxury item
for a lot of people.

Amy Bennett (48:49):
And is it new design renovating Everything?

Hilary Sharp (48:52):
Okay, we do everything from pre-build.
I love doing pre-builds becauseyou're getting in before the
ground has even been dug.
Yes, and you're planning thatinterior from the inside.
So I get incredibly satisfiedby you know we might take the
building designer's drawings orthe architect's drawings and we
just zoom into every room.
And I didn't realise thatvisualisation in 3D was a gift.

Amy Bennett (49:14):
I thought everyone had it, but I do that, I zoom in
.

Hilary Sharp (49:16):
I know exactly by looking at a piece of paper how
it's going to look, what theelevation is going to look like
and making sure that it'sbalanced Natural light, Natural
light symmetry, even artificiallight, how that's going to
affect the wall and things likethat.
So my brain will just go it'samazing, that's a gift, right.
Yeah, apparently, so Take it.
But I do love, I love thatplanning aspect.

(49:40):
So I mean they just go hand inhand, whether it's planning and
design from on paper before it'sbuilt, or the transformation of
an empty house or a full housefull of stuff.
I am visualising what it'sgoing to look at that end
product.

Amy Bennett (49:55):
So many possibilities.

Hilary Sharp (49:57):
I find that enormously satisfying.
So I do, I guess, enjoy when Ihave people that value that, yes
, and that I can feel that I'mproviding an added benefit for
them.
So a lot of my clients might beincredibly intelligent people
and have gifts that I do nothave, you know, but they can't
visualize and they're upfrontand honest and they said like I

(50:19):
really can't visualize and I'mthere it's okay because I can
and I'm going to hold your handthrough the process and we're
going to do that, and that initself is incredibly satisfying
with holding someone's handthrough that process and guiding
them and earning their trust todo that.

Amy Bennett (50:34):
It is, and especially that it is going to
be their home to enjoy.

Hilary Sharp (50:37):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Again, that, for me, is soimportant.
We've got three things with anydesign project.
You've got budget, style andtime, and those are the three
elements that you have to get inbalance.
Yes, and everyone has differentthings that will pull.
So somebody might be tight oncash Yep, and then you're going

(50:57):
to have to say, well, then youmight have to wait longer for
stuff Yep.
Or you might have to compromiseon the style, and then we'll
guide them through how to dothat Perfect.
And if it's furnitureprocurement, for example, you
know they say I love this table,I want a table like that.
I said okay, yeah, look, I canfind you a table like that.
Yeah, that table is going to be$30,000.

(51:20):
Oh, yeah, right, I don't loveit that much.
It's like okay, well, here'sanother one.
This table is 2,000.
Oh, okay, and it looks similar,but it's not as nice, but it
looks similar.

Amy Bennett (51:30):
Yeah, that's amazing.
Well, it's understanding and,like you said, it's listening in
each of those elements.

Hilary Sharp (51:35):
Yeah, so my ideal client just appreciates that and
is forthcoming.
And you know it's a team.

Amy Bennett (51:43):
It's a team effort.
It's a team yeah.

Hilary Sharp (51:44):
Absolutely, and that's what I always say to
clients.
It's we start off with aninitial consultation or studio
workshop, and design is fluidand subject to change, yes, and
we just try and get thatinformation from them, and very
often clients don't know whatthey want until we present, and
then we revise, and then wetweak, and then the process

(52:06):
evolves and a beautiful outcomearrives.

Amy Bennett (52:09):
Yeah, it's amazing.
We went, we're looking atupdating our bathrooms and we
went to a home show recently andI tell you what that was two
hours.
I would never do again becauseit's very overwhelming.
Well, and I mean mean, theinteresting thing is, you know,
I'm in homes all the time, likeI said I'm, you know, flicking
through magazines, like I knowthe elements, I know what I like
and I know what I don't like,but from my perspective that's

(52:30):
definitely something I wouldoutsource, because I recognize
you have to make the choice.
Yeah, I don't have the skills ofwhat works together and what
you need and textures and yeahand it's not that we also have
the background knowledge of.

Hilary Sharp (52:42):
Let's take the tapware what's the environmental
tapware of the rating?
What's your coastal area?
Is it going to rust?
So all those practicalknowledge things.
And I suppose that's where Ilaugh when people go, oh you
must be great at picking colours, I said, well, yeah, I am.
But I also know the fabric onthe chair, the wearability, the
durability, the flame testingthe light, fastness, will it
fade?

(53:02):
I also know the tap how muchflow comes out of the water,
what's its wells rating, whatits warranty is, where it's made
, Absolutely All of thesedifferent things.

Amy Bennett (53:18):
And again, this is what this podcast series is all
about is drilling down to thatdeeper level, because you know,
when I was a wedding planner,sure every bride said I'd love
to do this or you know,everybody, once you've sold
their home, they want to be areal estate agent.
So there's always so much more.
If not and I feel like I barelyshouldn't even ask this
question but if you weren'tdoing what you were doing, what
would you like to do?

Hilary Sharp (53:40):
So, going back to when I was 10, there was another
love of mine that I didn'tshare with you, and that was my
very, very first love, which wasacting, and I was brought into
acting at the age of six.
I was the only teacher thatactually gave my mother any
advice with regards to myeducation.

(54:01):
She said get that child intoacting.
Wow, and she did, and Icontinued with acting all the
way through my schooling and itwas a tremendous support for me,
emotionally and creativity,just from a physical perspective
and it was.
It was wonderful.
I continued acting atuniversity, the the amateur
dramatics, and then, when Ifinished, in Bank of Ireland

(54:24):
again, if you'd asked me at 10,I was going to be an award,
oscar-winning actress.

Amy Bennett (54:29):
Yes, no doubt Charlene from Neighbours had an
influence.

Hilary Sharp (54:33):
Absolutely Far more theatrical, far more
serious.

Amy Bennett (54:36):
I like it Really great actress.

Hilary Sharp (54:38):
Yeah, but again, you know, Dad was always great
at reminding me that there's nomoney in that now.
Thanks, Dad.
There's no money in that now.
You'll be out of work.
Look at the amount ofunemployed actors there are in
Dublin.

Amy Bennett (54:50):
It's great.

Hilary Sharp (54:53):
Always that grounding, yeah, yeah, yeah, and
then Mum would sort of turn andgo.
Well, you know love you do likea bit of style.
You know sure You'll not beable to afford go shopping if
you know on an actor's budgetand things like that, you know,
Like that's the kind ofconfidence you get with Irish
parents.

Amy Bennett (55:07):
You know there's nothing like you'll make it,
honey, You'll be great.

Hilary Sharp (55:10):
So it was like, okay, fine, they weren't stage
mom, no, no.
Oh, that's hilarious.
Far from Loved the creativity,loved the atmosphere of it.
And when I came back and wasworking in Bank of Ireland, I
did a Guildhall certificate inacting as well.
And I sort of said you know,I'll keep this going.
And I guess it was at thatpoint in my life I was 21 then

(55:32):
and it was like what do I do?
Do I go to Australia?
Do I go into acting?
Do I still work at the bank?
And I guess I sort of went wellat the bank.
I guess I sort of went well.
I don't know if I want theinsecurity of income, not
knowing what income I had.
I also didn't want the judgmentthat I was feeling I was
getting.
I didn't have that confidence.

(55:53):
Maybe as a 21-year-old woman totake that level of your teeth
aren't right your eyes are wonkyBecause I'd done a lot of aud
additions as a child and youknow we'd got to sort of.
You know you're on the secondcall.
You're on the second call ofthis big Disney film and it's
just we just don't want her.
Her kind of face is a bit wonky.

(56:14):
You've got to have a prettyThanks.
Yeah you know, you kind ofrecognised that for me,
emotionally, it wasn't going tobe the road to go down.
I wasn't sort of strong enoughor confident enough to have that
.
So yeah, I just parked it andwent travelling.

(56:35):
And I still enjoy theatre, lovetheatre and things like that.
That's awesome.
I'm sure one day I might tiptoeback in.
I like it.

Amy Bennett (56:42):
We'll see you on the stage.
Wonderful.
So we spoke all about work andprofession.
Let's ask some more personalquestions.
What's your dream holidaydestination?

Hilary Sharp (56:54):
So many because I love holidaying, but I guess,
because I live here by the beach, I always like to look at
something different and I dolike going back to Ireland, back
to the mother country at times.
So I'd have to say I do likeI'd have to include a bit of a
trip around the wild Atlanticway.

Amy Bennett (57:10):
Yeah, it would be fun.

Hilary Sharp (57:12):
I kind of though I probably enjoy anywhere in
Europe just for the depth ofculture that is there.
It really ticks a lot of boxesfor me.
Culture that is there, itreally ticks a lot of boxes for
me.
I really enjoy the variety ofculture that we can get within
such a short period geographicaldistance.
I really enjoy the artgalleries and the museums that

(57:32):
it provides, and the food, sothere's a lot of things that I
enjoy about traveling aroundEurope, so for me, that's
probably a dream holiday.

Amy Bennett (57:44):
And in winter.
Yeah, it's a good contrast.

Hilary Sharp (57:47):
Yeah, absolutely, as I said like, we have the
beautiful beaches here, I havethis every single day.

Amy Bennett (57:53):
I love it.

Hilary Sharp (57:53):
I don't need to go on holiday for the weather.
I don't need to go on holidayfor a beach holiday.
Agreed.

Amy Bennett (57:58):
So anything that's different.
Yeah, that's me Winter, cosy,hot, you know, hot mulled wine.
That's kind of my idealespecially with the humidity
we've got at the moment,Speaking of mulled wine and all
things delicious tell us aboutyour favourite meal and drink my

(58:19):
favourite meal and drink.

Hilary Sharp (58:20):
Well, as you know, us Irish, we like pretty much
anything that's alcoholic.
Yeah, it doesn't always like me.
Yes, it's probably easier tosay what I don't like.
Yes, I drink everything apartfrom bourbon.
I don't like bourbon Guinness,sorry.
Yes, so I do like gin and tonicis always great.
Or a good pint of Guinness.

Amy Bennett (58:39):
Yeah, what is it called Tan?
Is it Kilkenny and Guinnesstogether?
The white and tan?
Is it?

Hilary Sharp (58:47):
No, I don't know, but it's nice.
It's not a black and tan, is it?
Yes, it is.
Is that what it is?

Amy Bennett (58:53):
No, I don't know, I think it is, it could be, We'll
Google that yeah yeah, and Ireally like Irish cider as well.

Hilary Sharp (59:01):
Yeah actually cider is probably one drink that
I don't drink as much of ohthere you go.

Amy Bennett (59:05):
Bad experience as an underage drinker?
Yes, Not to be repeated.
And you're a savoury gal.

Hilary Sharp (59:11):
Yes, yes, I love savoury food, love cheeses, love
seafood olives.

Amy Bennett (59:16):
And did I?
Is it right?
G&t and olives together, You'vegot me.
Hey, heaven, heaven on a stick.
If it wasn't 10 am, totallytell us about the best day of
your life.

Hilary Sharp (59:28):
Yeah, um, I was thinking about that one and I
sort of you know, I should sortof say the day I married my
husband it was great, he's notlistening but, um, you know, my
wedding day was lovely but itwas very stressful.
And then I should say, the daymy children were born, you know,
but to be honest with you,childbirth was not fun, and so

(59:49):
much so by the birth of thesecond one I said I'm not
repeating this again.

Amy Bennett (59:52):
This is the last time I'm going through this.

Hilary Sharp (59:57):
I don't particularly have a single
favorite day.
I think I like to reflect ondays that I feel gratitude in,
and they are often days that Ihave accomplished and ticked
things off my list I'm a listgirl, I like it and also times
where I'm very much at peace,and that's always when I'm out
at nature.

(01:00:17):
So if I'm either swimming inthe ocean or I'm out in the bush
and I'm amongst trees and itbrings a whole level of calm,
those are the days that I Iyearn for.
I love waking up in the morningwhen there's no, it's really
quiet, no one else is up, and Ijust take calm, take a moment,
reflect and be at peace.
And it sounds corny.

(01:00:38):
No, that's that's for for me,and if I can approach each day
like that and end the day likethat, you get a wonderful sense
of satisfaction and wellbeing.

Amy Bennett (01:00:48):
It's just optimal, isn't it, to be able to
experience that, and I love that.
It's not about encapsulatingone day, because every day is
precious and it really is.

Hilary Sharp (01:00:58):
It's so important to be mindful of that and to
understand and take a moment tokind of you know this is the
12th of February.
We will never relive this again.
I like that.
Yeah, that's so true.
You know, always think each dayI must remember the one nice
thing from this day.
There's lots of not nice thingsthat happen.
Yeah, that's just the way lifeis you know that's.

Amy Bennett (01:01:19):
the world just keeps on turning doesn't it yeah
?

Hilary Sharp (01:01:21):
So to end out, because it's just been amazing
and I know we could talk forhours, I know we did two
chatterboxes like the worst toget together.

Amy Bennett (01:01:30):
No, I'm sure it makes for interesting listening.
But to wrap us up, hilary,would you like to share your
favourite quote or a saying thatresonates with you?

Hilary Sharp (01:01:40):
Yeah, look, I love quotes, love sayings.
Don't always get them in theright order.
Is that an Irish thing?
No, it's just me.
My school friends have a bookon the sayings that I have got
mixed up in over the time, soit's a bit of a running
commentary on how Hilary's brainworks.
There's so much going throughher head but they don't always
come out in the right order.

(01:02:00):
But I guess good sayings are.
Why bend down to pick upnothing?
Hey?
That's a new one for me.

Amy Bennett (01:02:08):
Really yes yeah.

Hilary Sharp (01:02:10):
It's just.
It can be about doing something, or it can be reflective of a
person that is not beingbeneficial to you.
Yes, it's, yeah, it would havebeen one.
My grandmother would have saidI like it, I bend and pick up.
Nothing, my dear, that's reallycute.
Don't do something futile.
That's wasting your energy,wasting your time.
Yes, move on forward, move onforward.

(01:02:32):
Yeah, wow.

Amy Bennett (01:02:33):
Well, what a beautiful opportunity to get to
know you.
Thank you, your amazing skills,passion for your industry and
also just allowing.
Thank you, your amazing skills,passion for your industry.
I love it, yeah, and also justallowing the listener to
understand the depth of interiordesign.

Hilary Sharp (01:02:48):
It's fascinating, it really is.

Amy Bennett (01:02:50):
The benefits of staging a property and how that
can ultimately add thousands ofdollars to the sales result,
which is amazing.

Hilary Sharp (01:02:59):
It's a small investment and I like to think
of it as an investment.
You know, they say that it canincrease your property by 10%.
So you do the maths.

Amy Bennett (01:03:07):
If you're selling a house for a million bucks, it's
extra change in the pocket andalso our mutual and shared love
for our region.
It's beautiful, yes.
So grateful, we are gratefulthat your hubby came into that
meeting room and you ended uphere.
I know, serendipitous as it is,Everything is meant for a

(01:03:28):
reason it is.
Thank you so much, Hilary Sharp, for joining me.
And no doubt we'll be enjoyingworking together and staging
properties in the future, nodoubt, thank you.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of Beyond the Signboard
.
We trust you enjoyed it as muchas we enjoyed making it for you
.
If there are any topics youwant covered in the future, make

(01:03:50):
sure you reach out and let usknow.
Also, feedback and suggestionsare appreciated almost as much
as likes, shares and downloads.