The Wright sisters, Stacey and Debbie, are making a name for themselves with their fresh and savvy take on home staging, the art of dramatically enhancing a space to elevate its appeal. That name is Black+Wright.
At heart, Stacey’s an artist. She’s long been transferring her intuitive sense of design and colour onto large abstract canvases to transform walls in the greater Durban area and beyond. Painting with a purpose is her happy place, and she finds it enormously satisfying to hang her artwork and watch it pull a home together in an instant.
Eight years ago, Stacey took her artistry beyond a canvas and into homes, offering her creativity in different ways: home staging. Today, joined by her younger sister Debbie, Black+Wright has created a unique sales offering for property developers, estate agents, those renting out a property, or curating an Airbnb holiday home. The sisters offer a range of related home staging services targeted at different markets and budgets, with the express goal of enhancing market appeal, maximising the space’s potential, boosting buyers’ first impressions, and offering practical solutions to challenges. They’ve curated smart packages that allow clients to select anything from a consultation to a concept plan to full implementation of their design. Black+Wright has a bright and busy warehouse with a wide range of furnishings and fittings from which they can draw to curate the perfect story.
Who says family can’t work together? While the Black+Wright sisters bring different skills to the staging table, when you meet them, you’ll find their enthusiasm, roll-up-your-sleeves, and extra-mile philosophy are part of their DNA. For Stacey, “I love having a career in which no two days are the same! Debs and I both love people—much of our family has property backgrounds—and property is all about relationships. Whether it’s a seller, developer, or supplier of goods, we enjoy building these solid connections, then working hand-in-hand with those who see the value in home staging.”
As Debbie says, “Home staging is not as simple as ‘I have a good colour and décor sense, so I can decorate this myself’ for the market. We look at the property with entirely different eyes. Selling or renting out a property for the best return isn’t just about listing it—it’s about making it stand out. When a prospective buyer walks inside, and immediately visualises themselves at home in it, they’re far more likely to purchase it.” Nobody wants a property to stay on the market for long, and well-targeted home staging is a powerful tool to assist the sale. It stands to reason, too, that there’s a strong correlation between time on the market and price drop.
Decorating is only one aspect of staging, and it’s not the starting point. The duo examines that space critically for clues as to how to visually enlarge the space, create the perfect flow from zone to zone, what textures and light fittings would enhance the light or amplify the mood, and numerous other elements born of their experience. Their success is verified by how swiftly most of their staged properties sell … and the number of prospective owners who insist on buying the furniture and furnishings along with the unit!
And often, they fall in love with the art. Stacey’s original artworks are usually commissioned by an interior designer who knows Stacey’s mastery when it comes to springboarding off the colours, textures, and mood of the space. Armed with all that sensory info, Stacey loves to head off to her studio to process and interpret the information in her own way, before creating a unique, custom-designed abstract piece for that home.
Stacey Cowden and Debbie da Canha are colleagues and sisters who work exceptionally well together, both relishing the challenges of interpreting, analysing, and brainstorming around a property, to ensure they get it Wright. Black+Wright.
Words: Anne Schauffer
www.blackandwrightinteriors.co.za