An interior designer and a first AC husband-and-wife team say it's well worth staging a home when selling. See inside their own home and hear how what started as a side hustle delivers a strong aesthetic for homes on the market that they say achieved an average of 13 per cent over asking.
Vanya and John McCarthy were both working in fashion when they met. They knew of each other but only really got talking when they found themselves on the same flight out and back to London for training.
Vanya is from Bulgaria originally and has a degree in interior design from Varna University.
When she was made redundant during Covid, she knew she had to make a job work with busy family life.
The married couple’s three children, Ryan, Megan, and Daniel, were then aged one, two, and five, respectively.
Most people would be rocking in a corner. "There was a lot of planning and juggling," she says.
John had pivoted to film, where his work as first assistant camera, cameraman, and focus puller was taking him all over the world.
Vanya was home alone a lot.
He worked on the Disney blockbuster Disenchanted, Wednesday, and Vikings, and only this year joined the family business in a full-time capacity.
At the time, they were house hunting and found the presentation of properties to be underwhelming.
“I saw a gap in the market,” Vanya says of launching Stage My Home, which operates across Leinster.
“When it started, it was a side hustle,” she says, "something that was shoehorned in between child minding, ferrying the kids to activities and batch cooking.
"Furniture was stored in the garage. Now, in high season, it’s two jobs a day.”
She finally got childcare in 2024. As the business grew, the furniture was then stored in shipping containers.
They have now graduated to a large warehouse in Rathcoole where they have enough inventory to furnish fifty-something homes.
They’re just about finished the second renovation on their own home in Dublin 14.
“We have beige furniture and a beige rug.
"It’s still a little bit upside-down. It is also a family home. We don’t live in a staged home. That is the reality. If we did, it would be a daily struggle.”
“We understand people’s expectations. They’re looking for a better life and better order with their next move. People want to live like that, in a picture-perfect sitting room, but life is messy.”
She believes that staging is a lifestyle and is becoming more popular.
“If a house doesn’t have an Instagram look they want, they may not go to view it. Sellers realise that the biggest investment in their life will get more viewings.”
The couple says that they have achieved an average of 13 per cent over asking price on homes in 2025.
Certain types of buyers have certain expectations. An apartment asking €750,000 has a different type of buyer than one seeking €400,000.
It also has a different kind of inventory.
The cost is one per cent of the asking price. A two-bedroom standard apartment costs between €4,000 and €4,500.
Apartments are more standardised and easier to price, he explains.
”With houses, the pricing is different. One size doesn’t fit all. A three-bedroom property may have been extended with the addition of a living room. It may include an attic conversion.”
Prices for a two-bedroom home start from € 4,000, while a three-bed starts from €5,500.
They can also remove furniture from an existing property, either recycling it or sending it to one of the various charity shop organisations.
In some instances, they will partially furnish a property, using some of the existing furniture and adding to it.
In others, they might just add accessories to make the place feel more lived-in and finished. These services start from around €1,000, but every job is priced differently, depending on condition and size.
To find out more, visit Stage My Home
