Audley Retirement Villages – Sunningdale Park with Elliott Walker, Director of Sales

Could you start by telling us a little about the vision behind Sunningdale Park and what makes it special?

Sunningdale Park is a luxury retirement village offering independent living in a beautiful setting close to Ascot, Berkshire. As with every Audley Village, Sunningdale Park has its own unique story, which we were mindful of throughout the development stage.

The first thing that strikes you here is the grandeur of Northcote House, now the hub of our community at the heart of the village, set within 40 acres of grounds. The original property dates back to 1785, but it was replaced by the house you see today, built by Sir Hugo Cunliffe-Owen in 1931. A gentleman with a love of horses and lavish parties, Sir Hugo’s influence explains the spectacular rooms that our owners can now enjoy.

The lower floors of the main house are home to the Audley Club, featuring a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, gym, salon, and treatment rooms, as well as our owners’ hobby room and gardening club. On the upper floors, there are nine apartments of varying sizes.

The wider development offers a selection of one, two, and three-bedroom apartments and houses for sale, each with modern design features and high-quality finishes. Further nods to the equestrian theme can be found in the converted stables, now comprising five stunning properties, which you have kindly helped us furnish in readiness for their sales launch.

What led you to choose rented furniture for staging these cottages?

The Stables offer wonderful living spaces, but by virtue of their nature, it can be difficult to visualise how these spaces work as homes when unfurnished. Therefore, we felt that furnishing three properties on a more flexible basis would be more helpful to customers than purchasing a large amount of furniture that we would later need to store or repurpose.

Was flexibility or cost-effectiveness part of that decision?

Both were important considerations, along with the practicalities of owning so much furniture that we might not have a long-term use for.

Did renting help you achieve a particular design style or atmosphere for the restored stables?

Initially, we thought we might need to compromise on design style because we weren’t purchasing the furniture. However, we were delighted to discover that no compromises were necessary, and we achieved the style we wanted, high quality, functional, and in keeping with the surroundings.

We needed to make slightly unconventional rooms, with high ceilings and challenging layouts, feel calm, attractive, and usable. Roomservice by CORT achieved exactly that for us, and we’re delighted with the results. We hope our prospective owners will be too.

How would you describe your experience working with our team?

Excellent. Communication was clear and prompt, and the team was always helpful and responsive to our requests. A pleasure to work with.

Were there any aspects of our rental service that stood out to you, such as design quality, speed, or communication?

We were very happy on all counts and pleasantly surprised by the whole experience.

From your perspective, how does professional staging influence property listings and buyer perception?

For those who work in property, it’s easy to forget how difficult it can be to visualise an empty property as a home. There are clever virtual reality tools and CGI furniture options these days, but nothing compares to presenting a property properly staged to show it in its best possible light.

We are in the process of launching a marketing campaign specifically for The Stables. Much of this campaign is image-led, and we couldn’t have done this effectively without staging. When it comes to viewing the properties in person, they feel completely different when they are staged and create a very positive and lasting impression.

Do you feel staging helped convey the lifestyle and premium quality associated with Audley Retirement Homes?

Yes, we are very happy with the results and confident that our customers will get a much better sense of these spaces as homes, consistent with the rest of the Audley offering.

What role does the setting of Northcote House and the 79-acre estate play in creating a strong impression for potential buyers?

We believe every aspect of the offer plays a role in attracting customers to discover who we are and what we do. Northcote House and its setting are certainly among the strongest attributes of Sunningdale Park. We hope that anyone considering independent retirement living will visit us and explore what we offer, we’re confident many will be pleasantly surprised by what they find.

For all enquiries, please contact the sales team: [email protected] or 01344 586 590

For Home Staging enquiries and retirement home furnishing enquiries, contact Roomservice by CORT, or call 020 8397 9344.

Roomservice by CORT Photography and drone footage: Fi Digby-Jones.