Sponsored ContentPartner ContentWed 05 Aug 26
Furniture Moves From Final Fitout to Development Strategy
As apartment sales become harder to predict, developers are rethinking when furniture decisions get made, turning what was once an end-of-project expense into an early development strategy.
This case was put forward at Valiant’s roundtable lunch during The Urban Developer’s flagship conference Urbanity-26, where developers, builders and property specialists discussed furniture’s role in display suites, unsold apartments, senior living and communal spaces.
Furniture is often considered near completion, once architecture, construction and marketing decisions have been made.
Suppliers may then be asked to reproduce renders created two or three years earlier, despite changes in buyer expectations and market conditions.
The commercial pressure was clearest in a buy-versus-lease calculation.
Furtado Property director Graham Furtado said his business had spent months weighing a purchase costing more than $100,000 against leasing furniture for a small number of apartments still on the market.
Valiant’s Clara Hinch said a $60,000 furniture package leased over 12 months would cost about $5000 a month, offering flexibility while the sales timetable remained uncertain.
Hinch said “the leasing option is becoming really, really important to people” as clients sought smaller monthly outlays and a way to avoid surplus furniture once a display suite or unsold apartment was no longer required.
Founded 60 years ago as a third-generation Australian-owned business, Valiant has shifted from short-term property styling towards builders and developers over the past four years.
It offers purchase packages alongside short and long-term leasing, with rental stock available to fill gaps while purchase orders are completed.
The discussion also put numbers around furniture’s role in luxury apartment marketing.
A three-bedroom apartment priced between $3.5 million and $4 million can carry a furniture budget of $60,000 to $75,000.
At $6.5 million, the difference is less about quantity than elevated pieces, such as bespoke marble furniture, layered over a similar base package.
Beyond cost, the sales-suite impact was sharpened by Holm Developments founder and managing director Godfrey Esmonde, who said furniture needed to keep buyers comfortable while they considered a purchase and agents comfortable during lengthy negotiations.
“If you gave me a great-looking chair that was as uncomfortable as hell and my purchasers were wriggling and all the rest, I would want to make sure that the point of sale is comfortable,” Esmonde said.
“Buyers will buy when they’re sitting, when they’re comfortable.”
For downsizer-oriented projects, Esmonde said the brief went beyond appearance to comfort, luxury and storage.
High-seat lounges with supportive backs could give older buyers a better place to deliberate, while sales representatives needed seating capable of supporting hours of daily conversations.
Rather than treating interiors as decoration, Valiant builds furniture briefs backwards from the buyer, site and sales task.
Its team considers location, views, price point and target market, with bolder interiors suited to higher-priced projects and broader appeal needed in the mid-market.
The conversation moved into senior living, where Valiant said some developments had recorded a fall in average downsizer age from about 75 to 65.
Its furniture advice for the sector combines lifestyle appeal with high-back lounges, dining chairs with arms, adjustable beds and secured headboards.
Valiant’s observations from Milan Design Week pointed to colour returning after years of neutral palettes.
The company’s Style Series also examined brand activations, installations and scent, with signature fragrances used to shape experiences inside buildings.
Sustainability has also become part of the commercial argument, particularly as developers face greater scrutiny over waste, procurement and ESG claims.
Valiant said it has been carbon neutral for five years and had achieved B Corp certification, while its carbon calculators cover manufacturing, delivery, installation and furniture lifespan.
For projects already weighing whether to buy, lease or repurpose furniture, the sustainability case sits alongside the financial one with fewer redundant pieces, longer product life and clearer reporting.
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