Clare Parrack has always been creative. With an art and design A-Level, she planned to go on to art college. She said: "One of my teachers asked me what I wanted to do, and said: "You do write quite well."

A job came up on the local paper and I was on track to train as a journalist.

After working at Oxford Mail for several years, she went on to have a successful career in broadcasting, becoming a senior producer with the BBC.

But the urge to use her creative skills in another way became stronger, and now in her 50s, she has finally decided to fulfil her dream.

She has set up a company called Clarify Interiors to ‘stage’ homes before the owners put them up for sale.

'Staging' rose to prominence with TV shows such as House Doctor, and Ms Parrack was 'casting around' for a new direction when she discovered Ann Maurice, presenter of the home makeover TV show, was running training courses.

“I have always been interested in interior design, but this seemed more practical, and I started on the course.”

In order to qualify, Ms Parrack had to present a portfolio of properties she had transformed to make them more saleable.

She said: “One of the houses I took on for the course was my cousin's home in Devon. They had had it on the market for two years, and after my work the estate agent came round to suggest lowering the price, but when she saw the change, she agreed it made a remarkable difference. They ended up selling at the asking price.”

At first sight, it seems a remarkable career change, but she says there are many parallels with her former career, particularly the need to listen and communicate.

“It is not such a big jump from journalism. It is an editing process, but with objects, not with words. You have to de-personalise it so that people can see the potential.

“The whole idea is to do it simply and cheaply and, as far as possible, using what people have already.”

She believes buyers are busy, unimaginative and easily turned off.

“Most people can’t see past your personal taste in wall colours, furniture and furnishings or the clutter in your spare room or on your shelves.

“Yet the decision to buy or not is usually made within the first five minutes of setting foot in a property. It may be the biggest financial investment most of us ever make, but buying a house is an emotional decision.

“If a potential buyer does not immediately like what they see, they won’t buy, or they'll think ‘I'll have to spend money to change that’ so will offer less than the asking price."”

She says the key is to allow people to dream about living in your house.

“Sometimes people have over-sized sofas, and that's the one thing that makes a house look smaller. You might encourage them to borrow one and put theirs into storage. I am building up an inventory of stuff I can lend out myself.

“Dining rooms, for instance, never get used, and people use them for something entirely different, like a study. But it is an aspirational thing — people think they will be having dinner parties — so we encourage sellers to get a dining table and chairs.

“You are selling a dream. People will end up having dinner on their laps in front of the TV, on the big sofa, but they don’t know that."

Ms Parrack is also a member of the Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers, and her photographic skills mean she can supply professional photos of clients’ staged properties which their estate agents can use for marketing.

She said: “I particularly enjoy helping older people and their families, for whom the task of down-sizing to a smaller property, sheltered housing or a retirement home can be an emotional and sometimes overwhelming experience.”

* Contact: 07917 716004 Web: www.clarifyinteriors.co.uk