What turns a house into a home, and what turns a property into a coveted listing? Answers increasingly involve interior design, cohesion, and emotional impact. In this context, Ciento Once emerges not just as a design showroom, but as a concept hub for sophisticated, intentional living.  To explore this further, luxury specialist specialist Melissa Lacayo sat down with René from Ciento Once, a design expert based in Costa Rica, for a video conversation that sheds light on how smart staging and design strategies can enhance a home’s market potential.

For homeowners preparing to sell, one of the most overlooked yet powerful tools at their disposal is staging. Buyers aren’t just shopping for square meters or finishes; they’re imagining a lifestyle. A well-staged home helps them emotionally connect, making it easier to picture themselves living there.

René points out that when every element in a home speaks the same design language, the result isn’t loud, it’s cohesive. That cohesiveness makes it easier for buyers to connect with the space without needing to mentally “edit” what they see.

In practice, that means staging isn’t just placing furniture; it’s refining the energy and flow of a property. Sellers who invest in thoughtful staging often see stronger interest, quicker offers, and reduced time on the market, not because the space is flashy, but because it feels resolved.

Buyers also benefit from understanding the value of design. When visiting a property, they’re not always looking at what’s there, but at what could be. A well-designed home helps clarify the layout, highlight strengths, and neutralize less-than-ideal features.  It’s a visual guide that lets buyers immediately understand how the space works—and how it could work better with only minimal effort.

For clients working with The Agency Costa Rica, this means recognizing that aesthetic and spatial planning isn’t just cosmetic. It’s an investment in long-term comfort and resale value.

Another insight from the conversation is the growing trend toward personalized homes that support well-being. Buyers today are not just seeking visual appeal. They want spaces that help them unplug, recharge, and feel truly at ease.

For sellers, this means staging with a sense of warmth and livability, not just minimalism. For buyers, it signals the importance of intentional design choices that reflect their lifestyle and values, whether through sustainable materials, organic layouts, or furniture that feels both beautiful and functional.

As René notes, homeowners today often want environments that let them disconnect from work, from devices, from noise. It means design that respects how people live: quiet materials, useful spatial divisions, and subtle comforts that support rest and rhythm.

One of the more practical takeaways from the interview is how design can be treated as a strategic phase, not something left for the end of the process. René outlines how working from the base materials up (flooring, ceiling treatments, fixtures) allows every layer added—furniture, lighting, art—to feel deliberate. That clarity benefits both buyers and sellers.

Thoughtful design helps:

Properties that stand out aren’t necessarily the most ambitious. They’re the most coherent. They allow people to walk in and immediately understand how the home can support their life. Design helps make that possible. Not by decorating, but by connecting materials, function, and feeling into one story.