Leeds letting agent teams up with BBC interior designer to transform student housing

Leeds-based student letting agent, Sugarhouse Properties, has teamed up with BBC Interior Design Master contestant Amy Wilson to help raise the standards of shared student housing in the city.

The student housing market in the city is currently booming, with over 60,000 students living and studying year-round in Leeds.

Whilst there has been a constant stream of new high specification, purpose-built accommodation being built around the city centre, there remains huge demand for traditional shared housing, especially in the popular student areas of Hyde Park and Headingley.

Richard Napier, director of Sugarhouse Properties, said: “Students now, quite rightly, want well thought-out properties and eye-catching design, something which the purpose-built accommodation market caters for. But they also want the experience of living in a shared property with their friends.

"Through working with Amy we have been able to create design templates and mood boards that mean we can match, and hopefully beat, the standards set by the luxury high rise blocks, but in shared houses. They’re bright and fun and we think our tenants will love them.”

According to consumer data researcher Statista, 52% of UK students who pay for accommodation while studying still live in traditional student properties in their second and third years of education.

As the cost of higher education and living expenses increases, students now expect a much higher standard of property and for additional services, such as utilities and high speed broadband, to be included.

Interior designer Amy Wilson was one of three Yorkshire contestants on the second season of BBC Interior Design Master.

She is a former student at the University of Leeds, and has first-hand experience of what student life is like in the city.

Approached by renowned letting agents Sugarhouse Properties for this project, she was asked to curated a number of mood boards focusing on fun, colour and tenant wellbeing.

These have been given names and themes such as ‘The Power of Plants’, ‘Wanderlust’ and ‘The Future of Disco’.

Landlords are then shown these moodboards and are able to pick the scheme that they like to use prior to work on the house starting.

Whilst working on the project, Amy updated her Instagram followers of its progress. She wrote: “It’s been great fun working with Sugarhouse and seeing someone really think about the design elements of student accommodation.

"It certainly wasn’t like this when I was a student! I’ve tried to create design schemes that will help inspire landlords into action, and help provide students with an ‘Instagrammable’ home to be proud of.”

Work has already begun on a number of houses across Leeds which Sugarhouse hopes to be ready for the start of the new academic year, which will officially get underway over the next few weeks leading up to October.

To see more of Amy Wilson’s work, go to: www.amywilsoninteriors.co.uk

For more details on Sugarhouse Properties go to: www.sugarhouseproperties.co.uk