Alex Crabtree

How did you come to plant yourself so firmly in the KBB world specifically?

Alex: I originally fell into the kitchen market because my brother and father had a company called Crabtree Kitchens. At the time I was running a recording studio for Pete Townshend of The Who. I went to my brother and father and said, "I think I can help you with PR, marketing, and styling" — never having done it, but I'm quite creative, and that's where it started. I fell into it and very quickly realised I absolutely adored the styling side, and the PR side — going out, connecting with people, magazines, all the rest of it. Sadly, Crabtree Kitchens went under in a recession, but I decided to stay in the industry because when we went under, everybody was so supportive — the magazines, the editors, the freelancers. I knew it like the back of my hand, so I went freelance. That's how it happened.

What does styling bring to a commercial photoshoot?

Alex: Styling is as important as the kitchen itself. If you walked in and it was blank, you wouldn't get any features or engagement — people need to imagine themselves in there. 

You don't over-style, and you style for the particular client. If they're a minimalist company, you don't bring in country bits and pieces; you style in a modern, contemporary way. Whether you're using the images for features, Instagram, LinkedIn, or your website, imagery is the most important thing.

When people come to me about PR, I always say: the most important thing is really fantastic imagery — not just shot on an iPhone. Magazines won't feature shoddy imagery, and that's more important than ever.

Where do you see the biggest styling mistakes that independents make? 

Alex: Either over-propping or under-propping — it's about finding the balance. Having the lights on is a big one, because all magazines want natural light; lights cast a nasty colour. One of the worst things I see is where somebody has gone to the local garage and plonked a vase of tulips on the island with nothing else — or they haven't removed the Fairy liquid. It's basic stuff. All they need to do is look at how magazines are styled. 

I've had people send me photographs and thought: I'm never going to get that into a magazine because the styling is so poor.

Always remove photographs and piles of cookery books. We often go into a shoot and I spend half an hour to an hour removing things that just aren't attractive — children's toys, piles of stuff. People say, "We don't have long," but I tell clients: we'll be coming in at half nine or ten and we'll be there until the middle of the afternoon. 

And those big pull-out larders — so often people don't prop those, and they are a nightmare. They're always full of half-used packets just put in randomly. I always go in and restyle them, take out what shouldn't be there, neaten it all up. 

We need that length of time to make the kitchen look perfect and aspirational. It's quite basic stuff, really. That's what people buying a very expensive kitchen want to see. Nobody lives in a perfect space, but it's essential for the shoot.

If you were going in for a shoot tomorrow, what would you take with you?

Alex: I always buy fruit, vegetables, and flowers. And I pack my trolley — a little box on wheels — with a selection of my own props: my own china, baskets, whatever's needed. I always get a snap from the client first so I know whether it's contemporary or traditional. Sometimes I don't use anything from my own boxes, which is brilliant — I prefer to use the homeowner's items — but sometimes they're just not quite up to standard. It's a fine line between not upsetting them and making the space look clean and tidy.

As for flowers, I never go without them, but I avoid seasonal choices because you never know when the photo will be featured. I go for greenery — eucalyptus, or tiny white daisies — something not obviously tied to a time of year. If you bought daffodils and the shot was featured at Christmas, that's a real no-no. 

And never put pumpkins in. I've seen people do it, but if it comes out in spring — it would look ridiculous.

You mentioned the evergreen approach. Is that always the rule?

Alex: Yes, always. Try and make it pretty — eucalyptus and slightly floppy, hanging greenery can look so gorgeous without being seasonal. I did a shoot recently in spring and the client had gone to the market and bought beautiful spring blossoms. I felt terrible, but I had to say: if I get this featured in December with spring blossom, that's a no-no. We ended up doing some close-up shots elsewhere in the living area instead. I love blossoms — but I'm always styling with the view towards features and client needs.

What are three plant props you'd say yes to, and three absolute no-nos.

Alex: No to orchids — whilst I adore them, and I even went to the orchid event at Kew Gardens, my photographer and I both just don't like the way they look on a shoot. They can look a bit fake, and there are an awful lot of very good fakes around now. No to cacti and little pot plants — they're just a bit boring. And no to anything half-dying with brown leaves, even if the homeowner loves them.

For the yeses: greenery is the main one — eucalyptus and lovely evergreen stems, the slightly floppy kind that hang down. Olive branches, if they're really good quality, are excellent. And for a flower: white roses. You can get them at all times of the year, and they fit perfectly with the minimalist style of kitchens today. 

I always stick to white and green. I would definitely not take purple flowers — that is my idea of hell. And with vegetables, generally nothing red or orange. I usually take lemons, limes, and lovely green apples.

What are the top styling priorities for smaller operators who haven't yet internalised just how much this matters?

Alex: Photography is expensive, but try and find a photographer you can afford. And even if you can't afford a stylist, the company owner — or whoever they've got in-house — should go along to the shoot and clear everything you don't want seen: the piles of things, the kitchen roll, the squeezy bottles. Properly style it.

Don't take just three images. I do five or six main shots of the whole kitchen, five or six medium shots, and the rest are detail shots — pulling out drawers, opening the larder, whatever the kitchen calls for. 

Never have the lights on — it casts a nasty colour. And never do those wide-angled shots like estate agents use; that's a massive no-no. If the rest of the room is lovely, get shots that include the kitchen in the context of its surroundings — people love to see where it sits.

Somebody said to me recently, "Can you do three kitchens in a day?" I said: "No — I can do one, and I'll do one incredibly well." He said, "Oh, we just go in for an hour." Well, you can imagine what you're going to get in just one hour. 

When people say to me, "I just shot it for Instagram," and I look at the photos, I think: that's not going to pull in any business, because it looks like you've made no effort. And if you've made no effort at that, it reflects on your company. Instagram is what people look at first these days, and you need to show so much in a nanosecond.

The person asking about three kitchens in a day was clearly trying to cut costs. Why doesn't that logic hold up?

Alex: They weren't even really thinking of employing me — it was more of a general question, and I just said, no, absolutely not. It's impossible. By the time you've set up the camera, cleaned and tightened everything up, done all the props, and packed everything back away — it's never going to work. Trying to save money like that is just not worth it. It's a short-term fix.

Realistically, how many hours should an independent operator commit to a proper kitchen shoot?

Alex: All I can tell you is what I do. I go in at around half nine or ten, and we're there until the middle of the afternoon — say three or four o'clock. It varies: we've done later days, and sometimes less when it's very clean, tidy, and a simple design. But I think you've got to say it's going to be a minimum half-day to do it properly. If you're going in for an hour, you might as well not bother — because how is that going to look on Instagram, your website, or in a feature? And always shoot more images than you think you need. We do 25 to 30 shots depending on the size of the kitchen.

Is there a budget threshold below which professional styling simply isn't worth commissioning?

Alex: Stylists vary enormously — I've heard of anything from £300 to £500 a day. On top of that, props, fruit, flowers, veg come to roughly £100, something like that — that has to be factored in. My photographer gives me a special deal because it's repeat business — and I know some kitchen photographers who charge over £1,000, and that’s fine.

What I sometimes say is: send me pictures of the kitchen and I'll tell you whether I think it's worth shooting. For a £20,000 kitchen — probably not, unless it's something really striking, like a very colourful finish. I'd say upwards of £30,000 to £40,000 is where it starts to make sense — if the kitchen is gorgeous, or if it's something you haven't got in your portfolio yet and you really need to sell it on.

How would you quantify the ROI of good styling? Does it attract higher spenders — improve conversion?

Alex: I don't know exact conversion rates because clients don't report back to me in those terms. But it's a no-brainer: if you see something styled beautifully and you fall in love with it, you'll buy it. It doesn't matter whether it's fashion, interiors, or kitchens — it makes a difference. We're very visual now, more so than ever. I've been to places where people walked in with a magazine and said, "I saw this kitchen and I wanted to buy it." And I know from Crabtree Kitchens, and from my clients now, that it works. It absolutely attracts a more ideal type of client — definitely.

Most independent operators see the big sheds — Wren, Howdens, B&Q — as villains of the industry. But they've mastered visual merchandising. What could independents learn from them?

Alex: A lot of showrooms just don't look appealing. I went into one years ago in an upmarket area — and they had a pile of samples in the window and a raggedy old plant. That tells you nothing.

My real bugbear is when you open one of those big pull-out larders and there is nothing in them. When we had our showroom, I always filled all the cupboards — because if you open a pull-out and there's olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tins and jars, you tap into something. You think, "Oh yes, that's what I want." But an empty one? It says nothing.

Showrooms need to show a lifestyle — it's not just the kitchen. Keep it dust-free and clean. I had a client once — the smallest showroom — who had somebody in-house who made tea for visitors and cleaned and dusted constantly. That to me is really important. And smell. You can tell a quality smell versus a cheap one. Don't buy cheap because cheap smells cheap, and that says cheap kitchen. I've just bought an amazing room spray called Powerhouse by Ashley & Co — and there's a hotel I visit in town that has their own bespoke scent. You walk in and it just lifts you. That's the feeling you want people to have in a showroom. I always had flowers delivered to our showroom every week without fail. When we first started Crabtree Kitchens, I went to Harrods and John Lewis and spent a small fortune on gorgeous props that lasted us for years. One doesn't have to go to Harrods, obviously — but invest in something.

Should operators set aside a minimum percentage of their overheads for presentation and props?

Alex: I think so, definitely. Because if you're not presenting something that looks gorgeous, you're not going to sell. It's a bit like having your designers in scruffy old T-shirts and dirty jeans. It's all about presentation — as far as I'm concerned, always.

If somebody came to you and said, "I want our Instagram to bring in enquiries, not just likes and saves" — what are three things they should change immediately?

Alex: Post regularly — that's one of the crimes I see all the time. If you can't do it every other day, do it at least twice a week. The algorithm doesn't like inconsistency. And if you're only going to post once a week, do it on the same day — a Wednesday, for instance — so there's a pattern to it.

Engage with accounts that might be useful to you: interior designers, architects, a local company you might want to collaborate with. Go through them, follow them, and comment.

And always reply when someone comments on your posts — do more than just a heart. It's all about communication. I know it takes time, but it's worth it. I recommended somebody to go on Instagram a few years ago and he said no, no, no, no. Then he decided he would — and now he gets tonnes of work through it. It works.

So many people in the industry are feeling jaded. They say social media is just pay to play now.

Alex: I think people love to be negative. I don't think it's going to just finish — not yet, anyway. And sometimes the people who are most negative — I've looked at their Instagram and they've got about 20 comments. Look at my Instagram and there's a lot of engagement, a lot of comments — but I work hard at it. I comment back on everyone who comments on mine, without fail.

How much time do you spend on Instagram each day?

Alex: Between three and four hours every day. Some days, if I haven't posted, it might be two hours. I get up very early — by half five or six o'clock I'm already commenting back on people who commented overnight. Then I'll post and engage for an hour or so, get ready, and do it again whenever I can — in a café, or in the evening watching television. People say, "I've got no time," but you can make time if you want to do something.

Over your whole career, how many kitchens would you say you've styled?

Alex: Oh, goodness I honestly don't know. At Crabtree we did six to eight shoots a year, and I was there for well over 20 years. And then I've had various clients since. I'd say somewhere between 500 and 1,000 — but it's a genuine guess. It's got to be many, many hundreds.