Source: Toll Brothers in Cinco Ranch, Katy TX
It seems a new construction community goes up everyday here in the area where I live. of course, with new communities, come the lovely model homes.
Source: Highland Homes Cinco Ranch Katy TX
Model homes are a great marketing tool for home builders. Just like a seller staging a home for sale, a model home is meant to connect with the emotions of the potential buyers and get them to imagine themselves living there.
Home builders conduct market research to pin point the needs and wants of the demographic that they are trying to attract to their homes, and then hire Interior Designers to merchandise the models in a way that will connect with potential buyers.
Source: Highland Homes Cinco Ranch Katy TX
Model homes communicate a strong message of a better value to prospects by the way they are decorated.
- Furniture layouts play a huge role in maximizing space. Designers spend a great deal of time presenting model homes as being as spacious as possible. Every square foot counts
- Creating the right atmosphere allows the home to be more memorable. Homebuilders and designers are well aware that the prospective buyer is also looking at their competitors.
- Interior architectural detailing creates the perception of heightened value and uniqueness.
- Creating memory points connects with the prospective buyer on an emotional level
- Visual appeal, color coordination, trends, timelessness and classic details help prospective buyers imagine themselves living in the home
- Upgraded features allows the home builders to sell more of those upgrades. Prospective buyers tend to buy what they see.
Source: Toll Brothers Cinco Ranch, Katy TX
So you can see that a lot goes into merchandising a model home.
As a homeowner looking to decorate your home, there is a great opportunity of getting great ideas from visiting model homes. After all, they represent the vision and ideas of talented Interior Designers, with well thought out designs. Use their ideas to your advantage, for free.
Source: Toll Brothers Cinco Ranch, Katy TX
I have worked for enough homebuilders to see that with the weekend comes the lookers and the neighbors who are curious to see what the model homes look like. Some are just checking them out to compare value, while others are actually looking for decorating ideas.
Source: Toll Brothers Cinco Ranch, Katy TX
If you are one of those people looking for decorating ideas by visiting model homes, there are some tips I can provide to help you stay focused and actually get some useful ideas that you can implement in your own home, for less.
- Visit a community with home values similar to or higher than your home’s value
- Look for a floorplan and size that is similar to your home.
- Bring a camera and make sure that it is ok to take pictures. Some builders weirdly enough are opposed to people “stealing” their decorating ideas and will not allow you to take pictures.
- Bring a notepad to make notes and even sketch the room and furniture layout. After looking at several model homes all day, they will start running together in your mind
- Make a list of special features that you like and possibly want to duplicate in your home
- Bring a tape measure. This is helpful to measure interesting architectural details that you can scale to fit your home.
- Don’t be afraid to ask the Sales person about some of the features, especially names of paint colors. They will often have this information and don’t mind sharing. Usually they are not educated on the source of furnishings or even the Designer of the model home.
- Look for a home that has a similar color scheme to what you have in mind for your home. The color schemes the Designers use are usually in line with current trends.
- If you see a piece of furniture that you absolutely love and have to have, open the top drawer or look underneath a cushion, and there you can usually find the name of the manufacturer.
- If you plan to hire a Designer to decorate your home, have him/her visit one or two of the model homes that you like. That will help communicate your vision to your Designer. Point out the features that you love and most importantly some of the things you don’t.
- Notice the scale of the furnishings compared to the size of the room
- Notice that model homes are always full of natural light. This is mainly because they don’t use window coverings except for decorative drapery panels or valances that don’t cover the windows. If you want to have the same feel of as much natural light as possible in your home, it’s important to choose window coverings that can easily be pulled up and out of the way.
- Notice that even though the Designer w ants to bring in natural night and preserve views, window treatments are still used. That’s a clue that window treatments play a major role in adding softness and pulling a room together
- Notice how the accessories are arranged in each vignette. Usually in odd numbers, with varying heights, texture and scale
- Notice how art is hung at an eye level comfortable to anyone regardless of their height
- Notice that the look starts from the exterior of model homes. Creating a great curb appeal can give the visitors to your home the same welcoming feel. Create a couple of beautiful beds of annuals in your front yard. Create a stone walkway using inexpensive stepping stones. Add a nice seating area on a front porch with beautiful potted plants
- Notice the decorating styles and see if that fits in with your lifestyle.
- Notice the use of textiles – Notice how patterns and textures are successfully mixed to add warmth and personality
- Narrow down your list of favorite homes, and return a couple more times to really sink your teeth into the designs.
- Visit on a weekday if possible. Less traffic usually, and you have the opportunity to speak to the Sales person without much interruption
Source: Partners in Building Cinco Ranch Katy TX
Source: Highland Homes Cinco Ranch Katy TX
Hopefully you found some great tips to help you stay focused when you visit model homes for decorating ideas. Sure they are fun to look at, so you want to take your time to browse and take it all in, but don’t forget the purpose of your visit.
The goal is to leave there feeling inspired to tackle your own decorating project.
Do you have new home communities in your area? Do you enjoy looking at the model homes? Have you ever gotten decorating ideas from model homes? Leave me a comment below
Have a terrific Tuesday!
Be Inspired!
Veronica Solomon, Casa Vilora Interiors
VeronicaSolomon.com
Right after my husband and I bought our house (our first), we went to lots of open houses in the area to see how their houses were decorated so we could get ideas for ours.
I am one if those visiting for decoration tips. Thanks so much for your list. I was always shy to ask about paint colors and such
Great idea, They do make model home looks great
They sure do!
When we lived in Orlando there was an amazing Parade of Homes tour; it was super helpful for decorating our house!
Wow these are gorgeous! It’s definitely a great idea to look at model homes because it can surely give you a lot of ideas! Thanks for the tip!
I love the idea of looking at model homes to get ideas – and the decorating tips learned will be up-to-date ideas, too!
I used to go check out model homes with my mom to dream about different ways we could decorate a house! It is such a great resource! -Amber E.
When buying our first house we toured a number of open houses to get design ideas.
I used to love going out and looking at model homes. More to get layout ideas for my “dream” home in my mind then decorating. I never considered their decorating authentic.
These are gorgeous houses! I love looking at homes like these, however I wouldn’t want to clean one if I had it! Thanks for the inspiration!
It’s always fun to see a home where a designer was able to go all-out. We have condos in the area I take inspiration from.
This is a great article! Wonderful tips and the photos are fabulous!!
I love looking at model homes, but I have never thought to take decorating ideas from them before. Thanks for the tips!
This is a post full of fun pictures! We looked around at many homes before purchasing the one we have now. One of them was a model home that had been put up for sale. It was gorgeous inside!! Perfect!! But we weren’t happy when we found out what the building material was made of…so we passed. It sure would have been easy to move in there though.
I have to say I used to love going around new builds – I don’t think I’ve ever seen one decked out quite that nicely though normally they are all painted white with the bare minimum inside. x
That is a great idea and one that I never thought of doing. I do look at Houzz quite a bit for ideas and it has helped me quite a bit in making decisions about my kitchen remodel..
Those are lovely expensive model homes! Great idea for an interior designs.
Nice tips. I think visiting model homes can inspire lots of great ideas.
So wonderful – I like the idea of these models.
Thank you all for your great comments
I always love looking at model homes! Although, it seems like older homes are better built … if I built a new home I would want to custom build so I could ensure a better quality home.
Wow, can I just say I’d love to have one of those houses!? They always look so great,
I love going into model homes for ideas. They always have such beautiful things. Several years ago we purchased a model home and in the end they did not want to have to pay to have the furniture removed so they left it for us – talk about a sweet moving in gift.
That is amazing! Lucky duck!
Those are some fabulous ideas in those model homes! You share some really good tips to take note of for what you should look for when visiting a model home and deciding how to design:)
Thank you Dani!
I really love walking through the model homes for decorating ideas, I always want to purchase stuff right there
LOL! When I was a kid, we did this for fun, visiting model home in Virginia–all the gorgeous mansions! Very inspiring on many levels.
You can get some great ideas from model homes. You’d be good helping in that area.
I have done a couple models and model moves (using furniture from one close out model to another)
Droolworthy photos! We don’t have too much new construction where I live, but I’d love to check some of these out.
Yes model homes are usually very pretty
Model homes always have the most beautiful and unique decorating ideas. Love all those homes.
Yes they are full of ideas
The kitchen you posted is seriously fabulous!!!!!! I want it.
It sure is!
I just love the high ceiling interiors you have here. Our house has low ceiling and I dream of having a house someday with big space.
High ceilings are great but they do come with challenges too. It’s harder to keep some of these rooms in proper scale with furnishings and therefore they can feel cold and overwhelming.
Proper planning can address those challenges
This is exactly what I do on pinterest. They always have some great ideas in model homes.
Pinterest is a wonderful resource
I never thought about going to open houses or Model houses for decorating ideas.
Well it really does help some people who are really visual