10 Designer Tips - How to Give Your New Home Personality

How to make your new home model perfect, on a budget

Top Ten Interior Design Tips

1. Floor Plan Modifications

Will your builder make small changes to your favorite floor plan?

Bigger closets, additional storage (including builtins), wider hallways – design every space you use to make the most of what you do.

2. Design

The architectural design you choose for the exterior of your home should be reflected inside.

Don’t build a Craftsman home and decorate it like a traditional Victorian home.

3. Special effects

Archways, barrel vault ceilings, vault ceilings, and trey ceilings can give your home upscale appeal – and with Stanton Homes these kinds of "upgrades" are included at no extra cost.

Add some personality – and a spacious, open feel to your favorite rooms!

4. Staircases

Staircases are often the first thing you see as you walk into a home.

Showcase your staircase as a focal point, with carefully chosen bannisters, treads (carpet or hardwood). Consider angles, curves, and what you see at the top (Window? Plant shelf?) as part of your overall décor.

5. Theme

Use a single theme throughout your entire home to pull it together. Every room should have a hint of what the other rooms have, even if you design them to be very different.

6. Color

A splash of bold color can make a room seem smaller. But, if you draw the same bold color into another nearby room, it can make the overall space seem larger.

7. Coordination

Pick one thing and repeat it in tiny doses across a room.

For example, a hint of charcoal in granite counters should be repeated in the tile backsplash – even flooring.

Inside and out, blend stone, brick, tile, shake, hardwoods – even trim – for a look that’s picture perfect for you.

8. Mirrors

Mirrors can add personality – and also make a small room look much bigger. More than something to look in – today’s mirrors are something to look AT.

9. Fabric

Carpets, curtains, furniture and bedding are obvious attributes.

Consider also using fabric as a way to draw the eye to other elements in your home. Try using it on the walls, as artwork that reflects pillows or other artifacts.

Or pull some around a frame, to pull in the look of a nearby lamp shade.


Fabric adds softness and a feeling of comfort to places you want to make cozy.

10. Decorator Items

Touch lightly on the theme, color, and design you’ve integrated on the walls and surfaces, with pictures, vases, knick-knacks, towels, and curtains, so each room has that "model" appeal.

Already have some ideas for you new home?

Talk to your custom home builder about your interior design ideas. Ask if they have an on-staff interior designer and architectural designer who can work with you, personally.

Interior design is fun. It’s interesting. And you may be surprised at how little it costs to make your home model perfect, when you’re working with a builder who understands upscale appeal at affordable prices.

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