How To Style A Display Home

Opting for a display home has plenty of benefits. For many people the thought of having a home that is mass produced or uniformed to the streets style can be off putting. However, they often overlook the many ways in which they can make this house their own. 

Whether that is through simple customisations when purchasing the building itself or an extensive interior and exterior design plan that moves away from the commercialisation and into the personal – the sky really is the limit. 

There are also many building styles to choose from and most will give you plenty of choice in the basic structure, but at the end of the day it’s up to you to make it your own.

Your obvious first step is ensuring you’re in a position to commit to all the costs associated with your display home project. It is important to remember that the purchase of a display home can be a slow burn as often you will not move into the property straight away. 

If you own your current residence now is the time to decide if you’re going to sell. Talking with a professional about your property finance options will help with this decision. You might otherwise decide to keep this property as an asset and rent it out. In this case you will need to organise how this will be maintained – many people opt in for property management services that allow them near complete freedom and to just receive the money as arranged. 

Perhaps this is your first time buying, and it’ll be mortgages and lending options you’ll be scoping out. Whichever circumstance you are in, it is imperative to ensure you will have the funds you need to really make the most of your new home when you finally settle in. 

Your next step is to work out which company or supplier is best for you in terms of location and size. You may find that your budget can be limiting however getting in contact with your local providers can help you get a realistic idea of pricing for different locations.

Fortunately, when buying a display home rather than purchasing your own land and building, you are saved the costs of land surveyors whilst still having the benefit of a new build. While you don’t generally have the same kinds of individuality and design freedom that your own build would afford, some providers will have a variety of options that help you get as close as possible to your ideal design.

Once you’ve picked out your ideal build it’s time to paint yourself a little picture and see how you like it. Perhaps you’ve picked out a nice suburban area in Victoria, great community and all the amenities you and your family (if you have one) will need, you’ve factored in the back garden for that dog you’ve always wanted, you’ve had extensive conversations with house builders Melbourne know and trust leaving you feeling confident in your decision. It’s time to make the purchase. 

After the length of time required for your display home to be used for its original purpose has passed it will be time for you to move in. Your next step for styling is planning your interior design – It makes much more sense to start inside where you’re going to spend the bulk of your time when you are at home.

In order to optimise your space and ensure you get everything you want from a home you will need to embark on plenty of inspiration tours. For some that may be on Pinterest and other online platforms (perhaps a home designs Melbourne magazine or 2), for others this will be getting out and actually viewing different places (perhaps a trip to an IKEA or 2) and getting a real life idea of what they want. 

Obviously everyone’s style is going to be a little different, but if you take one piece of advice on board, let it be to go nuts with the walls and floors. Nuts doesn’t have to mean crazy, it could be a simple white paint job and classy flooring, but this is your base. It’s much harder to change this once you get all your furnishings in, and it’ll bring a lot more YOU to the home than you might realise. 

Lastly, it’s time to get to your outdoor designs. Perhaps in the meantime you’ve set up some casual beach style furniture in the garden to sit on till you make any big decisions. Who knows, this might have inspired you to go with a beach costal furniture option or two for the long term (especially if you live close to the sea).

Setting up a comfortable and functional outdoor setting for your new display home is the perfect way to differentiate you from the display home mould you may have found yourself in. 

This could be as big as painting the whole exterior, adding some decking for the perfect BBQ night with friends or even installing a pool or fire pit. Investing in purpose built outside furniture will make all the difference when making your back garden more homely. Being able to sit outside with a coffee in the morning spring or summer sun is something no one should pass up. 

If you find yourself with a lot of space, you may even want to consider installing a garden – this could simply be flowers or perhaps you could start a little veggie patch. Make the most of whatever space you have to really individualise your purchase. Before you know it you’ll completely forget that you didn’t design the whole home from scratch yourselves. 

Styling your display home can be a ton of fun. If on the off chance you already have an idea of what you want the finished project to be like before you start looking for your new home, it may be worth while discussing this with your builder/s as this may impact their recommendations and ensure you get the most out of the experience. There’s no right or wrong way to style your display home, only to make sure that it feels like your own when you step inside.