After saving up a sizable deposit, battling with estate agents, and signing all the necessary paperwork, that brand-new property is finally yours. One of the best and most fun parts of owning a home is the freedom to add your personal touch to the space and give it the distinctive style that’s uniquely you. Whether you plan to add solar windows or a mini split heat pump, making your individuality stand out in a space that was built to look like every other home on a new estate can present quite a challenge. Here’s how to add character to your new builder-grade home.
1. Put Together a Mood Board
To start creating your mood board, open your browser and search for pictures of interior design ideas that inspire and bring you joy. Google and Pinterest are quite useful for this. Next, take screenshots of those images and use them to create your mood board. Now, look through the images you saved to establish if there’s a common theme. Decide which themes or traits stand out and note them down. Whether you love color, white granite countertops, an industrial look, or pet-friendly décor, doing this will give you a better understanding of your preferred style.
2. Design a Picture Wall for Your New Builder-Grade Home
New builder-grade homes offer the perfect blank canvas. Your white walls don’t have to be boring, dress them up with a few interesting prints to truly liven up your new builder-grade home. Better yet, consider investing in a gallery wall to display your cherished moments for a complete transformation. You can choose to hang a trail of pictures heading up the stairs or design a gallery wall in your living room. Don’t shy away from mixing and matching frames. This approach can create an interesting aesthetic.
You can also put up your favorite art pieces, motivational quotes, vintage travel posters, or expressive graphical design to add a dash of personality to the walls and bring your unique sense of style to life. There are reasonably priced frames in a range of sizes and designs at thrift shops or Target. When walking from your bedroom to the kitchen table for work, a gallery wall will make you smile.
3. Install a Custom Ceiling Rose
While fitting a ceiling rose may take more time and effort, the result is worth it. Installing a ceiling rose to serve as the focal point of your favorite room is a surefire way of adding character to your new builder-grade home. The living and dining areas are typically the best location for showing off your ceiling rose. After having the ceiling rose installed, consider taking things a step further by painting your ceiling with a fresh new hue or calling local electricians for a lighting upgrade.
4. Consider Dark Coloured Walls
Incorporating dark colors into your living room, kitchen, or bedroom walls is one of the most daring and stunning modifications you can make to your home’s appearance. Painting every wall black makes your space appear smaller; so, choose alcoves, accent walls, and hallways instead. For long and narrow rooms, use a dark hue for the narrower end and a lighter shade for the longer walls to help balance things out. Pair darker walls with copper, brass, and other metallics, and place pictures and paintings in white frames to lighten the look.
5. Paint Your Front door, Shutters, and Fences
If you like the overall hue of your new builder-grade home, consider painting only the front door to add some color and flair. Elegant grays and blacks, rusty or brick reds, and Aquas and greens are great examples of hues that make for a polished entrance. Add an engraved knocker or a kick plate for a more personalized look. Compared to painting the entire exterior, it requires far less effort and is more cost-effective. Also, think about updating the hardware when picking out a paint color.
Adding shiny new hardware gives your home a modern aesthetic and, while at it, consider replacing the locks as well, which is always a good idea after purchasing a home. You can also paint eaves, fences, shutters, and other exterior components a contrasting color for quick, affordable but effective tweaks that add a touch of your style.
6. Replace Kitchen Faucet
The kitchen faucet is one of the most used appliances in a home. If you’re looking to upgrade your kitchen design and give it character, think about switching your kitchen faucet for a vintage or newer, sleeker model, depending on your taste. Without breaking the bank, this tiny modification could have a tremendous impact on this critical kitchen space. Just make sure the drawer pulls and cabinet hardware match your new faucet. Better yet, consider switching them out as well. For a more curated, bohemian aesthetic, go for trendy bronze or gold hardware or mismatched ceramic knobs. Pair your new faucet with beautiful white granite countertops to finish the look.
7. Add a Fluffy Rug
While you may typically prefer bare floors, consider adding a sink-your-toes-in soft rug in at least one room to add character to your new builder-grade home. If you’re worried about keeping your rug clean, place it in a room away from main entrances or one that doesn’t receive heavy foot traffic. Such rooms include a bedroom or den.
8. Upgrade Window Treatments
Window treatments are great decorative elements that can make your new builder-grade home feel more polished while adding character to it. Depending on your taste, you can go for a layered look with curtains, textured bamboo, Roman blinds, or simple roller shades, among many other options. When picking out window treatments, consider using the same liner fabric for all windows to create a uniform look on the street.
9. Paint a Wall or Two
Giving your entire home a fresh coat of paint can be a challenging and expensive undertaking. Consider painting one or two accent walls instead to save yourself some trouble. Adding color to certain walls in your home can add your style to them and make the color scheme of the rest of your home pop.
10. Add Wallpaper to Your Powder Room
If you’re up for a bigger project, consider adding a colorful statement wallpaper to your powder room to reflect your personality. Your powder room offers a great space for experimenting with bold colors and patterns as it’s not used as often. If you use wallpaper for an entire bathroom, remember to pick a product that can survive the humidity and try to avoid adding wallpaper to the ‘splash zone.’ For the best results, work with a professional bath remodeler.
11. Add Wall Hooks
Having hooks where you need them makes all the difference when it comes to keeping your home clean and organized. Consider placing a series of wall hooks in areas where you and your family members are inclined to drop things. These may include the entryway, bathroom, and bedrooms. Wall hooks are a great way of adding character to your new builder-grade home.
12. Use Your Stairs
The stairs are a great space for adding character to your new builder-grade home. Paint them a bright white, then add varying tones of the same color to the treads. You can also decorate the risers with wallpapers of motivational quotes. If your staircase is carpeted, give it a facelift with a new runner. For hardwood floors, work with professional hardwood floor services to understand your decorative options.
13. Install a Large-Scale Artwork
Hanging a large-scale piece of art can add character to a room and serve as its focal point. The good thing with this approach is that you don’t have to spend your life savings on a Van Gogh, just find something that speaks to you. Attend student exhibitions at a nearby art school or look for venues that showcase emerging artists to find reasonably priced pieces. Everything about paintings and prints is highly personal. Some people enjoy abstract topics, while others adore metropolitan vistas and landscapes. Pick a great poster or artwork to place in your foyer or living room. The artwork you choose should showcase your personality to guests immediately.
14. Place Plants in Unexpected Areas
Adding plants not only adds character to your new builder-grade home but also brightens up your space while purifying the air. While potted trees and large houseplants work great, consider placing small pots of ferns, succulents, or cactuses among the bottles on your bar cart, on open shelves in the kitchen, or in the bathroom sink.
15. Customize Your Storage Areas
When you move into a new builder-grade home, you may find that the storage solutions provided don’t serve your specific needs. If this is your case, consider adding custom storage. The trick with this approach is to have the right type of storage in the right location. If you get that right, life will be a lot easier. If you’re working with limited square footage, set aside some time for planning where you need shelves or cabinets to make the most of your space.
16. Add a Fun Outdoor Feature
Adding an outdoor feature is a great way of adding character to your new builder-grade home. An example of a great outdoor feature that will get your guests outside is a gas fireplace installation. You can also add a barbecue area, alfresco dining table, porch swing, or hammock. Local electricians can help you install outdoor lighting, too. When revamping your outdoor area, include shade for sunny days and prioritize privacy by installing a yard fence.
17. Display Your Personal Collections
Each member of your household has unique skills, interests, and hobbies. Some will go to the extent of assembling incredible collections to honor their interests. Such collections will take your guests on a unique journey through different cultures, eras, and locations, and act as windows into their owners’ personalities. Consequently, showcasing personal collections is an effective way of adding personality to your new builder-grade home. New or old, purchased or found, your treasures should be neatly arranged and presented in a unique, eye-catching way. If knitting is one of your hobbies, make blankets, tablecloths, or throw pillow covers. Ask local electricians to install custom lighting to highlight your favorite pieces.
18. Post a Message on a Chalkboard Wall
Chalkboards have become a popular interior design element. They offer a unique opportunity to add character and personalization to your new builder-grade home. Chalkboards not only serve as great interior design accents, but they can also be practical and functional. You are free to doodle on them whatever you want to bring out your unique design. Or you may choose to use them for practical purposes, such as leaving notes for other family members or writing motivational quotes on them.
The best part is that you can quickly modify any drawing on the chalkboard and have a different message, image, or design each day. Chalkboard wall paint is easy to apply. Remember, you don’t have to go with the traditional black for chalkboard wall paint, you can choose any color.
19. Adorn the Entryway of Your New Builder-Grade Home
If you’ve been wondering what to do with the space next to your front door, today’s your lucky day. What they say about first impressions is true, and the same applies to your entryway. Regardless of how wide, long, or narrow your front hallway is, decorating this space is relatively simple but has impactful results.
Adding a console table serves both practical and aesthetic purposes. You can put your keys in a dish, arrange your mail into baskets, and store your shoes on a rack under the table. If your new builder-grade home lacks a front closet but the members of your household have a busy, active life, choose a bench with storage below and hang some wall hooks above. With this arrangement, organizing is much simpler and coats are always within reach when you need to quickly dash out the door.
Adding character to your new builder-grade home doesn’t have to translate to extensive remodeling projects. Besides using an HVAC company, there are local electricians or garage door services who can sort you out in a jiffy. When looking to add a touch of your personality to your new home, the small details can make all the difference. If you’re experiencing a creative block, consider using these tips to add character to your new builder-grade home.
