8 Ways To Add Character To A New Build Home
You’ve saved that whopping deposit, battled with estate agents, signed all the legal agreements, and now that shiny new home is finally yours. One of the best things about becoming a homeowner is the chance to really put your own stamp on a place, and give it the unique look you’ve always dreamed of.
However, it can sometimes feel like a real challenge to make your personality shine through in a place that was designed and built to look like every other house on a brand-new estate. If the imagination of the property developers doesn’t stretch beyond four magnolia walls in every room, take a look at our favourite ways to really style things up and add character to a new build home.
Create a Picture Wall
image credit - koshome.co.uk | @kos.home (instagram)
White walls don’t have to look washed out – dress up the boring beige with a few quirky prints to really liven up bland areas. Even better, why not fully invest in sprucing up your space by attempting a gallery wall, like the image above.
New build homes offer the perfect blank canvas to work with, and whether it’s motivational quotes, expressive graphical design, or vintage travel posters, you can be sure to inject a dash of personality onto the walls and really let your individual home style come alive through the art pieces you choose to display around your home.
Unique Furniture
Ok, so we’ve established that in most new build situations, we’re unlikely to be blessed with elegant hallways, spiral staircases and open plan living. Fear not – we can recapture some of that lost opportunity with a little extra care taken in selecting our furniture.
Think sharp, original and above all, unique design. Steer clear of the ‘run-of-the-mill’ large high street retailers and dig a little deeper into the world of smaller online boutiques. Think stylish wooden or rattan chairs, accent furniture, velvet pieces and beautiful coffee tables – it needn’t cost the earth.
Fit a Ceiling Rose
This one will require a little extra time and effort, but the results are guaranteed to be totally stunning. If you want to truly add character to a new build home, you can make a ceiling rose the real focal point of your favourite room in the house.
We think ceiling roses look best in a living or dining area, where you can really show them off to your guests. There are various tutorials available across the web on how to do this properly, and a quick search of YouTube will present you with a few straightforward videos to follow before you try it for yourself.
Once the ceiling rose has been installed, why not take styling your home that one step further, and paint your ceiling a fresh new shade too? We love the elegant Dimpse from Farrow & Ball, a modern grey tone, which gives your ceiling a clean and delicate finish.
Statement Lighting
Put simply – oversized, statement lighting is one of the single best ways to add character to your newbuild. We implore you to be brave and trust us with this one. Go as big as you can. If your ceilings are a little low – hang them higher.
Steer clear from the common clear glass or fabric shades and opt for more unusual materials like wire mesh, rattan and concrete. Think ‘original’ at every stage – materials, shapes and trends. Your lighting choices are not only essential in lifting the mood of a space but are as important as any component in styling it also.
Dark Coloured Walls
Image credit - Mad about the house
One of the most bold and striking changes to the look of a home is to add dark colours to your living room, kitchen or bedrooms.
Obviously, you're going to run into the age-old issue of your space looking smaller if you paint every wall black, so opt for alcoves, feature walls and hallways. Another great tip is, if you have long and narrow rooms, paint the narrower end and keep the longer walls a lighter shade to balance things out a little.
To finish off the look, pair your darker walls with brass, coppers and other metallics, and hang prints and paintings with white frame picture frames to soften the look.
Read more about painting walls with dark colours here.
Statement Home Accessories
So often it's the little things in interior design that accumulate to create the full picture. Where bold furniture and lighting pieces act as the main centerpiece to the room, the supporting role of your accessories creates the feeling of refinement. Never forget about the finishing touches.
From handcrafted tableware to orange geometric cushions, home accessories should serve to make a statement. Vintage-style rugs are another firm favourite of ours, offering intricate detail and eye-catching design to jazz up the usually bland flooring of new build homes. Finally, we can't stress the importance of adding plenty of greenery to a space. Plant baskets do a great job of housing your prized botanicals, and you'll be glad you did when you feel that sense of life and vitality that only plants can bring.
Essential Shelving
We know, shelving sounds like a boring subject, but a minimalist wall shelf is one of the best ways impart your creative flair upon a lonely wall or alcove. Dress with beautiful hanging plants such as string of pearls or trailing ivy and accessorise with photos and small ornaments. If you look at your wall shelves as stylistic opportunities and less as essential storage, you're going to be creating originality in design, and that's what we're looking for here.
Mirror shelves are also a great way of adding heady heaps of style to a space along with a degree of functionality. Perfect in hallways, bedrooms and bathrooms, large mirrors like the Lincoln (pictured) not only allow for an abundance of styling possibilities but contribute to making the room look larger.
Add character to your home with our selection of home accessories. Click the link below.
