New home design selections process | Our top tips

How to make selections for your new home design like a pro

Skirting boards, architrave colours, door handles, grout colour, tile laying pattern, powerpoint locations….the list feels endless when faced with making selections for your new home design. Decision day finally arrives and you want to be prepared and by prepared I mean really prepared. You want to strut into that new home selections appointment like its nobody’s business. Otherwise, you’ll pay for it in the long run and there’s certainly no way to hide the evidence of a poorly planned new house design.

We get it! We know your new home is a ginormous investment and you want to get it just right. After all, you’ll be spending lots of time occupying all spaces in your home and don’t want to walk through the door on the daily with total buyers regret.  

Trust us! We’ve been there before and it’s not a pretty sight. You wonder how on earth you imagined those selections were a good idea at some point in time. We’ve also seen it done right. We have been lucky enough to have been able to make new home design selections over and over again and learnt how to nail the process. And we’re not going to leave you in the lurch. We want you to LOVE the socks off your new home. 

So here are our top tips for making your new home selections with sheer confidence.  

LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION 

We are often asked where we find our inspiration. Our go to for inspo is definitely Pinterest and Instagram. No surprises there. After A LOT of years of researching, we’ve got the process down pat. Give our methods a shot, you’ll be so grateful you did! 

First up, find an inspo pic that is 100% pin worthy. Then, take a squiz through the Pinterest recommendations that relate to that post. This is by far the fastest way to find similar pics without falling into the deep, dark Pinterest rabbit hole. 

Over on the gram it’s a great idea to create a ‘new collection’ to save all your new home selections inspirations. This simple hack will save you ridiculous amounts of time and scrolling on home selections day! 

Hashtags are also a great way to search the millions, if not billions of images floating around in Instagram cyberspace. If you have a particular look or style in mind, searching through hashtags may help you find what you’re looking for that much sooner.  

MOODBOARD

Once you have searched high and low for your dream home inspiration, it’s time to create your dream home moodboard. WARNING: if you have found yourself with more pics than you can poke a stick at, it’s time to start culling. Make it ruthless. When it comes to mood boards, our rule is no more than ten images. That way, when you head off for your new home design selections appointment, you’ll have a very clear vision of the feeling you want to create in your new home.  

Creating a moodboard will save you from buying things that you don’t need or can’t afford like that dress you bought when you went to the shop for jeans. Allowing yourself to be distracted by those gorgeous tiles you just saw for the first time is what causes overwhelm. It may also mean you won’t be happy with the end result as it completely throws out your dream home vision. Remember you can’t blame your builder for your regretful design decisions #sorry 

SAMPLES

Samples can be your saviour. Some builders will offer you the option of choosing all of your selections at their design selection studio whilst others will may require you to head to a few different stores before making your final new home selections. Either way we suggest you hit up a few different stores to get your hands on those minute but pivotal samples. 

We actually like to visit a few of our suppliers for our biggest decisions before we head to the final selection appointment. If you don’t have time, or live too far away, consider ordering samples online. That way you can pull together your own flat lay to make sure all your colours, finishes and fixtures work together. This simple process will allow you to see how all your colours and textures work together collectively. 

One of the doozies we see people make is not checking how different colours look right next to each other. It’s absolutely crucial to get this right. Whether it’s tiles, cabinetry or paint colours, all colours have an underlying tone that isn’t always obvious until you see it next to another colour. Our top colour combinations you need to check are:  

• Main flooring and carpet against main wall colour and feature wall colours 
• Kitchen and laundry cabinetry against main wall colour 
• Bathroom cabinetry against tiles  

LOCKING IT ALL IN

It’s selections day, time to make those big, bold decisions that you’ll be living with for heaven knows how long. Our top tip here is to take your samples along to your new home selections appointment. That way, if you’re experiencing decision fatigue and find out you need to make more selections on the day that you hadn’t considered, you can whip out these babies and help yourself make the best decision possible on the day.