Want to Make Your Custom Home Pop? Start Thinking Early About Interior Design
No matter how good the outside of a house may look, it’s the inside that truly makes it feel like home.
If you’re building a new custom home, you may wonder how — and when — to include interior design in the process. Is it a specific phase of the project? Do you need to hire your own designer? How do you know you’re making the right choices?
At KRM Custom Homes, we see interior design as more than just a step. It’s a guiding philosophy that lasts throughout the home building process. It’s also one we’re ready to help you with at every phase. Here’s our guide to making sure your new home’s interior matches your unique personality and lifestyle.
The Value of Including Interior Design in Your Home Building Process
The relaxing aura of your living room lighting. The perfectly optimized kitchen arrangement for cooking. The unique fixtures that make your bathroom a conversation piece. In many ways, the interior of your home reflects your unique lifestyle and personality. It makes your home both practical and beautiful, right from the start.
The ideal time to include these elements is during the home building process — not after. That’s because interior design encompasses many aspects of your home’s design and structure, including:
- The layout and flow of your space
- The color palette used in each room
- The materials, fixtures, and finishes in your home
Talking through your design goals from the start allows you to keep them at the center of your decisions throughout the process. This will ensure your home has a cohesive look and prevent costly changes later in the process.
How to Include Interior Design in the Process
Interior design works best when it’s woven into multiple stages of your home building journey. That means thinking about functionality and cohesiveness from the earliest stages. Here are some of the key steps.
Planning & Blueprints
The foundation of your interior design lies in the structure of the home itself. During the blueprint and planning phase, you’ll make key decisions about the flow and style of your home. This will make an impact on each decision you make later in the process.
This includes items like:
- The height of your ceilings
- The placement of windows and doors
- Whether to add built-in shelving
- The overall traffic flow of your space
If you’re building a semi-custom home with KRM, you’ll have a wide variety of floor plans to choose from. Or you can go the fully custom route, designing the best flow for your specific needs. At every step, our team is here to help you with your questions and offer advice.
Selections & Materials
The selection meetings are an essential step for interior design. These meetings are where you’ll choose everything from the colors of your walls to the handles on your cabinets.
This can be exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. Having a plan and vision going into these meetings is helpful for success. That could be inspirational photos of other homes, a Pinterest board, or just a guiding design philosophy.
When you work with KRM, you’ll have multiple selection meetings with your project manager. Each meeting will help you finalize the materials, finishes, and fixtures in your home. What does that look like? Read our guide on what to expect during your selection meetings.
Working With an Interior Designer
Some people like to bring their own interior designer into the process to help advise them on decisions. Many homebuilders, including KRM, are happy to collaborate with them during the process.
If you’re working with an interior designer, it’s best to bring them into the process as soon as possible. This helps make sure the entire design, from the structure onward, works together. It also helps the project stay on track by avoiding backtracking that changes the project timeline and budget.
Interior Design at KRM Custom Homes
At KRM Custom Homes, interior design is a core piece of our home building process. While we do not have an interior designer on staff, our project managers are skilled at guiding clients through the selection process. Instead of keeping design in one phase of the project, we provide it naturally as you make each decision in the process.
We take all of your inspirational materials into account as we offer design solutions that best fit your vision.
Need to be inspired? We have a library of photos from our past and current builds that show many different styles and trends. This helps you see what your home could look like in the real world. And, at the heart of it all is our showroom, the hub for everything design-related. Visiting our showroom allows you to not only look at your options but also feel them, adding a new dimension to the interior design process.
The flexibility and personalized guidance KRM offers is part of what sets us apart in custom home building. We make sure the entire process revolves around you, whether you choose to collaborate with an outside designer or rely on our team’s expertise.
Looking for Some Design Inspiration Right Now?
Our design philosophy is heavily influenced by Amanda Mickelson, one of our owners, who personally selects the finishes for each of our prebuilt homes. Her deep expertise ensures each home has a thoughtful design that matches current trends. Check out her “Ask Amanda” video series for a rundown of the latest design trends and inspiration for your custom build.
Have questions or want to start your home building process? Contact our team today.
