Five Ways To Personalize A Production Home

There are definite advantages to buying a home from a national builder, including community amenities, expedited schedule, assurance of code compliance, proven track record, probable appreciation when the tract and community sell out, and inclusion of popular trends and features. These allow a middle class family to buy a new home with relative confidence.

There are sacrifices, too, though, including lack of personalization in the design and a car-centric lifestyle. (Wellness-focused builders are offsetting this somewhat with walking and bike paths convenient to their communities, but cars are typically required for shopping and commuting.) There isn’t much you can do about the driving requirement, but you can imbue a production home with your own personality, both in the design and décor. Here are five ideas on how to do this.

1. Lighting

It’s not very difficult for an electrician to change a recessed light to a pendant or chandelier over a table, bar, island or bathtub. (If you are hanging a fixture above your tub, make sure your ceilings are high enough so that you don’t electrocute yourself when standing up.) This can add your personality and style to a room. Many a vacationer to Italy has shipped home a Murano glass light fixture. A religious artifacts dealer in New York had a cast-off eternal light from a synagogue installed as a pendant over his dining table.  Antique hunters find vintage lighting on trips around the country. All of these examples can bring years of memory-inspired smiles to a homeowner’s lips.

2. Paint

Paint is probably the easiest design element to change, especially if you or someone in your household is skilled at this. You can choose the builder’s basic paint package, then add your own color after you take ownership. If you can, paint before you move in for the simplest job.

3. Cabinet hardware

You can personalize your kitchen, bathroom or built-ins with knobs or pulls that speak to a personal passion. Maybe it’s nature, maybe it’s antiques or maybe it’s sports. You don’t need to replace all of the hardware, but choose a focal point area and make your mark there. You’ll also want to note the hole spread if you’re replacing pulls, so that you don’t need to use a backplate or plug holes in your new cabinet fronts.

4. Interior tile feature

In many parts of the world, tile is used in ways we rarely see in the United States. Kitchen backsplashes are common applications here, but you don’t need to limit yourself to the choices offered by your builder. You can request no backsplash and add your own. You can also create a tiled accent wall or a tiled headboard in your master suite.  Neither of these involves tearing out any builder-installed features, and can add decorative flair. Decorative tile can definitely personalize your space.

5. Artworks

Art is an easy add, as you’re not replacing any elements the builder is including. If you’re not a fan of traditional or modern artwork, you can create a gallery of family, travel or nature photos in a spot you’ll enjoy viewing them, frame a map from a place you enjoyed vacationing or reflecting your family’s ancestry, or hang a piece of needlework you collected on a trip. Art can also be a pottery or sculpture collection you display on a ledge where it won’t be bumped into. The key is to personalize your home with elements that speak to your loves – be they family, friends, travel, pets, sports, history, nature, whatever!

Last words

Your builder will create a safe, healthy house for you and your family. It’s up to you to make it a home, and fill it with elements that reflect your loves and bring you joy.

This post first appeared on Forbes.com. To see the original, click here.