How to Add Character to a New Build Home
How to Add Character to a New Build Home
by Interior Designer, Laura Nicolson
Modern homes offer the undeniable benefits of contemporary construction: energy efficiency, minimal maintenance, and a blank slate ready for personalisation. However, what they often lack is the unique architectural character and period charm found in older properties. With plain walls, neutral palettes, and streamlined finishes, new builds can sometimes feel impersonal or sterile - more functional than personal. That’s why it’s essential to thoughtfully consider how to add character to a new build home and create visual interest from the very beginning.
Add Character to Completely Transform Your Home
Unlike period homes that have so much character with original fireplaces, cornicing, or sash windows, a new build property typically features uniform layouts, standardised finishes and limited architectural detailing. These qualities, while practical, create a bland space and can make it challenging to bring a sense of depth, warmth, and individuality. Through carefully curated interior design, thoughtful material choices, layered textures, and considered use of colour, it's entirely possible to transform a modern new build house into a home full of personality and style.
Whether you're working with a completely blank canvas or looking to soften a newly finished interior, adding character to a new build is about embracing creativity, incorporating architectural interest, and infusing your personal style to create a space that truly feels like home.
New Build Homes in Desirable Locations:
New developments are often found in desirable, fast-growing locations where demand for housing is high and land is available.
In counties like Kent, known as the "Garden of England", they have become especially popular due to the region’s unique blend of countryside charm, excellent transport links, and vibrant local communities. With easy access to London via high-speed rail, new build properties in Kent are particularly attractive to commuters seeking a balance between urban convenience and rural tranquillity. From the historic market towns of Tonbridge and Sevenoaks to coastal developments, new build developments in Kent cater to a wide range of buyers, from first-time homeowners to growing families and downsizers.
Design Starts Long Before You Move In
Your developer will provide you with 3D visuals or a model of your new build home. It is important to focus on practicalities - room sizes, window placements, or garden orientation. But this is also the perfect time to start thinking about how you want your home to feel. Long before moving day, there are valuable design decisions that can shape how your space functions and flows. Considering where you might want additional bespoke joinery, architectural features or lighting fixtures is a great way to get started. Think about sightlines, natural light, and how each room will support your daily routine. These early reflections help lay the groundwork for a home that feels personal, cohesive, and full of character from the moment you move in.
Expert Tip: Create harmony between inside and out
The exterior will have been designed to blend into the surroundings through architectural styling and use of natural materials. This will make a great first impression. It is also an opportunity to make a big difference by considering the entire home, bringing the outside in and the inside out. Aligning the interior finishes, textures and tones with the exterior and natural surroundings will add character, bring personality and improve your overall sense of wellbeing.
Working Off-Plan
Designing your new home off-plan can feel both exciting and slightly abstract. Without physical walls to walk through, it can be tricky to visualise scale, flow, and how the light will move through each room. Floorplans and CGIs are helpful tools, but they rarely convey the full story.
Expert Tip: Take Time To Study The Plans in Detail
Note the position of doors, windows, radiators, and ceiling heights. These details will influence everything from furniture placement to where you hang artwork or install lighting. This is the starting point from which you can begin to create your own unique style for your new home.
If you're unsure, ask for as much additional information as possible from the developer: electrical layouts, plumbing points, or even a virtual walkthrough if available. The more clarity you have early on, the easier it becomes to make confident design decisions that truly suit your lifestyle.
Develop a Clear Brief to Guide Your Design
Before diving into colour palettes or shopping for furniture, take time to define a clear brief for your new home. This is especially important in a new build, where there’s no existing style or architecture to respond to - you’re building the home’s character from the ground up.
Expert Tip: Think about how you want to live in the space.
Who uses each room and how? What atmosphere do you want to create - calm and minimal, warm and layered, or something bold and expressive?
At Decorbuddi, we guide our clients through a tailored questionnaire to uncover their lifestyle, tastes, and priorities. This helps shape a cohesive design direction from the start, ensuring every decision supports the way you want to feel in your home.
Use Mood Boards to Bring Your Vision to Life
Once you have a clear brief, the next step is to translate that vision into something visual. A well-crafted mood board helps you clarify your style, experiment with combinations of colours, textures and materials, and communicate your ideas clearly, especially when working with designers or trades.
Expert Tip: Look for Recurring Themes
Start by gathering inspiration from Pinterest, interiors magazines, or even places you’ve stayed and loved. Look for recurring themes: are you drawn to natural textures, vintage pieces, clean lines, or rich colours? Begin narrowing your ideas into a cohesive scheme that reflects your personal style and suits the architecture of your new build home.
“For this new build project in Kent, our client was inspired by the orchard views and the blue skies above” says Laura. “We built a mood board around organic patterns and textures, warm neutrals, blues with a hint of green, and natural materials that connected the interior to its surroundings.” A strong mood board keeps your design focused, helps guide decisions, and ensures each room flows effortlessly into the next.
Plan Your Layout with Function in Mind
Once you have access to the space, even if just on paper, begin planning your layout with daily life in mind. It’s not just about fitting furniture, it’s about creating flow and comfort. Walk yourself through the home mentally: where will you drop your bag, make your morning coffee, or entertain friends? Pay attention to sightlines, door swings, and how natural light might influence your focal point and the placement of key pieces.
Expert Tip: Walk Through Your Own “Day In The Life Of”
In many modern homes, layout tweaks can significantly improve the functionality of a space. “For example, we realised a pocket door into the kitchen would maximise flow and free up valuable wall space,” says Laura. “Although it wasn’t part of the developer spec, it was a small post-build change that made a big impact.” Planning this early allows for smarter upgrades, fewer compromises, and a more tailored home.
Let the House Settle Before Decorating
One of the most important things to remember with a new build is that it’s still drying out when you move in. Moisture from the construction process can take several months to evaporate fully. “We always recommend waiting around 9 to 12 months before applying paint or wallpaper,” says Laura. “This gives the materials time to settle and helps avoid issues like cracks in the plaster or peeling finishes.”
Expert Tip: Style Your Home While You Wait for The Plaster to Dry
That doesn’t mean you can’t begin styling your home. Choose table lamps, soft furnishings or vintage art that will add that final finishing touch. Use this initial settling period to experiment with furniture layouts, test paint samples, or explore how light shifts throughout the day. It’s a perfect window for living in the space, refining your vision, and gradually shaping a scheme that truly suits your lifestyle.
Layer Texture and Pattern for Warmth
New builds often start with clean lines and neutral finishes - great for practicality, but they can feel flat or impersonal. Texture and pattern offer easy ways to add depth and visual interest. Think tactile materials like boucle, linen, velvet, brushed metal, natural wood, and ceramics. These elements help soften a space and make it feel lived-in and inviting.
Introduce pattern through upholstery, rugs, window dressings, or even art. Start with subtle prints if you’re unsure. Then layer in bolder motifs as your confidence grows. “It’s not just about colour,” Laura explains. “We’ve used a monochrome scheme before, but brought it to life with rich textures - woven wool, marble, aged brass. The result felt warm and full of character.”
EXPERT TIP: IMPROVE lighting WITH PLUG IN SOLUTIONS
There may not be much flexibility in the positioning of the architectural lighting but you can totally transform the mood of a room with plug-in solutions or re-chargeable LEDs. Consider where, when and what type of light you will need. Which spot do you need strong light for reading? Where do you prefer mood lighting for entertaining? Highlight the focal point in each room. Layer your lighting with floor lamps, table lamps and wall lights where possible.
Create Consistency with Variety
One of the key challenges is striking the right balance between flow and individuality. While you want the rooms to feel connected, you also don’t want them to feel repetitive. Smaller rooms will require a different approach than the main living room or master-bedroom. A unified colour palette or flooring choice can tie spaces together, while subtle shifts in mood and styling give each room its own sense of identity.
Expert Tip: USE Colour To Zone And UnitE
“We used a base palette of warm neutrals throughout,” says Laura. “But in the living space, we kept things light and sociable, while the bedroom featured deeper tones and softer lighting to create a calm, cocooning feel.” Small changes in materials, finishes or even styling details - like a unique light fitting, brushed brass door handles or statement headboard can have a big effect in reinforcing character and personality.
Make the Most of Site Visits
Access to your property during construction is often limited, sometimes just a few visits before completion. Use each opportunity to its fullest, to consider ways to make the biggest difference. Bring a tape measure, camera, and notebook. Capture every corner, ceiling height, light fixture, and outlet. These details are vital when planning furniture placement, custom joinery, kitchen cabinets, and lighting.
Expert Tip: Photographs and Measure Every Element
Take the time to look at the existing architectural features in detail. Would the addition of period features such as ceiling roses, picture rails or groove panelling add warmth and bring character? What is the feel of the physical size of each of the spaces? Does the property have lower ceilings which might make pendant lights too low? There may be little character to start with but this is an exciting opportunity to make a huge difference.
If you’re working with an interior designer, these records help keep progress moving, even if you can’t return regularly. “In this project in Marden, Kent, I only had two site visits before the final install,” says Laura. “Thorough notes and photos meant we could make confident decisions remotely, and everything fitted perfectly on the day.”
Work with Skilled Local Tradespeople
While developers focus on the structural build, it’s often up to the homeowner to finesse the finish. Elements like bespoke joinery, cabinetry, wall panelling, curtains, or decorative lighting require a higher level of craftsmanship and a personal touch.
Expert Tip: INVEST IN QUALITY JOINERY FOR LONG-TERM VALUE
This is where experienced local tradespeople come in. Whether it's a carpenter building custom wardrobes or a curtain maker tailoring window treatments to your exact measurements, these details add polish and character to your home. “We’re fortunate to work with a brilliant network of trusted trades in Kent,” says Laura. “They understand not just the technical detail, but the importance of creating something truly bespoke.”
Before photographs - taken at site visits
Enjoy the DesignTransformation
Perhaps the most satisfying part of any new build project is seeing the transformation unfold. What begins as a blank canvas - a neutral, functional shell - can become a warm, expressive, and deeply personal home with the right design approach. Each individual choice, whether the addition of antique furniture, vintage textiles or a gallery wall will create character. Painting bright white walls with complementary colours or colour blocking scheme instantly adds character. Add layers of or personal design details and you will create a beautiful, characterful home.
“We love showing clients their ‘before and after’ images,” says Laura. “It’s a reminder of how far they’ve come, not just in style, but in making the space truly theirs.” With thoughtful planning, attention to detail, and a vision rooted in your own lifestyle, even the most standard new build can be elevated into something extraordinary.
Ready to Add Character & Visual Appeal to Your Home?
Whether you’re just starting to plan or already settling in, working with an experienced interior designer can help you make confident decisions and bring your vision to life. With her thoughtful, collaborative approach, Laura specialises in transforming blank canvases into beautifully personalised homes - layered with texture, character, and style.
Based in Kent, Laura works in Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells as well as further afield in Sussex and London. She also manages projects for international clients long distance. More About Laura Nicolson
If we can be of any help please do not hesitate to get in touch.