How to Add Character to a New Build Home - Expert Tips from interior designer Laura Nicolson
How to Add Character to a New Build Home
New build homes offer the undeniable benefits of modern construction: energy efficiency, minimal maintenance, and a blank canvas ready for personalisation. However, what they often lack is the unique architectural character and period charm found in older properties. With clean lines, 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 from the very beginning.
Unlike period homes 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, can make it challenging to create 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: What Makes Them So Popular?
New build homes are often found in desirable, fast-growing locations where demand for housing is high and land is available for development. In counties like Kent, known as the "Garden of England", new build homes 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 tranquility. From the historic market towns of Tonbridge and Sevenoaks to coastal developments in Whitstable or Folkestone, new build developments in Kent cater to a wide range of buyers, from first-time homeowners to growing families and downsizers. These homes often feature energy-efficient construction and contemporary layouts tailored for modern living, but their popularity also highlights the need to personalise and add character to what can otherwise be a uniform, developer-led aesthetic.
Think Ahead — Design Starts Long Before You Move In
Your developer is likely to provide you with 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. Consider where you might want extra sockets, bespoke joinery, or lighting features. 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.
Working Off-Plan
Designing a new build 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. 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.
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 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. 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.
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, 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,” says Laura. “We built a mood board around soft greens, warm neutrals, and organic 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 the placement of key pieces.
In many new builds, 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.”
That doesn’t mean you can’t begin styling your home. 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 are essential tools for adding 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.”
Create Consistency with Variety
One of the key challenges in designing a new build home 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. 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.
“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 or statement headboard—can have a big effect in reinforcing character and personality.
Make the Most of Limited Site Visits
Access to your new build home during construction is often limited, sometimes just a few visits before completion. Use each opportunity to its fullest. 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, and lighting.
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.
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
See the Transformation Come to Life
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. Layer by layer, each element adds story and soul.
“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 to Your New Build?
Whether you’re just starting to plan or already settling into your new build home, 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.