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This post is all about easy ways to add character to a builder-grade home to help your house almost feel like it’s custom!
This page includes affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I personally vet.
When my husband and I built our first home in 2020, we were so excited! We’d visit our little lot on the pond every day while it was being built.
We went through the whole process of building a tract home – choosing the lot, attending design meetings, hiring inspections, and ultimately moving into our little home. With our first home, we were pretty cautious about price and upgrades. Upgrades when building a home can really add up, so there were some things that I knew we could do ourselves to make the home look better.
As we’ve now lived in our builder-grade home for several years, there are changes I made right away and changes that I am gradually adding as my design taste changes. I hope you take some of these easy tips to add character to your new build!
How to Add Character to a New Build
1. Update Cabinet Hardware
Updating cabinet hardware is my #1 trick to enhance the look of a builder-grade home. Often tract builders only provide a few options with color and shape. For example, I wanted gold pulls in my kitchen and my builder didn’t even offer them. Often, you also have to do the same hardware throughout the home vs. mixing and matching in different rooms. So, I asked them to leave the cabinet handles off and I would install them myself! Best decision ever.
Installing cabinet hardware can be intimidating but with the right preparation, it is easy! I have a post on how I install cabinet hardware to check out.
I installed these brushed gold cabinet pulls in my kitchen and these thin black pulls in our bathroom, both are from Amazon.
2. Change Out Lighting
I don’t know about you, but I can spot a builder-grade light fixture from a mile away! Again, another option here is to ask your builder not to install fixtures if you know you’ll swap them out. That is what I did with our kitchen pendant lights.
Swapping out builder-grade light fixtures can change the whole look of a room. You have so many options and can really add your personal touch with a new light! I chose this rattan and brass light from Ballard Designs for above our kitchen table and it’s so unique!
Some of my favorite places to shop for light fixtures are:
- Ballard Designs
- Amazon
- Serena & Lily Outlet
- Home Depot
- Lowe’s
3. Swap Out or Add Ceiling Fans
Adding high-end-looking ceiling fans to your home can also help make it look more expensive and add character. Our builder did not install any ceiling fans, so it was on us to do this ourselves.
Shopping for ceiling fans is not easy and they can get pretty expensive! I found the best Pottery Barn fan dupe on Amazon that we used in our living room. It was half the price as the Spitfire ceiling fan from Pottery Barn.
4. Hang Curtains and Window Treatments
Adding window treatments to your builder-grade home will make your home look more custom and high-end. Classic curtains are hung roughly 6″ above the window, but for a more dramatic look hang the rod 2″ below the ceiling.
My favorite stores to shop for curtains are:
- Amazon
- Ballard Design
- Pottery Barn
- Target
- IKEA
Besides curtains, there are so many other options for window coverings: roman shades, plantation shutters, drapes, and blinds!
5. Install Wallpaper
Hang wallpaper in your home for a custom look. Wallpaper is personal and expresses individual style with color and design. There are so many options for wallpaper today!
Wallpaper comes in traditional unpasted rolls or peel-and-stick. Peel-and-stick is a great non-commital option that can removed or swapped out in the future. Spoonflower is my favorite place to shop for peel-and-stick wallpaper! They have tons of options for designs and colors.
6. Add Molding and Trim
Whether it’s board and batten, shiplap, paneling, beadboard, or wainscotting, add some wood to your walls! Installing molding and trim to your white walls gives it dimension and texture, making it look more expensive. Many custom homes come with these things already done when you move in. Add them to your builder-grade home to give it a touch of custom feel throughout!
7. Upgrade Wire Shelves
Wire shelves in pantries and closets scream builder-grade! Replace or cover your wire shelves with wooden ones. I covered the wire shelves we had installed in our laundry room. Check out how I did it in this post about my laundry room transformation!
“Your home should tell the story of who you are, and be a collection of what you love.”
– Nate Berkus
A builder-grade home doesn’t have to feel that way! With a few simple upgrades to your tract home, you can feel like you live in a custom one instead. Add your style and touch to each room!
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This post was all about the 7 simple tips of how to add character to a builder-grade home.
This page includes affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I personally vet.
