[AD] How to add character to a new build home

Disclosure: This post is part of a paid partnership with Ecoworld London. Styling and photography: Cate St Hill

Think of a new build home and you probably picture a contemporary box with clean lines, smooth surfaces, sleek finishes and glossy, glamorous touches. Often, they’re a complete blank canvas to make your own – which can be great if you’ve got an eye for design and know what you’re doing – but they also bring a set of challenges that take time and careful thought to work through. How do you soften the hard edges and make a space feel cosy and inviting? How do you add a sense of warmth and personality? How do you give a new build home character?

I’m thrilled to be working with the award-winning developer Ecoworld London on a series of posts to give some insight and inspiration on how to transform a plain, new room into a stylish, uplifting space. My design philosophy is all about creating an interior that works around our everyday lives and evolves with our needs. I like to place an emphasis on how a space feels to be in, rather than just how it looks, so as to create a home that connects with us on a deeper level. I want to create homes that make us feel instantly and effortlessly at ease.

In the UK at least, there’s a set of (most likely negative) assumptions about new build homes. They get a bad rep. Here, homeowners value period details, history and architectural heritage. I know when we were looking for our home we didn’t even look at new builds – for a long time I had in my mind a beautiful Victorian conversion with ornate cornicing, grand bay windows and original wood floors. My preconception was that new builds were small, impersonal and lacking in character or architectural integrity. We didn’t walk into one new build so I know that theory is shot through. But now having lived in an old period house for a couple of years, I long for my next home to be shiny and brand new. To not have any cracks running down the walls, a damp basement I never want to venture down to, or a leaking roof; for floors and ceilings to actually be level and doors to shut properly. Oh that would be nice!

The thing with a new build home is that you have to work a little harder with what you’ve got, since you can’t rely on imposing fireplaces and quirky features  to give interest and intrigue. There’s less to work with but there’s a multitude of possibilities. A room needs purpose; you need to develop a cohesive concept for a space so that everything comes together to tell a story – about your personality, your values and everything you hold dear. From thinking about focal points to using texture and pattern, here are my tips for adding character to a new build home.

1. Features and focal points
Focal points – a view out of a window, a statement painting above a sofa or a chimney breast – help give a room focus. Your eye needs a feature to settle on, otherwise a space can easily appear confused and cluttered. If there’s no particular feature that stands out already in the room, you can create them. This could be a bold gallery wall with a series of different sized pictures and paintings to bring a plain wall to life, floor to ceiling shelves that can be styled with objects and books, or the use of paint to create impact – a half painted wall, for instance, or a door in a contrasting hue. Try not to fall into the trap of painting one feature wall, it’s a little Nineties Changing Rooms and there’s lots of other, more imaginative solutions if you let your imagination run wild!

Think about how spaces connect with each other, so you can create a sense of surprise or intrigue, leading the eye to the space you’ll come to next. You could paint a hallway a darker colour so that when you walk into a light living room it feels brighter and bigger.

2. Zoning
This is especially relevant for open plan spaces where you need to create different zones for eating, entertaining and relaxing. In a big space, you need cosy, intimate areas to retreat to, so that the space doesn’t overwhelm you. Carefully positioned rugs are a really easy way to help define different spaces – I think they help ‘ground’ furniture, such as a dining table or sofa, and give them purpose. You could also use open shelving units to divide larger spaces or an L-shaped sofa to create a cosy nook.

Think about how items relate to each other. I like to create clusters of furniture – I describe it as if the furniture is in conversation with one another; an armchair at an angle opposite a sofa is a good example. It helps to really think about how you would actually use the space when you’re watching TV or having friends over. You want your home to feel easy and natural to be in, not contrived and stiff.

3. Balance and harmony
As well as prioritising your focal points, you want to create a sense of balance in a space so that each area feels considered and part of a complete whole. Creating a harmonious, balanced room is about repeating certain elements and evenly distributing them around the space. So that might mean bringing out a colour from a painting and using it in your cushions and then some of the decorative accessories. Or keeping all the wood furniture in a similar tone. It helps guide the eye around the room and creates a soothing effect. Try to have one base colour that covers the majority of the room, then 2-3 accent colours dotted throughout the space.

4. Texture and pattern
A new space can feel a little one dimensional without texture and pattern. Appeal to the senses and create a warm, tactile environment by layering up the materials you use. That could mean pairing a shaggy, high-pile rug with a linen sofa and a chunky, knitted wool throw. Natural materials in particular help to add character because they’re not quite perfect; they soften the clean, contemporary lines of a new space. Embrace those little imperfections and the handmade – the knots on a wooden table, the lined surface of bamboo, a richly grained marble surface or the textured weave of linen.

Pattern doesn’t need to be in your face or all over the walls, but it will help to add depth and draw your eye to certain focal points – the splash back of a kitchen or an accent chair in a bedroom, for example. It can be subtle – I have a melange rug in my living room, it has black threads running through the off-white design, meaning it contrasts beautifully with the smooth, flat fabric of the grey-beige sofa. If you’re not sure what type of pattern to go for, think about the other designs you already have in the room – swirly patterns might go best with a curvaceous sofa, more graphic designs with more streamlined, angular furniture. If in doubt use pattern on accessories you can easily swap around; if you get tired of a design it’s harder to change if it’s on an investment piece like a sofa.

5. High and low
You don’t want your home to look like it’s come straight out of a catalogue. I like mixing a few, carefully chosen designer pieces with more affordable options to help add character. This could mean a vintage chair paired with a high street table, or a flatpack design with a handmade cushion. It makes a space feel more nuanced and like it’s been personally curated. This look can take a while to build up as you find and source items, but start with your main pieces of furniture and let the space evolve from there. I think it’s sometimes worth taking a slow, considered approach because then you really value every piece in your home.

6. Add a bit of personality!
This is where a mood board can come in handy – it’s a great way to visualise your concept, distill down your initial ideas, define your style and develop a set of values that you can keep coming back to. I find making a mood board to be quite an intuitive process, I tend to flick through magazines or paint cards and pull out anything that I’m drawn to. I’ll then look through everything I’ve ripped out and start to draw out some common themes and colours.

Adding personality and character to a home is really about getting to know yourself and your values better. A home should tell a story of who you are; I love homes that look lived-in and loved, with piles of page-turned books, homemade artwork and objects no one else has, picked up from travels to far-flung places.

You can read my tips for developing your personal style here. For me, instead of automatically reaching for the latest trend, that could pass by in the blink of an eye, it’s about reflecting on what really connects with me. I always come back to this William Morris quote – ‘Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful‘. As long as you like the objects in your home and they give you joy, that’s all that matters.

Adding character to a new build home is really about making it yours. No two homes are the same and new builds don’t have to be either. With some careful thinking and a few simple touches it’s not as hard as you think to transform a space into a sanctuary.

Are you in need of a few more tips to help make a new build home work for you?

Enter my Instagram competition to join me for an interior design workshop on Wednesday 29th May at 6pm at Ecoworld London’s Aberfeldy Village development at East India Docks.

Head to my Instagram post www.instagram.com/p/BxxXCs3heRh for further information on how to enter.

This free two hour event will give you the inspiration and know-how to simply transform a bare canvas of a space into a characterful, cosy home. It will be all about making a new build home your own. We’ll cover: how to hone in on your personal style and translate those initial ideas into something workable; ways to make the most of your layout with tips for open-plan living and small space ideas; plus the final, finishing touches that will help add personality and warmth to a new build home. There’ll be drinks and nibbles, and you’ll get a wonderful goodie bag at the end – I’ve handpicked everything in it so trust me it’s good!

Terms & Conditions
1. To enter the competition, entrants must follow @catesthill and @ecoworld_london, ‘like’ the Instagram post and tag a friend in the comment section of the original post. Only those who adhere to all three actions will be considered for selection of the prize.
2. The prize is two tickets for the Cate St Hill interior design workshop next Wednesday 29th May at 6pm at the Aberfeldy Village development.
3. The competition is only available to those aged 18 and over.
4. The prize is for the two tickets only and does not include travel to and from the venue.
5. Employees or agencies of @ecoworld_london, its group companies (“We” or “Us”) or their family members, or anyone else connected with the promotion may not enter the promotion. 
6. Entrants into the promotion shall be deemed to have accepted these Terms and Conditions. 
7. By entering the competition, you agree to be contacted by EcoWorld London at a later date.
8. We accept no responsibility is taken for entries that are lost, delayed or otherwise cannot be delivered or entered for any technical or other reason. Proof of delivery of the entry is not proof of receipt by us. 
9. The competition closes at 12pm on Friday 24 th May 2019.
10. One winner will be chosen from a random draw and will be contacted on Friday 24th May 2019 via direct message on Instagram.
11. The winner will receive the prize stated in the competition. 
12. If a winner does not respond to US within 2 days of being notified, then their prize will be forfeited and we may pick another winner in accordance with the process described above. Similarly, if the winner doesn’t want their prize we may pick another winner.
13. The prize is non-exchangeable, non-transferable, and we won’t exchange it for cash or other prizes.