Designing for Winter-Time Joy
Even if you are fortunate to live in warm climates and winter doesn’t necessarily mean cold temperatures, winter can still be a downer. In winter, the days are shorter, it is dark more often, and happiness can be hard to find. Fortunately, you can design in such a way as to increase winter-time joy.
We want anyone who enters a model we’ve designed to find joy. (Despite what Mother Nature has going on outside.) Below are some tips our designers have incorporated to design to inspire winter-time joy in model homes.
Bring in the light!
We’ve talked before about how important light is when designing. This holds true even more so in winter. Winter light is limited so we must do everything we can to bring in the light, such as:
- Ensure your model’s windows are clean. Seems obvious but with snow, rain, and other wintry weather, ensuring your windows are grime-free can make a big difference in a potential buyer’s overall level of joy.
- Don’t use screens in your models (even if your homes have them). The mesh dulls the view, and obstructs the light from outside.
- Limit window treatments. Encouraging as much natural light as possible will up the joy quotient.
- Layer your light. Try adding floor lamps, overhead lighting, and even accent light to create a dynamic light scape that makes your model feel more vibrant and alive.
- Add recessed lights in all rooms of your model. This will help the potential buyer will always see your homes in the “best light.”
No window treatments allow lots of light in this New Jersey model.
Minimize Accessories
Including too many accessories, and “over designing” can add a heavy feeling to your model home. A light hand with the accessories can create an overall lightness in a space. Additionally, this helps show off the architecture rather than the accessories becoming the focal point. We want people to walk away from the model wanting to buy the home, not the accessories.
The cocktail table and vase help accentuate the volume of the ceiling and beautiful windows in this Colorado lobby.
Add Some Sparkle
Another way to add some winter-time joy in your model is to add reflective accents such as mirrors or metallics. These materials to reflect and scatter light throughout a room to make the space feel brighter and more joyful.
Include Pops of Color
Neutral colors are lovely but on a gloomy winter day the feeling can be dreary. To entice some pizzazz and happiness on even the darkest of days, add some pops of color. You don’t need much. Including a couple of vibrant throw pillows or some red napkins in your place setting can really perk up a model home and inspire joy.
Strategically placed bright paint dramatically increases the joy in this model home.
If you’d like your model homes to be joyful (and who doesn’t) all year long, please reach out. We’d love to help.
