CRAFTING A SHOWSTOPPER
Show-home designer Carmen Wilde shares some of the tricks of the trade in transforming a house into a dream home with Laura Severs.
Did you ever wonder how a show home is turned into a showstopper? Walk into a show home and it is rare to find a potential buyer who isn’t seduced by at least one of the enticing homes that form a show home parade — a collection of homes from the builders in new communities or developments.
Like lottery homes, show homes are designed to capture your attention. But unlike lottery homes, where you might find a tempting feature such as a bowling alley, a tiki bar, or even a high-end sports car sitting on the driveway as part of the prize package, these homes have to be just as inspiring, even though design options are being tailored to more practical needs.
“Lottery homes were once just like a regular home,” said Carmen Wilde, an interior design technologist and owner of C. Wilde Design Inc., an Edmonton firm that works in both the residential and commercial sectors.
“Now they are these massive mansions. The budgets are higher, the design more extravagant, and they seem out of the realm for the average environmentally conscientious homeowner.”
Wilde, who has worked on both lottery and show homes in her 37year design career, points out that designing show homes today is all about providing the builder with tools that will transform the home into a buyer’s dream home.
“From the initial meeting (with the builder), I would ask the question: What is your target market? Who is your buyer? I would ask how you want people to feel when they come into your home. Is it elegant and sleek, edgy and clean, luxurious and comfortable or more of a minimal feel?”
Once Wilde and the builder are on the same page, she has a limited amount of time to furnish and style the entire house.
“Generally it’s 90 days, which isn’t a lot of time, as furniture sometimes takes eight to 12 weeks to come in if you’re doing custom pieces.”
The 90 days also include, for the most part, just two days to pull everything together, added Wilde.
“Usually your installs happen on a Thursday, and I set up on a Thursday and Friday. I make sure every light bulb is in the lamps, all the cushions are fluffed, and that every little detail is in order. And then we open it on the Saturday. People call it staging, but I prefer to call this whole process a setup. I don’t stage. This is a process, as you’re starting from nothing and creating a vision.”
THE PROCESS
It all starts with the builder’s floor plan and a budget.
“I put together a budget based on a floor plan they give to me,” said Wilde. “I divide the budget into how much money is needed for furniture, wall treatments, drapery, accessories and artwork. It all goes back to the floor plan. You need a good solid plan as (from that floor plan) I locate where my art, my plants, my lamps and my furniture will go.”
Simultaneously, Wilde is already doing her research. That ranges from surfing Pinterest and other websites, to checking out various publications and hitting local stores.
“You need to go out and about, as what you see on Pinterest might not be available in Edmonton,” said Wilde.
She then pulls together a colour board and presents her finishes and fabric choices to the builder, and obtains approval on her selections and budget costs before any purchases are made. Then the shopping begins. But shopping, she said, requires discipline.
You need to go out and about, as what you see on Pinterest might not be available in Edmonton.