Check out design center options before picking key configurations

Getting under contract for a brand new home before the start of the construction process really puts you in the driver’s seat. Not only are you in the position of choosing interior design elements, you’ll also have a say regarding pre-wiring for lowvoltage electrical — for security, for flat-screen TV, for Wi-Fi capability — and for plumbing. In sum, you’ll significantly influence not only the look and feel of your home, but how critical systems will be configured.

It’s in meetings with your builder’s design center staff that you will make all of these selections, even those that have to do with what’s behind the drywall. Depending on your builder, the design center may be a stand-alone brickand-mortar space or an exhibit site housed in, for example, the garage of a model home. In any case, a visit to the design center in advance of meeting with staff gives you a chance to review the options that are available before you actually start the decision-making process.

Not surprisingly, many area builders have established open house hours at these centers to give buyers — and even prospective buyers — a look at what’s on the buffet table, so to speak.

“We just started having an open house the first Wednesday of every month,” says Lisa Perlman, design studio manager at Taylor Morrison. “We give buyers general estimate pricing on flooring. We give them our option binders to look through. We serve cookies and coffee.”

Response so far has been more than positive.

“People love it,” reports Perlman. “They feel so much more confident about coming in for their initial appointment when they have had a chance to look at the kinds of decisions they’ll have to make.”

And even if you can’t manage to leaf through design options in person ahead of time, most area builders offer a taste of available selections via online resources. (Perlman cautions against making color choices from a website due to variability in monitor color display.)

It’s also a good idea to explore general design resources to discover and refine your own tastes as to fabrics and finishes before your initial design center appointment.

“We always try to tell (buyers), ‘Do your research before you come in,’ ” notes Perlman. “Look at magazines. Look on Pinterest. Go to houzz.com. Look at the model (homes).”

Design center staff also recommend that you develop some familiarity with basic design terminology. “We have some homeowners who don’t even know what a baseboard is,” remarks Perlman. Surely, the more conversant you are with the language of interior design, the more readily you’ll be able to interact with center staffers.

Still, in the era of the hyper-over-scheduled family, buyers don’t always prepare in advance.

“We have every type of buyer,” explains Perlman. “We have buyers that come in and have literally never cracked a (decor) magazine. Then I have (folks who) come in with their Pinterest page open, and a binder full of inspiration photos.”

To maximize your time with design center staff, it’s advisable to put in as much advance preparation time as you can manage. When you realize you’ll be responsible for choosing for your entire home — sometimes in a matter of two or three meetings — wall color, kitchen and bath cabinets and countertops, backsplashes, shower and tub surrounds, flooring, electrical and plumbing configuration, it’s easy to see the better prepared you are, the better off you’ll be.