Design virtually or in person
Planning to purchase a new home? Then you must be wondering how the design selection process will go for all the design elements that tailor the home to your tastes.
If you’re like most new-home buyers, the idea of shopping online for the house itself is not foreign, nor has it been for about five years. A full 99% of new-home buyers spend the majority of their new-home search time viewing communities online, researching builders
and understanding communities.
For years, new-home buyers have analyzed new-home lots and floor plans online and worked with designers to create renderings that show how different design combinations will mix and match.
Some builders even provide 3D views to allow buyers to compare different home elevations and options to each other, by room, by floor or by entire property.
The reality, therefore, is that the concept of “virtual design” for new-home buyers has been part of the homebuying process since long before pandemic
conditions turned most of us into fully online shoppers.
That doesn’t mean that buyers don’t still want to touch and feel every carpet, floor tile, hardwood, molding or countertop stone. It also doesn’t mean that they no longer want to view side-by-side comparison of cabinet woods, backsplashes, and countertops for the kitchen and bathroom. For many buyers, the tactile experience around cabinet knobs and handles, as well as faucets and plumbing fixtures, is a must-have.
“It’s a mix in terms of who prefers online or virtual design and how much of an in-person experience they want,” says Jennifer Kamenca, vice president of design
studio operations for Residential Design Services (RDS). “Fortunately, the protocols have changed over the past six months.”
RDS works with several Bay Area and Northern California builders, including Signature Homes, Blue Mountain Communities and Century Communities. The company operates four Northern California design studios, including Livermore and San Jose locations.
Kamenca explains that, at first, all design studios were closed and builders extended cutoff dates for homebuyers to make decisions. But by late April or May, Zoom, Facetime and other online meetings became more common, with
designers sharing images on their screens.
“A lot of them take the buyer directly to the vendors’ websites when sharing screens during the meetings. On some vendor sites, the designer or vendor can set up virtual rooms to see the designs,” she says. “Designers also will ask the vendors to mail samples directly to the buyers.”
For some new-home communities, virtual design is an unexpected benefit to the buyer who otherwise would have had to travel an hour or more to a design studio. A Bay Area-based buyer who is purchasing in Sacramento, for example, can trim the number of studio visits down to one or two at most by taking
advantage of virtual design.
Design studio meetings are back
While all of the many virtual design experiences still take place, scheduled, in-person design studio meetings now happen more regularly.
“In our design studios, we can schedule two meetings at a time,” Kamenca says. Each meeting can have up to two people (no children) from the buyer and one design specialist.
“The meetings happen on opposite sides of the studio and only the designer can touch the samples. Everyone wears a mask and gloves and we disinfect the entire design studio before each meeting.” 'Momentum’ in design
Builders such as Blue Mountain Communities, Century Communities and Woodside Homes are also using RDS’ Momentum Design program, which allows buyers to create and share multiple design scenarios for one home.
“Each builder uses it differently,” Kamenca says. “It’s really simple to use and everyone is really happy with the virtual design concept.”
Depending on the buyer’s comfort level with inperson meetings, virtual or online design, builders are ready to accommodate everyone’s needs. So, too, are vendors, who are happy to share their samples of woods, tiles, knobs, handles and other textiles with buyers.