The decision to include a model (or several) is important to the success of a developer’s marketing strategy. Building a model, in real life, including the fixtures, finishes and furnishings that make the model an asset can be expensive. Hiring the right design firm is the key to the highest possible return on your investment.
What is a Model Home Merchandiser?
While our job is to make your model home beautiful, a model home merchandiser is more than an interior designer. We consider all aspects of business that will drive your property marketing forward.
Unlike a residential interior designer, who works with homeowners to create living spaces that are aesthetically pleasing and functional for that one household, a model home merchandiser collaborates with architects, builders, developers, sales and marketing executives, contractors, vendors and real estate professionals to produce a marketing tool that will drive traffic and accelerate sales.
What to Expect From a Model Home Merchandiser?
Studio H is an integral part of your team. Along with your architect, contractors, purchasing agent, marketing executive and sales staff we make decisions based on your market and your product to ensure a profitable and beautiful final product.
A designer has the trained eye to visualize how big projects will come together—a skill that is vital to creating a cohesive and attractive living space for your potential buyers.
What Qualities to Look for in a Designer?
Industry Knowledge
It takes a creative and focused mind to make a space beautiful. Every skilled interior designer understands how to use scale, rhythm, repetition, texture, color, and light to create a beautiful space. Interior merchandisers take this a step further by providing a deep understanding of the home building industry, trends in the market, new home marketing strategy and consumer buying trends. All of these influence the design and are harnessed to capture buyer interest.
Market Intelligence
An interior merchandiser must bring to the table in-depth knowledge of market demographic and psychographic segmentation and respond to that knowledge with a product that is aspirational and functional. Household size and structure, lifestyle and interests play a major role in understanding how model homes are positioned in the market.
Architectural Design Review
Well-designed model homes will capture the attention of potential buyers. It gives them a snapshot of what life could be like in their new home and will highlight the finishes and amenities that will make it even more special.
A designer understands how a multitude of elements come together to make a stunning final product. When viewing preliminary plans, the design team sees the final three-dimensional space and volume and will propose a solution that highlights the assets of the architecture, with recommendations for modifications that will improve livability and marketability.
Construction and Project Management Skills
We’ve all met someone who has great ideas but fails when it comes time to execute the plan.
A professional design team can effectively communicate design ideas both during concept development and during the construction phase and can create creative solutions to unexpected construction difficulties if and when they occur.
A great plan is nothing until it is executed, and a great design team will see the project through seamlessly from plan to final photoshoot. During construction, the design team is a partner who provides complete finish specifications and will be on site for electrical and paint walks as well as make reselections for finishes if necessary. Behind the scenes, the team is working with vendors and subcontractors, expediting furniture orders and the installation of decorative elements like wallcovering, lighting, and trim details.
Understanding the scope of work, sticking to tight deadlines, adjusting to changing plans, being able to create solutions for unforeseen circumstances, and working towards a common goal are essential ingredients of ensuring a model home meets the highest possible standards.
Experience
Construction projects come with unique challenges that inexperienced designers will have a difficult time juggling. While enthusiasm and passion are vital for being successful in the design business, model home construction comes with many responsibilities that need to be fulfilled. After all, you want your project to be stunning and well branded, while also being done on time and on budget.
Trust in the experience of a designer who holds a formal degree in this study and has had years of successful training within an established design firm.
Understanding Your Model Home Design Team
Beyond expectations set out in the scope of work, understanding how your design team functions can give you valuable insight into how they execute each project. Asking the right questions can help you find the right fit.
What is an ideal budget for your project? What can you expect if you have a limited budget?
What is included in the scope of work? What is excluded?
What are the typical communication channels when working with a builder/architect/contractor?
What type of projects has been a challenge in the past?
What is an ideal timeframe? What if the timeframe is compressed?
Building a solid team of professionals to create a project that has the highest return on your investment is critical to your company’s long-term success.
The value of having professional designers at your side while building a model home cannot be overstated. The perfect model home is a valuable marketing tool that will attract interest, support your brand, and close more sales. Many of our clients find that a model is critical to their company’s success.
Find a team of design professionals that understand how to work with your needs to get the most value out of your model home investment.