Dream centres: where home design visions come true

Building a new home is like building a puzzle. Especially when it comes to composing the finishes that will make up the look of your home.

Finding the pieces that match is the easiest way to go about it, and it helps if the pieces are collated in one place. And this is exactly the purpose of the homebuilders’ design centres.

It used to be that homebuyers had to go all over town to find their flooring, cabinetry, countertop, lighting fixtures and everything else that makes a house a home. But with these centralized desgn centres, what was once a tedious, overwhelming process has been simplified.

Design centres allow homebuyers to choose their finishes with ease, and not have to wonder if the flooring they selected at one store will match the cabinetry they picked at another. These in-house facilities – usually located in the home offices of the builder – centralizes the entire selection process, creating a one-stop-shop where homebuyers can more easily find the combination of finishes that will complete their vision for the home.

Each builder has their own unique methods to make their clients’ dream home become a reality. We take a look at the processes employed by some of Edmonton‘s most recognizable homebuilder names: Coventry Homes, Qualico Communities’ designQ, and Homes by Avi.

They all have evolved their processes to turn what could be a stressful experience into something a more fulfilling and even fun.

Coventry Homes

Its Builder of the Year win at the 2022 CHBA-ER’s Excellence in Housing Awards proves again the complete customer package that Coventry Homes offers its clients. Their meticulous yet fun design process is a key part in the builder’s success.
Tara Van Horn, Marketing & Design Director, at Coventry Homes says buyers get a full-day, private appointment with a professional designer at their in-house design centre to come up with the look for their home. They encourage in-person appointments, which invariably gets the best results. “Buyers get a true colour accuracy and product representation.”

Coventry’s process starts weeks in advance, where the designers will go over the final floorplans in great detail. “Once clients arrive at the Choices design centre, we discuss needs, lifestyle and most importantly, budget. From there we move to reviewing floorplans and cabinetry with our clients. Once the cabinet layout is done, we turn to the fun part – selecting cabinet colours, profile and countertops. Then onto flooring.”

The Choices by Design selection centre offers a wide range of standard and upgrade options to suit every style, and budget. “We are passionate about designing homes that are both flexible and affordable, and work with real people and their lifestyles,” she says. “We also believe that high grade finishes and fixtures should be ugrades and therefore you will find popular items such as quartz countertops, high quality flooring, and popular tile options within our standard offering.”

She reminds buyers that they have a responsibility too in making the selection process as painless as possible. “We have a total of 13 showhomes in and around the city, including 8 stunning new designs. Homebuyers are encouraged to tour the showhomes (virtually or in person) to get an idea of the style and look they want to achieve.”

For more info, visit coventryhomes.ca

designQ

designQ is the in-house design centre for Qualico Communities Edmonton, and they are the one-stop-shop for all its three homebuilding divisions: Pacesetter Homes, Sterling Homes and StreetSide Developments.
Despite the heavy workload, designQ gives their clients every chance to succeed in their selctions by dividing the design centre into two distinct areas, says designQ marketing manager, Melissa London.

“The first one is for interior selections, and this appointment all builder clients must come to designQ for. They select their interior finishes such as flooring, countertops, etc. The ‘Shop’ portion of designQ is optional to builder clients, as well as the general public. Here we assist clients in selecting their interior comforts, such as wall features, blinds and drapery, furniture and décor.”

London breaks down their process. She says when the clients are writing up the home contract with their area sales manager, they are able to include an allowance (basically a gift card if you will) to spend for their interior selections at designQ.

“This amount will form part of the purchase price, and therefore be included in the mortgage. Clients are now able to also include an allowance for items such as blinds, drapery, wallpaper and wall features. These items are purchased through our designQ Shop, which is a separate appointment to the interior selections. These items can form part of the mortgage as well, so no additional costs are required after you move in for these items.”

London says clients get a four-hour appointment with a professional Interior Designer to help them coordinate their blinds/drapery/wall features with the rest of the selections in their home.” She adds that an advantage about selecting the above items with designQ Shop, is that typically, depending on stage of construction, “we can have them all installed before moving in.”

She suggests visiting showhomes to base their own visions on. As an example, she The Secretariat showhome in Aster by Pacesetter Homes will be perfect in inspiring buyers, expecially in new trends.

“This home has a beautiful modern traditional style. It features many ‘standard’ products, as well as some really neat upgrades (like a Spice Kitchen and Herringbone flooring in the kitchen!). This home also showcases examples of what you can purchase with designQ Shop, including our newest feature wall product – Lime Concrete from the Venetian Plaster series.”

Visit. shop.designqedmonton.com for more.

Homes by Avi

Homes by Avi prides itself on its Avi Definition Centre’s wider range of finishes, giving their clients the opportunity to choose from thousands of selections and create a home that perfectly matches their lifestyle.

The Avi Definitions Centre is stocked with all the latest finishing materials needed to complete the vision of the home, says Homes by Avi Selection Centre Manager, Amanda Dorval. Key partnerships with providedrs like Moen faucets, Whirlpool appliances, Shaw Flooring and Superior Cabinets ensures that buyers are never wanting for style and supply.

They also have the experience to put it all together. “We are fortunate to have a design team with a combined 60 years of experience in new home design. We know all the right questions to ask to ensure no stone is unturned when helping a client personalize and build their dream home with in their desired budget,”she adds.

The Avi Definitions Studio is a remarkable place to get inspiration for the home, and it’s a simple enough process that takes them through all the nuances of creating the personalized look of the client’s home.

“Typically our buyers will schedule a preliminary VIP tour to see what our AVI Definitions design studio has to offer. They will choose things like flooring, cabinetry, electrical, finishing details and all the other fine details that makes their house unique to them. Following this appointment, their interior selections package is put together internally and the buyers are given the opportunity to review and make any final adjustments to ensure all the details for their new home are perfect. The full process from start to finish takes approximately 4 weeks.”

Dorval advises clients to “first and foremont” consider functionality and durability of materials and also to consider their future re-sale value.

“However the home is uniquely theirs so they shouldn’t compromise on personalization’s that will make the home the place they want to come home too every day,” she says.

To get further inspiration on what design trends are popular, he suggests visiting one of Homes by Avi’s many showhomes. Its Jefferson showhome in Southfork in Leduc is particularly inspiring. It has a modern farmhouse décor featuring a two-tone kitchen with sage green accents and gold accessories. He also suggests visiting the most recently opened show home, the Hemsworth in the community of Rosenthal, for a crisp organic décor featuring white cabinets with wood accents and black accessories.

Go to homesbyavi.com for added info.