Design Studios Are Changing the Residential Buying Process
The goal with the design studio is a retail-like experience from the model complex and new home gallery setting to the design studio, a trend which is changing the way people shop for homes.
AUSTIN, TX—Today’s home shoppers desire convenience and control at every price point. A new design studio space will provide homebuyers with many types of customization options, according to Trendmaker Homes, a member of the TRI Pointe Group. This newly opened studio in northwest Austin will elevate the customer experience and ultimately move the company forward as a lifestyle brand.
“Our new design studio showcases a great variety of premium lifestyle products to cater to many preferences and ensure the utmost in customer satisfaction,” said Mark Heidmann, director of sales and marketing of Trendmaker Homes Austin. “It’s really about where the home and heart start to come together.”
Through trend-driven insight, surveys and first-hand experience, Trendmaker Homes has learned that buyers want an exceptional customer experience, from search (online and in person) to sale to construction to customer care, and personalization is critical. While home designs should serve all types of customers, buyers should be able to choose from curated selections to fit individual needs and lifestyles.
Customers will meet with a design consultant to select flooring, counters, cabinets, lighting, fixtures, appliances, interior paint, stair railing systems and electrical options. The curated choices which are customized a la carte are based on what today’s customers want.
Trendmaker Homes has become an exclusive studio for Daltile and Mohawk Flooring, and recently added locally based Graniteworks Countertops. Other manufacturing partners include Marazzi Group tile, Kent Moore Cabinets, Capital Lighting, Delta Faucets and GE Appliances.
“Today’s buyers want finishes that look both elevated and neutral, and are low maintenance,” said Heidmann. “They’ve really embraced all of the customized options we’ve curated through the design studio, especially the durability of quartz countertops and the look of white marble countertops.”
All buyers of the to-be-built Trendmaker homes in the Austin metro can leverage the new design center experience including Rancho Sienna, 6 Creeks, Palmera Ridge and Highlands at Mayfield Ranch, and the upcoming community at Meyer Ranch.
“The goal with the design studio is a quality retail-like experience for the homebuyer, emphasizing customer service and experience from the model complex and new home gallery setting to the design studio,” Heidmann tells GlobeSt.com. “It helps buyers by giving them access to lots of selections, styles and so forth in one convenient place. They can easily choose from a wide array of options all under the guidance of helpful professionals. Design studios are changing the way people shop for homes and we expect this trend to continue.”
According to a TimeTrade state of retail survey report, the lure of a physical store is tied to shoppers’ preference of touching and feeling products before they make a purchasing decision, which means that design studios are the best way for buyers to see products before they order materials for a home.