Blog
Monday, November 11, 2019 - 1:15pm
Turnkey means exactly what it says; you only have to worry about turning the key to open the door of your new home on moving day. The rest is taken care of.
It's a simple, stress-free way to build, and you’ll enjoy all the benefits of living in a brand new home with less of the financial worry. Stop searching for an existing home and save yourself the stress of time-consuming open home visits, negotiating with real estate agents and trying to find a home to suit your lifestyle by buying a Signature Homes turnkey package.
Here are 3 reasons why a turnkey home may be a great solution for you.
1. YOU ONLY NEED A 10% DEPOSIT
To secure a turnkey package you’ll pay just a small deposit of 10% up-front before the build starts, then no further funds are required until the build is completed.
You won't pay the balance of your fixed-price contract until construction is complete, which means your mortgage payments will start after you move in. This frees you up financially while we build your new home, so you can save or pay your existing mortgage or rent.
2. YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL FOR A FIXED PRICE
Building a home is a big step for anyone, especially those who are stepping onto the property ladder for the first time.
Buying a fixed-price turnkey House & Land package takes away any element of surprise and ensures you and your family can budget in exact detail.
3. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BUYING
Signature Homes brings together a block of land and a home design that perfectly suits that site for a fixed price. It’s an easy and secure way to buy a home. Everything is sorted right down to the letterbox, fences and landscaping.
Before you buy, you can visit our showhomes across the country to experience first-hand the quality you can expect from our builds.
Contact your local Signature Homes team today to discuss available turnkey homes in your area.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019 - 12:00pm
Visiting a showhome gives you a chance to look at different home designs in living colour. You’ll be able to explore the layout, run your hand along the finishes, soak in the space and imagine what it would be like to live there.
It is an exciting experience and one that allows you to figure out what matters most to you and what features of a new home will best enhance your lifestyle.
Here’s our guide of things to consider when visiting your next showhome.
YOUR LIFESTYLE
- How do you live? What matters most to you?
- Does the design suit the way you live?
- Do you spend much time outside? Is indoor/outdoor flow important to you?
- Do you have a preference for single or double storey?
- Are you looking for zones/separate areas?
- How long are you expecting to live in the home?
- Do you require space for visiting friends and family?
- Do you entertain? Do you need a butler’s pantry or an outdoor entertaining area?
YOUR STYLE
- What are you drawn to in the showhome? Colours, textures, finishes.
- Are the materials used classic and timeless, or modern and dramatic?
- Does the roofline appeal to you?
- Are you impressed by the cladding?
- Does the home stand out from the crowd?
- Does the home have an inviting entry?
FLOW OF THE FLOORPLAN
- Do the rooms have connectivity, providing a sense of space?
- Can you spread out as your family grows?
- Can you open up or divide rooms as needed?
- Kitchens are often referred to as the heart of a home. Does this space work for you?
- Will you need a walk-in wardrobes or internal access to the garage?
- Will the home provide sufficient storage?
- Is the home situated to maximise the sunlight/warmth?
QUALITY/FEEL
A showhome is a good indicator of the quality you can expect from the home builder, so make sure it meets your standards.
- Is the home inviting? What are your first impressions?
- Does it stand out from the crowd?
- Is the home built using quality materials?
- Can you customise and personalise to suit your needs?
- Do you like the style of the fixtures and fittings used?
- Did you feel the ‘wow’ factor?
THE COMPANY
- Were they approachable/friendly?
- Were they the kind of people you would like to work with?
- Did they answer your questions?
- Did they follow-up with your requests/requirements?
- Did you understand their process of designing and building?
Keep these questions in mind when looking at showhomes, it will ensure you feel confident in your decisions. Remember to take your time, do as much due diligence as you feel you need and enjoy the process of planning your dream home.
Visit one of our showhomes today or connect with your local team here.
Have you ever considered investing in a showhome? Many investors are seeing the benefits of buying a showhome and leasing it back to the builder at a favourable rate for up to 24 months. Read our blog post to learn more.
Monday, October 7, 2019 - 11:45am
The bathroom is one of the busiest rooms in the house, but it can also be the most neglected in terms of style and design. With that in mind these are the trends to watch out for in 2019/ 2020 to spruce up your bathroom
1. TAP INTO THE TRENDS
Bold, sophisticated and unapologetic, black tapware is set to become a design classic, or add a stylish and practical touch with a matte finish like brushed nickel. Heavy metals are coming up in the ranks.
Weathered brass finishes look stunning against white tiles or boldly coloured walls. Add drama to pastel walls and cabinetry with darker silvers, like pewter feature in Plumbing World’s latest design forecast. “Look out for tapware with colour accents — chrome with black, black with rose gold or white trim”.
2. TILE IT UP
Stacked square tiles are taking over from subway tiles as the go-to look. Feature wallpaper can make a bold statement, especially in toilets and powder rooms, and simple painted or panelled walls are budget-friendly options.
“Basic whites and pale greys are always beautiful, but your bathroom can also be a place for colour romantic reds, breezy blues, enigmatic greys — your bathroom colours set the tone of your day-to-day life,” says Plumbing World.
3. BE BOLD WITH YOUR BASIN
Vessel-style basins can be the hero of the bathroom in their own right, especially if you a short on space. Industrial sinks are an emerging bathroom trend as are coloured concrete styles.
Plumbing World pro tip | A vintage cabinet with a mounted vessel basin works well in an older home, or for a more contemporary look, pair a stunning two-tone black and white cabinet with a countertop basin.
4. SQUEEZE IN MORE STORAGE
The vanity is usually the centre piece of a small bathroom that doesn’t fit a standalone bath, so look for a vanity option that not only looks amazing and has character, but is practical enough to provide ample bench space and storage. “Two-tone vanities are very popular, with different cabinet and drawer colours in woodgrain and coloured finishes” says Plumbing World.
5. MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL
Plumbing World pro tip | Round and oversized mirrors are popular right now, and can also help make your space feel larger and grander.
We are proud to work with the best suppliers in the country to ensure we are delivering you uncompromised design, service and quality when building your home.
Plumbing World is one of our valued partners and they have recently launched a new Lookbook ‘By Design’, which you can check out here http://docs.plumbingworld.co.nz/flipbooks/LookBook/2019-2020/
For more bathroom inspiration check out our crush-worthy boards on Pinterest or follow us on Instagram.
Monday, August 26, 2019 - 10:45am
Signature Homes’ plans have been tried and tested by thousands of New Zealanders across the country. Many of our plans started out as custom designs that have become popular with other families. We know what works, plus we’re in touch with local trends which means we can suggest modern features to incorporate into your new home.
Choosing the right plan will depend on a number of factors, such as the size of your family, the characteristics of your site and the things you love doing in your spare time.
A plan is just a starting point though, and most people choose to make some or many changes. You have full control of every design aspect that goes into your home, from kitchen layout to flooring choices, tiling and paint colours, and every home we build is different. Whether it’s adding extra space in the garage for the boat or changing the kitchen layout to include a wine fridge, it’s all up to you.
Your choice of plan determines specifics such as the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and overall footprint of your home. From there, you can modify the look and style of your home through your choice of roof line, exterior cladding and window style, or by adding exterior details such as a feature chimney or covered deck.
The way we live is constantly evolving. Popular additions to our plans are extra living spaces and butler’s pantries, similarly, ensuites and bigger master wardrobes are becoming must-haves. With an increasing focus on devices and entertainment, we are also designing more workstations in living areas and media rooms or versatile spaces that can be closed off through the use of sliding doors.
Take the houses in the picture above. All options can be built from our Rosella plan from the Smart Collection. Each exterior has a unique look and feel by simply moving the placement of windows, type of roofline, garage door position and cladding choices. And that’s before even considering colour choice and joinery inside.
Rooflines make a significant difference to the style of home you see from the street. Take the three Wai homes, from our Pacific Collection, above. A gable roof is very popular in New Zealand and forms a triangle shape at the end of the home and at other parts of the roof. A hip roof style is the most common and simplest type of roof, it has slopes on all four sides. A mono-pitch roofline has a striking and distinctive style, it is constructed to form one single sloping surface. For more information on your roofline decisions check out our blog post ‘Why the right roof should be a high priority’.
The above modified Austral homes from our Pacific Collection each have unique street appeal from the choice of different cladding, colour and roofline combinations. The top home is clad in vertical shiplap cedar and Premiers country brick with a stackbond finish and has a flat roofline. The middle home is also vertical cedar with painted brick and a gable roofline. The bottom home has a mono-pitch roofline and cladding combination of James Hardie Linea weatherboard and brick.
Making changes can alter the final cost of your home, your New Home Consultant will help you work out whether the changes you desire can be made easily and within your budget, or whether you might be better off choosing an alternative plan.
Starting with a plan doesn’t mean you get the same home as everyone else, in fact we have never built the exact same home twice. A tried and tested house plan means you can relax knowing that the bones are good, and enjoy the process of personalising your home to make it unique.
If you would like to speak to your local Signature Homes team about building your new home you can connect with us here.
Still have questions? Then check out ’10 questions about house plans’ to see if one of our plans might be right for you.
Monday, August 19, 2019 - 8:15am
Our Signature Homes Waikato team was recently commissioned to create a stunning studio guesthouse in Hamilton- akitō studio.
akitō in Māori is ‘to be slow’. This is a place to take time out for yourself and enjoy the surroundings.
Sleek and stylish with lush gardens, it is the perfect place for a quiet getaway. It has been cleverly designed with polished concrete floors, clean lines, careful placement of custom furnishings and is taking Airbnb by storm.
Erena, the brains behind akitō studio, is a married Mum of two and a stylist by trade. Rearranging spaces and making a house a home is a true gift of Erenas. She is a self-described “upcycler by nature” and has a real knack for finding second-hand pieces and reworking them – a trait she picked up from her grandmother, who used to volunteer at the local Op-Shop.
Erena is known for her earthy, elegant, minimal style. “I tried to stick to light colours and furniture that wasn’t too bulky to help give it a sense of light and space,” she says and describes the studio as “a little bit Trade Me, a little bit custom, a little bit treat yo'self and a lot ME”.
The project came about after a classic case of “buying a house that needed more work than we imagined and more money than we could afford” and so the idea of transforming the least-used space into something that was beautiful yet could offer some form of return on investment was born.
The brief to the Signature Homes team was "concrete floors, bare white walls...think art gallery". It was the best way to describe a blank canvas and that was what Erena was going for; a large open-plan space that could suit many styles but most of all would provide flexibility down the line and when it came to picking the furnishings she wanted the overall feel to be clean and modern with a resort-feel.
Imagine soaking in a large outdoor tub with views across the gully, a sweeping bed and a beautiful, relaxing vibe, that’s exactly what you get. Clean lines and contemporary furniture create a calming aesthetic while large windows, lush gardens, and that alfresco bathtub make the most of indoor-outdoor living.
“I think there is always someone out there looking for something a bit special” said Erena.
Design & Styling by Erena Te Paa / Photography by Kirsty Dawn
If you have been thinking of designing your dream home or your dream getaway then contact your local Signature Homes team, they are experts in design and build plus your home will be backed by the best guarantees in New Zealand.
If you would love to stay at akitō studio, book via Airbnb, and for more inspo follow akitō studio on Insta.
To see more of Erena's home and styling visit her website erenatepaa.com.
