This is an interesting article from a model home in the UK. At Showhomes, we try to make our staged homes look lived in and 'unstaged' so they appeal more to the average buyer. Never tried to take it this far!
A showhome has been built complete with a teenage boy’s messy bedroom to make them feel like home.
Showhomes are normally built to look perfect, but a building company in Old Catton, Norwich, has created a replica of a teenage boy’s untidy, ransacked room.
The room includes all that you would expect from a boys room; an unmade bed, crumpled T-shirts and smelly trainers. Mrs Abel, the company’s director also scattered CDs, magazines and empty drink cans around the room before emptying a bag of Hula Hoop crisps on to the new beige carpet.
Mrs Abel said: “I’ve always found showhomes are a bit bland and unreal, so I thought if we were doing a teenage boy’s room we shouldn’t have it too pristine.
“I managed to find a fake pizza and sandwich, I had some old T-shirts and one of the girls in the office brought in her son’s trainers.”
She added: “We wanted to provide a talking point, help people to visualise it as a family home and give them something to remember the house by.
“We certainly had fun doing it and people who have looked round have laughed.”
And when visitors peek inside, they trigger a switch which turns on a loud rock radio station. The only thing Mrs Abel hasn’t tried to recreate is the ‘distinctive stale smell’ of a teenager’s room. ‘We thought that would be a step too far,’ she said.
The only thing missing is the distinctive musky whiff of a true teenager’s den.
The Abel approach and treatment seems to be paying off.
Despite the property industry struggling nationwide, six of the eight homes at The Dairy have already been sold - even though two are not yet built.
Thomas Scott
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