An interior designer has shared her top tips for people who want to turn their new build houses into a home by adding some character to it.
According to ONS statistics, 124,144 new homes were built in the UK in 2024, a 7% decrease from the 133,611 completed in 2023. The UK government has pledged to deliver 1.5 million new homes by 2029, which would require an annual build rate of 300,000 homes.
As more buyers are purchasing newly-built homes – which are often similarly decorated, with completely white walls and appliances – many are turning to interior designers to help them make their house more homey by adding their own character to it.
To help, interior designer Jenna Ellen of Jenna Ellen Interiors has shared her go-to ways to help clients make their new built homes feel more lived in by adding some character to the bare walls. These tips can also be applied to other properties that need a dash of colour.
“Okay so this question is all about adding character into a newbuild property that has a lot of whites and a lot of cream. This is a great question,” she said at the start of her TikTok video where she answered a viewer’s question.
“I feel like a lot of people are going to be having this very same issue. And there are so many expensive ways that you can add some character to your property without breaking the bank.”
She went on to say: “In your new build, everything is going to feel fresh. Everything is going to feel new. So you do not want to be the oldest thing in that room, so my first bit of advice would be to go to an antique store, go to a charity shop, go to a thrift store, whatever, and collect some pieces that look old, that look antique, that you really love.
“And mix it with all of the new bits that you have got. Like you can see here, there’s a mix of old and new things, and together it’s really gonna give some character,” she added.
Her next advice was to cover some of the white walls with wallpaper, which she said was a great way to add colour to your home.
Continuing with the walls, she said: “I would seriously recommend adding some coving to your walls because it’s such an inexpensive way to add some character. And then also some built-in shelves.”
Showing a photo of a room with square paneling decorating the white walls, Jenna said: “This style of paneling looks amazing. And just loads of vintage pieces, like this insanely gorgeous lamp.”