Can a minimalist house like this be made homely?

[RedPumpkin]

I'm going to try to get help posting a link in a minute, but basically my dilemma is this: there is a property near me that we love from the outside and it has a lovely feel from outside and has a pretty setting. However, I'm a homebody and my ideal home would be all cosy and farmhousey in decor. For various reasons, this house ticks lots of boxes, but the inside is not at all to my taste.

Are there any small changes one could make to a house like this? It might seem silly but I'm imagining Xmas time and an ultra contemporary tree, which wouldn't be homely at all to me.

Any thoughts? Or is it a lost cause??

"However, I think the builder already did that as the outside looks more rustic than the inside to me."

Really? Half and half building materials, grey render, horizontal wood, steep gables and large, dark-edged windows in non-standard shapes all say classic modern house to me. It might be more to your taste, but it's modern style.

Ooh good, more great ideas!

Wuffle, I see your point..,maybe it's the timber that makes it seem more rustic- and the setting.

Here's my 2 cents: Just make it as cozy as imaginable. You'll be happy to come home everyday from work. :D

Yes. It has hardly any furniture in it for a start. And no photos or paintings or posters up to add personality. No individual splashes in the kitchen diner such arranged flowers in nice vases or grown plants or if you have nice bowls for fruit or other display.

And blinds and curtains?

Once you start adding all these things, it will become yours and reflect you.

There are other ways such as changing wall colours but clearly you might not want to do that.

I'd want to get rid of the slate walls in the reception room? Plaster painted a nice colour would immediately cosy everything up. Window coverings would also make a big difference, as would changing the flooring.

You could easily make the snug into a completely separate room. And changing the kitchen doors would make it feel warmer without being twee (so a kind of balance).

I agree that the bathrooms are less easily changed. There are too many of them. I don't know why you'd want 4 ensuite bedrooms, especially when bedrooms 3 and particularly 4 are tiny because of it. I'd be tempted to completed get rid of those two ensuites (although I'd be very annoyed at having to pay a premium for the house only to rip out two bathrooms to create more sensible bedrooms).

You could make it feel much more cosy with lighting. Rather than using the spotlights in the reception room, lamps would make a big difference.

Friend of mine lives in a new build ultra modern house, pale grey walls. But hers looks warm and welcoming because she has used really beautiful rich jewel colours for furnishings, gorgeous abstract art on the walls (courtesy of her teenage daughter) and a few big rugs to define areas within the main multi purpose space.

I'd keep the grey bathrooms but paint a feature wall in a strong colour. Make each bathroom a different colour
It won't be rustic but it will be cosy

Just had a longer look at the brochure, and the clean-lines modern-country look is eminently doable. The whole rustic thing isn't so much though. Unless you want me to lend you my 3 kids and crazy dog?! They made my modern-country house look battered rustic pretty quick.

In the short term, painting all the white walls would make a huge visual impact. As would shutters or curtains, nicer furniture, and paintings/pictures/ vases of flowers. And I suspect the kitchen would then look nice.

In the longer term, get rid of the slate on the walls. Change that carpet -it's a god-awful colour anyway. Change the log burner and your bathroom. (Do you really care about the styling of your guest/kids bathrooms?)

I'd work out what all that would cost and deduct it from the offer. I wouldn't want to pay over the odds for things like that log burner. If someone comes along who loves all that, and pays asking price, I wouldn't want to compete with them. But I wonder how likely it is that someone will come along who loves it... The developer's been a bit mad, imo. Limiting their market, with how stark those interiors are.

It could be gorgeous, though.

Location location location. You have the most important thing ( where property is concerned) everything else can be changed.

The living space would be better with the snug as separate but that would be easy to do.

The bedrooms and bathrom set up is shit tho! 4 en suits and no family bathroom and two totally shit unusable bedrooms? Bad bad design. I'd turn the utility area into a family bathroom and rip the en suits out of bedroom 3 and 4.

I second lots of bold, warm colour in the furniture, possibly change the doors in the kitchen, big artwork and also lots of big plants.
But I also think trying to be too cozy-cottage will just look mad and bring out the worst in both the house and the decor...

I love this house.

I don't subscribe to the notion that it would be in some way unfair on the house to be made more homely/chintzy.

If you like it and but it you can do what you like.

Those ensuites would do my swede though!

I'd lose the ensuite to tiny bed 4 (maybe keep a basin hidden in a cuopboard for toothbrushing) Make the ensuite to bed 3 the family bathroom by extending hall. Wont make a big differmce to size of room.

If it's a new build you can offer full asking price if developer will alter to your specs

I think it wouldn't be too tricky.
It's so minimalist now because it's empty.
I think I'd change to kitchen cupboard doors too.
This is a good blog
moderncountrystyle.blogspot.co.uk

I think it's bloody gorgeous. I think it could easily be made homely once you have your stuff in it.

oh that definitely has potential to be homely and lovely.

First off get rid of the grey shag-pile carpet (I presume that's what it is??).

As soon as you introduce colour in the form of furniture, rugs, art, soft furnishings and personal possessions it will become your space and your home.

Fab house... it would instantly be homey with all my clutter & DC's clutter & DH's clutter.

You could always go down the mid century modern look, as this would suit the space, while still having a cosy and warm feeling. It's not farmhouse cosy but does use colour and textures in big spaces, and might appeal to males too. It has a strong design element. Type the phrase in to google to get more of this
www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irisabbey.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F02%2F239.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irisabbey.com%2Fmid-century-modern-furniture%2F5-characteristics-mid-century-modern-furniture%2F&docid=rZ_blGBm1YDC7M&tbnid=M7Q1VWFrIbRHPM%3A&w=1500&h=1000&bih=928&biw=768&ved=0ahUKEwiI-PeEguzMAhVBKsAKHU0uBW8QMwgtKAowCg&iact=mrc&uact=8

Very nice house, and a warning to us all about the mania for grey.

Ditch the horrid grey carpets: wooden floors and rugs will bring it to life, as will artwork (worth spending money on). You have room for some sculptures here.

Can you link to a couple of places that are less ideal (location, size, whatever) but that you like inside?

Largely I suppose it depends on how strong the reasons are for buying it then making as close to ideal as you can. So, if it was just the 'pretty setting' I wouldn't do it, but if it was the right zone for schools, 5 minutes drive to work, ideal location for xyz (looking after elderly parents, local hospital you need regularly, airport if you or DH travel a lot for work) then maybe.

There's a lot you could do to make it more homely, but if you really don't like the bathrooms, the kitchen, the open spaces, unless there's a truely compelling reason to buy it, I think it would be a bit daft.

I love that place. I need to move. Around here you'd get a very run down place on that much land or something half the size. Sigh.

echt

Why is it 'a warning to us all about the mania for grey'?

I love that place.

I'd hate it painted 'a warmer colour' or with some of the other suggestions that have been made on here. But thankfully we are all different.

Could be lovely but what's with the grey carpet and slate on the wall? I also wouldn't be keen on the tipsy turvey thing with bedrooms downstairs and kitchen/living space upstairs. Kitchen bins need to be near the backdoor in my opinion, not upstairs.

The setting looks fab though.

Those sinks in the bathroom would drive me mad - we had one and couldn't wait to get rid; totally impossible to wash / brush teeth without getting water all over the counter top and floor, and bashing our heads when bending over to rinse.

I quite like the grey carpet