The Dos and Don’ts of Designing Model Homes

In today’s market, merchandising a model isn’t just about turning heads. It’s about helping buyers feel at home the moment they walk in and eventually turning that feeling into a sale.

From tailored design strategies based on buyer demographics to unexpected layouts, Unscripted Interior Design’s award-winning work—which was recently recognized three times at the 2025 Gold Nugget Awards—zooms out to see the big picture and accurately assesses who’s buying, how they’ll live, and what will make the space unforgettable.

“At Unscripted, our Model Merchandising Studio’s philosophy caters to the buyer profile with design that appeals to that demographic, ensuring the model showcases the best features of the home and creates beautiful memory points that set them apart from other builders and guarantees these homes will sell,” states the firm. “The overarching goal is to create the perfect tool for the sales team.”

In this Q&A, the Unscripted team shares its philosophies, must-dos, and hard don’ts of inspiring interiors that move the needle.

The Dos

What are three things you always do when designing a model home that sells?
The first thing is to make sure that we are showing the floor plan in the best light possible, maximizing the space in each room so that it feels spacious. The second step is considering the buyer demographic. Making sure not to over or under design for that community. The goal is to create a space for buyers to emotionally connect with and visualize living their life there so they can feel confident about the home they are purchasing. And we always consider location. This is huge, making sure the aesthetic and scale make sense for where the model is located.

What’s one underrated element that makes a model truly memorable to buyers?
For Unscripted, it is art for sure. We pride ourselves in custom pieces to curate a collection of art that brings the design to life. We also think lighting and finishes are key to the bones of a home. For example, finishes and materiality are chosen for specific price points and can be used in a really dynamic way to showcase a major wow factor. Where we utilize lighting as the jewelry of the home from feminine to bold to idiosyncratic – think a dramatic lighting installation in the entry.

Can you share an example of a recent design feature or layout trick that really resonated with buyers in your award-winning projects?
We believe in thinking outside the box when looking at the floor plans, such as dropping islands to table height to create more space in an area that is tight if furnished differently, doing a custom two-sided sectional in a large great room that creates dual areas for entertaining or multiple functions. Showing buyers how they can use the space to its full potential through design and layout.

The Don’ts

What are some common merchandising mistakes you still see today in production model homes?
Making them look like typical cookie cutter models or having them not feel very residential. Such as, this is the green house, this is the blue house, this is the orange house…this is entirely uninspiring. Additionally, designers who don’t understand scale which translates to a room feeling too small or not functioning properly.

What’s one design “wow moment” that designers often overuse—and what do you recommend doing instead?
We don’t want to pick on our fellow designers because we know sometimes our hands are tied when it comes to budgetary restrictions. If you have budgetary restrictions, paint is always a designer’s best friend and will get you the most bang for your buck. If money isn’t an issue, don’t be afraid to reach for that funky wall covering and trim details and never overlook those secondary spaces, such as laundry rooms, vanity walls of the primary bath, or the often overlooked “fifth wall,” the ceiling.

Closing Thoughts

What’s one thing you hope more builders start to prioritize when it comes to model home interiors?
The overall space plan. Thinking through how the buyer will actually live in the space, being conscious of window placement for beds and other furniture, and giving enough room to get the appropriate storage (with not only dressers but linen closets as well). We also hope they start to prioritize declutter zones, whether its secondary pantries and back kitchens, drop zones, and places to hide technology and life’s everyday messes. It really comes down to thinking through the floor plan and how people actually live.

If you could give one piece of advice to an up-and-coming designer working on production homes, what would it be?
Due to it being such a fast-paced, multitask-oriented job, you need to be equally creative and detail-oriented. Always be prepared to think outside of the box. Designers need to be a team player and so you can never personalize the process and be willing to cater to the overarching goal, which is to sell homes. We are very fortunate to be working in 28 states which comes with a wide range of design styles from coastal to urban, so stylistically you can never be one note. But it is so profoundly rewarding at the end of the day to see your design come to life in such short periods of time. It truly never ceases to amaze us.