So you finally got the keys to your shiny new home that went up just a few months ago. Congratulations! It’s clean, energy-efficient, and totally yours. But there might be one thing you don’t love: the sterile feel.
New builds are great for being blank slates, but sometimes they’re just too blank. The builders rush through these projects to maximize profit, slapping in the same gray laminate, hollow doors, flush-mount ceiling lights, and basic tiles in every single unit on the block.
These homes can lack that lived-in warmth, history, quirkiness, and soul that older homes seem to have effortlessly. But don’t stress, because you don’t have to live in a white box forever. Here is the ultimate guide to transforming a new-build home with character!
Add Some Ceiling Medallions
Most people look straight past the ceiling, but that fifth wall is prime real estate for adding character. For example, in older Victorian or Parisian apartments, the light fixtures are anchored by gorgeous, ornate plaster medallions.
In a new build, your pendant light probably hangs sadly from a plain patch of drywall. Spruce that situation up with lightweight urethane medallions that look exactly like plaster once painted. These add instant history, architectural interest, elegance, and focal points to your home.
Switch to Old-School Toggle Switches
Plastic rocker switches are the standard in new builds because they are cheap, functional, and modern. But they’re also boring.
Swapping these out for vintage-style toggle switches can make a big difference in how your home feels—literally. A metal toggle switch has a satisfying tactile click. Plus, they come in a variety of beautiful materials and colors, including brass, copper, matte black, or brushed nickel plates that instantly elevate any room.
Ditch the Flat Paint for Limewash
New builds usually come with walls painted in builder beige or developer white, both of which feel flat and lifeless. And though you can just repaint with a more exciting color, that won’t hide the lack of texture in the drywall.
Instead, consider limewash or Roman clay. These finishes add movement, depth, texture, and a cloud-like softness that flat latex paint just can’t compete with. These upgrades mimic the look of old-world plaster walls found in Mediterranean or historic homes. Suddenly, your square box feels like an organic, earthy sanctuary. It hides imperfections, catches the light, creates a mood, and makes the space feel held rather than just built.
Install Internal Transom Windows
One of the biggest issues with new builds is the lighting situation, as rooms can feel boxy and cut off from one another. Older homes often solved this with transom windows—those little horizontal windows above a door frame.
Adding a transom above your internal doors lets light flow between rooms, draws the eye up, and makes the ceilings feel taller. You don’t even need to cut into the structural header in some cases if you just mount a framed mirror or antique glass piece above the trim to fake the look.
Add Picture Rails
Picture rails sit about 12 to 18 inches below the ceiling and were originally used to hang art without damaging the plaster. Though you won’t need them for their functional purpose, they offer an aesthetic that is uniquely vintage.
Plus, installing a picture rail wraps a room visually and gives you a natural breaking point to paint the ceiling color down the wall. This trick blurs the line between wall and ceiling, making the room feel taller and more intimate at the same time.
Replace Those Flimsy Hollow-Core Doors
When you close a door in your new home, do you hear that cheap, hollow clack? Builders love hollow-core doors because they cost next to nothing. However, they do cost your home some of its quality and character.
Consider upgrading to solid wood or even solid-core composite doors. The weight feels substantial in your hand, they block sound way better, they close with a solid thud, and they simply look superior.
Use Unlacquered Brass Hardware
Chrome and brushed nickel are the safe, standard choices for new homes, so that’s the standard. But hardware is a detail that is easy to upgrade and can have a big impact on your home’s style. Specifically, if you’re after a vintage look, try unlacquered brass. It is a living finish that ages and patinas over time. When you install unlacquered brass knobs, handles, faucets, or hinges, they start shiny but eventually develop a dull, warm, tarnished look where you touch them most.
This “living” aspect makes them one of the top trends for kitchen design in 2026, but it works for all cabinetry and appliances in your space. The metal slowly tells a story of use, which is exactly what a sterile new build needs to feel like a home.
Box In the Cookie-Cutter Stairs
New build staircases are often covered in the same cheap carpet as the bedrooms, with a basic orange-wood handrail. You can transform this by ripping up the carpet and boxing in the steps with wood, or simply painting the risers and staining the treads.
If the newel post (the big post at the bottom) is a generic turning, you can box it in with square MDF to make it look like a chunky, historic craftsman post. Another idea is to add a stair runner with a bold pattern to bring in color, comfort, texture, and noise reduction.
Install a Vintage Fireplace Surround
Many new homes come with a gas insert fireplace that is just a glass box in the wall, maybe with a basic floating shelf above it. This is a great opportunity to inject some soul!
Hunt down an antique cast-iron or wood fireplace surround from a salvage yard or eBay. Then, anchor it to the wall around your insert (following safety codes, obviously). Even if you don’t have a fireplace, you can mount a vintage mantel to a blank wall and style it with candles, books, art, and a mirror. It creates a focal point, anchors the living room, provides a shelf for display, and adds that architectural weight that is missing in modern drywall boxes.
You don’t have to settle for the basic package. By layering in these architectural details and swapping out the temporary, builder-grade finishes for items with history and weight, you can transform a new-build home with character.
Feature photo courtesy of Studio Romantic via Adobe Stock
