First home buyers Chloe and Daniel had bought a block in Botanic Ridge in Melbourne’s South East. Liking the area, the young couple had a look around at some homes but in the end decided they would prefer to build.
For Chloe, a retail clothing Visual Merchandiser, ‘we liked the idea of being able to pick everything yourself and being able to design the house exactly as you want it to be.’
At the time they started looking to appoint a builder, the couple had heard about Boutique Homes on the radio but it wasn’t until they started looking at display homes they got to know who Boutique Homes were.
‘Their homes were styled nicely and felt more like they could be home instead of ‘I’d change this or I’d change this’ there weren’t too many things we needed to change,’ she explains.
‘We decided to look at more Boutique in different estates and everyone we walked into I loved differently, but they were all the same and I knew that we could create a home with Boutique that we would love that would be perfect for us.’
‘I think we knew that Boutique was ‘The One’ for us when we walked into the Clydevale display and it was the kitchen that sold me straight away,’ says Chloe.
A plumber by trade, Daniel was adamant in checking the tradesmanship of each display home they visited.
Chloe mused ‘Daniel’s a plumber so he wouldn’t let me pick a house until he looked under every single cupboard and every pipe and tap to make sure it was finished just the way he’d be happy with.’
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Daniel thought at first, he would replace some of the standard tap wear to place what he truly wanted. But after moving in he said, ‘I was actually just really happy with the range I had so I didn’t have to change anything.’
As first home buyers, Chloe and Daniel were unsure of what they could or couldn’t afford when first starting the home building process. Upfront, fixed pricing helped them with peace of mind as well as the premium standard inclusions of each home.
‘The home came with all these inclusions that we didn’t have to put a lot more money into it,’ says Chloe.
‘Especially the fixed site cost which was really important to us. It was a big plus because we knew what we were up for from the start,’ adds Daniel.
‘We just compared Boutique with other builders and we just kept coming back to Boutique as well. The standard seemed to be higher, you’d look at what you’d get with another builder and it was pretty base level and to get it to look like a display you’d have to spend a lot more money.’
Joining the Boutique Homes Instagram social community, Chloe has been an active member since signing with Boutique, regularly posting on Instagram throughout the process @viva_for_riva.
’When we first signed up we saw a lot of people had accounts and we thought it would be nice to do to document for future, but we were also having the benefit of connecting with other Boutique home builders and their houses gave us ideas,’ she explains.
Landing on the Riva 26 home design as the home they would call ‘The One’, the couple really liked the home’s rear for its open plan living.
‘It’s got the kitchen living dining and outdoor living running out to the back; we thought it would be a good entertaining area.’
Describing the overall interior design, Chloe’s style and the theme is Scandinavian but neutral.
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‘As a Visual Merchandiser, I wanted to play with the lighting of the house. I knew I wanted it to be nice and bright and open. Colours were a really exciting process, I had a mood board going into our colour selection appointment.’
‘I had a lot of ideas from display homes such as a mirrored splashback to open up the area. I also love greys because I feel they don’t date. We also went with a very white kitchen for this reason, but you can add colour or change it up as the years go on.’
Ready to start your journey to find ‘The One?’ See more of the Riva home design or talk to one of our friendly New Homes Consultants. See more of Chloe and Daniel’s beautiful home on Instagram @viva_for_riva.
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