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They’re designed to allure and impress. They’re also designed to sell other homes, many of which have yet to begin vertical construction.

But, from a more practical point of view, the professionally designed model homes at new-home communities are filled with inspiration.

On a recent set of virtual tours of model homes at builders’ new-home communities in the Bay Area and Northern California, a handful of design discoveries stood out from previous model homes’ designs.

While pale grays and tans are still fashionable for high-quality laminate, luxury vinyl or hardwood flooring, model homes at new construction communities are showing a re-emergence of warmer tones, such as beige and even knottier wood tones like oak.

Light play gives these classic tones a whole new look for 2022 and beyond. Their installation showcases spaces separated by doorways with arched tops; rooms with skylights and transom windows; and in common areas or with entire walls of windows and doors.

Also, hard surface flooring does not need to be all wood to feature medallion work or accent tiles.

Luxury vinyl planks and luxury vinyl tiles, which have shorter dimensions than plank, are so well made that pattern accents — whether with the use of different colors or additional wood tones — can bump up the interest and fashion of manufactured flooring materials.

Want to use the same flooring material throughout an entire wing of the house but give it a new twist in different rooms?

Choose planking going one direction in the hallway, kitchen and family room; then select the same or a similar material installed in a different size or on an angle for bathrooms, dining room, sitting room or a main-level bedroom.

White subway tile is still in style, but richer, dark and larger tiles are appearing in backsplashes. Some of the designs feature rows of vertical tiles lined up evenly with one another, with white grout between the tiles.

Some tiles have a matte finish; others are a higher gloss. These darker backsplash tiles seem to be especially popular in kitchens with white painted cabinetry or lighter-colored woods. In one model home, the white quartz counter of the center island sat atop dark gray cabinetry that complemented the tile work on a wall opposite the island.

In bathrooms, some model homes displayed a backsplash across the back of the counter, between the counter and the bottom of the mirror, instead of continuing the counter surface up to the mirror.

A herringbone-style pattern in a warmer color, for instance, can make a shared bathroom or children’s bathroom more casual, while a marble tile backsplash with accents can create a formal look.

Consider including a taller backsplash below the mirror to reduce the need to clean watermarks. Or for an upgrade, the backsplash pattern can fill the entire wall behind the sink(s) in the bathroom(s). Choose and install framed mirrors in place of the construction-grade, counter-length mirror.

Darker finished maples and mahogany tones are returning to some kitchens, especially when featured with crisp, light-colored backsplash tiles and lighter, smooth-toned counters. Equally growing in popularity are mid-tone warmer woods for cabinetry.

Builders are using contrast to highlight design features.

Kitchens with white or lighter-colored cabinetry, for instance, are more likely to feature the darker or more complex backsplash designs. But in kitchens with darker cabinets, the use of lighter, more elegant backsplash designs and counters creates depth and visual interest.

Natural light beyond the windows

In addition to bigger and more windows per room, model home designers are playing with light fixtures to create the feel of as much natural light as possible in homes, despite the 100% use of LED bulbs.

Pendant lighting above the kitchen island, for instance, might feature bulb covers with shades in slightly tinted or decorative glass that allows the fixture to project both the brightness of the LED, downward, with the warmth of natural-looking light to the sides and upward.

The same goes in bathrooms, bedrooms and living rooms, where, instead of standard recessed ceiling lighting, custom pendant or sconce fixtures may include shades made of glass or other materials to warm up the brightness. Alternatively, brass-tone hardware on light fixtures takes advantage of reflection to warm up the atmosphere.

There’s much more on display at builders’ model homes, from all-new styles to updated classics. When designing a new home — or when simply in the dream stage — touring model homes helps cultivate ideas.

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