Studio M is your grand final day. This is the tough, hard slog where you choose absolutely everything you will put into your new house. This appointment is one that most people fear – and stress about – and with good reason. It is a marathon day, no matter how well prepared you are.
We took around 3 hours and we were super prepared. I have heard of 8 hour sessions.
So what is excluded from studio M selection day?
- Electricals (separate appointment)
- Cabinetry and colours (separate appointment)
- Tiles (separate appointment)
The day is a dazzling day of add ons and extras, many of which we hadn’t really considered. It is possible to add $20,000-$30,000 in extras at you Studio M appointment as you learn about all the wonderful things a house can contain!
Even on a tight budget we added in some extra luxuries like a bath for the ensuite, upgraded basin in ensuite, added floor to ceiling tiling, upgraded door quality, a nicer front door and lock. Pretty modest.
The first tip has to be that you are allowed to visit Studio M as many times as you like prior to your appointment. We made four visits so that we knew what the choices were. It is very exciting to get a feel for standard versus other. Many of the standard fixtures are really good.
There is a consultant available a studio m but they are not really there to choose your colours for you. They are really guiding you though the selections. They can show you what others have chosen, or what is common, but they are not really there to bring your ideas to life.
Now that we’ve cleared that up, here is what you will need to choose:
- Bricks
- Mortar colour
- Type of joins
- Roof colour/ tile colour/ style
- Gutter colour
- Facia colour
- Downpipes colour
- Windows colour and model
- Front garage door (colour and style)
- Front door type (height, entrance set and lock, colour)
- Colour of portico, meter box, cladding, balustrade, capping
- Internal door handles
- Sliding doors (types)
- Door stops
- Architraves, skirting (style and colour)
- Cornice (types and colour)
- Robes (types and features)
- Internal doors
- Internal wall colours
- Ceiling colours
- Tapware
- Basins (bathrooms, laundry, etc)
- Handles (for everything)
- Toilets
- Baths/shower screens
- Bathroom accessories (heatlamps)
- Tiling options (floor to ceiling/ other)
- Mirror selections (tiling around mirrors?)
- Staircase features (post, handrail, treads, risers) colour and feature options
- Flooring (tiles, carpet, woods)
- Blind options
The base or standard fixtures we thought were very reasonable and suited us included:
- Base toilets
- Standard showers
- Standard tapware
- Standard basins (well, one upgrade!)
- Standard handles
- Standard Laundry trough
- Standard sink
The tricky thing is that changes or selections you make at tiles and cabinetry appointments later can have a massive impact on the Studio M selections, or vice versa.
If you choose crazy cabinet colours, will it go with the floors or paint colours? Or what about those red tiles? Here is where the process can get a bit disjointed.
I’d strongly recommend you choose your tiles and flooring preferences – or a keen eye for what you think you’ll select – and bring those selections to all other appointments.
Then the cabinet team can understand the base colours they are dealing with and the studio M team can help build the picture. If you do the tile appointment last – with no feel for what is available – you may be pushed into some more expensive tile colour selections to match the rest of your colour scheme. There is no perfect order here. All you can do is keep every different team on the same page with what you have chosen – or intend to choose.
And you can make unlimited changes, so no worries if you don’t get it all perfect on day one.
You can see our studio M colours here: https://metriconadventure.wordpress.com/fixtures-and-fittings/
How did you go at selections? Any tips? Did you find it overwhelming? Any regrets?
So many choices. Walls and walls of stuff. Choose wisely!
E and M's Metricon Adventure 