Online shopping is becoming more and more popular. It was popular before 2020, but the pandemic certainly accelerated it. My husband, Guy, is an avid online shopper. I am not. Indeed – I am not much of a shopper at all, but I believe somethings are best purchased in person.
Last week, Guy ordered some red parson chairs for our dining room. Seems the move, storage, three kids and two dogs took a toll on our existing chairs. They needed to be replaced. A popular online furniture company happened to be having a sale, so Guy order 4 red parson chairs. When they arrived – unassembled – he put them all together.
It was only then that we discovered two issues. The first was the scale. They looked like little kids’ chairs.
That could have been avoided if he had checked the dimensions – but they looked adequately sized in the picture.
The second issue was the comfort. There was simply not enough cushion in these chairs – not something you can decipher when online shopping.
These two issues – scale and how something feels – is a common problem with all online shopping. Now apply these same to issues to shopping for a house online.
Scale
Trying to discern the size and scale of a room from a floor plan is almost impossible if you’re not in the business of reading floor plans. Sure, some builders add dimensions, but without furniture on the floor plans – most don’t understand what the room will feel like. And if the furniture must float in the room in order to see the TV, the room “lives” much smaller than its footprint.
Then there’s the ceiling height and how it affects how the room feels. Room adjacency, windows and sight-lines all contribute to how the scale of the room is perceived in person. And don’t even get me started on how color can affect the perceived scale of a room.
How does the house look in the neighborhood? Is it the smallest house on the street? Does it nestle itself into the streetscape nicely?
Or does it look like a misplaced McMansion?
Feel
Unlike the cushion of our chairs, how a room or house feel can be greatly affected by the interior design and furnishing. Does it feel cozy and homey?
Or does it feel cold, lifeless, and unfinished?
Other senses
Let’s not forget the sense of smell. Many clever new home sales agents have learned to conquer the senses in their model homes. Have you experienced home shopping when there are chocolate cookies baking? Others have relied upon plug in “smell goods”. Perhaps the landscape architect specified fragrant plants at the entry and surrounding the outdoor living.
Sound
Acoustics in and around the home are vitally important to how the home will live. Is there music playing in the model home? Or is the TV running the same builder video over and over until the buyer has it memorized?
Empty spec rooms (move-in ready) homes can be very reverberant and suffer from a lack of coziness without furniture, pictures, carpet, and soft goods to absorb sound. They can feel less like a home and more like a commodity.
What about sounds outside the home? The sound of running water is instantly calming, whether from a spa spilling into a pool or other water features.
Running water is great at masking sounds. Perhaps the home is near the railroad tracks. How often does the train run? Will I hear it in the middle of night? More importantly, if the home is near a railroad crossing, the train horn becomes the issue – not the sound of the train. Ask me how I know.
The best of both worlds.
Of course, online shopping still plays a vital and powerful role in the sales process today. I believe the best way to maximize your return on investment is to have a robust website that lures buyers to experience the sight, sounds and smells of the model home.
And if you’re curious, we sent the chairs back and have yet another set from a different source coming. Fingers crossed that these will be better.
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This post was written by Housing Design Matters