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Styling your interior is a popular way to give where you live some personality, and really enjoy the place you call home. You can do a lot with colours, fabrics, and accessories. People often stop here. But this is just the surface. Interior design is like colouring between the lines, how would you like to draw the picture?

If you choose to design and build your home, you create the canvas on which your interior touches are displayed. Rooms can be made to your needs, style, size, and location, and then displayed to your taste. Beyond interior design, you are building a personal home.

Designing a home may be an end goal for those who like to make a statement with their interiors. But it is not as lofty an end goal as you probably think. Designing and building a new home can be very cost effective compared to buying an existing house. Instead of adding your touches on top of someone's old house, build the home and make it completely yours.

It is an amazing project to design and build. Do you want a sunny corner nook, a high ceiling, or a master bedroom with a large walk-in-wardrobe and bathroom set behind the bed? You can. You will be amazed at what can grow from your own ideas, sketches, and the way you want to live.

If it seems a little daunting, start with inspiration from proven plans, or take two, or three, altering these as you choose.

Take ideas from magazines or past homes you have seen and loved. With the help of the top home builder in the country, designing and building your home will likely be the best project you undertake.

You may want to do it again. You will definitely tell your friends about it!

To explore the possibility of designing and building your own home, talk to G.J. Gardner Homes, New Zealand's most trusted home builder.

Find your nearest G.J. Gardner Showhome or franchise office at www.gjgardner.co.nz or call 0800 42 45 46.