The Model Unit Effect: Why Investing in Interior Design can help sell your home!
- Jen Lea
- Jun 11
- 6 min read
There's a moment that happens in every real estate showing. A buyer walks through the door, takes in the space, and within seconds — before they've checked a single spec sheet or asked about square footage — they've already started to feel something. That feeling is either "I could live here" or it isn't. And once it isn't, no amount of features or price adjustments will fully recover it.
For builders and developers, that moment is entirely within your control. How you present your units — and more specifically, who you bring in to help you present them — is one of the highest-leverage decisions you make in the selling process.
The Data Is Hard to Ignore
The staging and model home industry has been quietly building a compelling financial case for years. According to the National Association of Realtors 2025 Profile of Home Staging, staged homes sell for significantly more on average than non-staged homes, and nearly half of sellers' agents report that staging reduces time on market. The Home Staging and Redesign Association puts the average ROI on staging investment at over 200%.
Perhaps most telling: according to UpNest's "Staged to Sell" study, buyers spend an average of just 6 minutes walking through a vacant home, compared to up to 40 minutes in a furnished or staged space. That shift isn't just a time difference — it's the difference between a buyer evaluating a property and a buyer imagining their life in it. That's where purchase decisions are made. And when it comes to which spaces matter most, NAR data shows the living room leads — 37% of buyers identify it as the most important staged space, followed by the primary bedroom at 34% and the kitchen at 23%.
What I Learned in Chicago on a Spec Project
In 2019, I participated in the construction of a three-flat condominium building in Chicago. This was a new speculative ("spec") construction project, built from scratch for sale on a typical sized Chicago lot in West Town. Those acquainted with Chicago city infill projects understand the immediate limitations: narrow lots, walls very close to the next building on both sides, and the challenges of making homes feel spacious, livable, and distinct, despite sharing the same structural framework, and regardless of actual square footage.
In my role, I was involved in the entire project, which included space planning, selecting architectural finishes and built-in details. Then the temporary furnishing was a deliberate strategy, and the initial decisions proved to significantly support the sales process.
First, scale is everything. In compact urban environments, large furniture makes rooms feel smaller, confined, and even impractical. Selecting pieces for style and proportion is important: a shorter sofa, a lower-profile coffee table, and and even an smaller glass dining table. These design choices create an intentional, spacious feel.
Second, units need their own identity or personality. Even though the floor plans were similar, we set out to provide each unit a design personality. Creating a "design identity" can serve a few purposes, one is to demonstrate the type(s) of buyers anticipated to live in a home, and how they can live in the space. The other reason is to make a home stand out and be memorable (in a good way!).
For example, Unit 1- which was a lower level one bedroom unit targeted at the young professional - was layered and eclectic — a green velvet sofa, copper accents, a marble coffee table, warm gold tones throughout. Unit 3 - which was a larger three bedroom plan most likely for a couple or small family - was more restrained and mid-century in character featuring a turquoise velvet sofa, live-edge walnut coffee table, bold abstract art, for a more sophisticated feel.
Buyers don't just choose a floor plan,
they choose how they want
to experience living in a space.
Buyers aren't choosing a floor plan. They're choosing how they want to live in a space. Giving each unit its own story enables more buyers to connect with a particular one and made it more memorable.
This type of presentation also can help to give buyers an idea of how they can style a space and keep scale and proportions in check. Furnishings not only make a space look "pretty," it also helps buyers understand how they can live in the space. That's the real job of a model unit.
Ultimately, all 3 condo units sold, and the lower level unit sold first, not just because of its lower price point, but because of good design and presentation.
Before the Furniture Arrives
Here's something most staging conversations miss: the decisions that drive buyer perception don't begin when the furniture truck pulls up. They start at the design planning and specification phase, often months in advance.
Decisions about room flow, finishes, fixtures, and built-in quality details all contribute to how a furnished unit is perceived. Even how natural light interacts in space can make a dramatic impact, especially in smaller homes. The true transformation occurs when a well-designed and specified space then is furnished with care and intention.
The most valuable design partner for a builder or developer is not someone who arrives at the last moment with a truckload of furniture. Instead, it's someone who has been engaged from the beginning, involved in space planning and the specification stage, familiar with the finishes, who understands the flow, and can furnish the space in alignment with all previous decisions.
That's a separate discussion from staging. It's a design strategy.
The Single-Family and Multi-Unit Conversion Opportunity
The model unit principle applies equally to single-family spec homes, gut rehabs, and additions.
On a separate Chicago project — a two-flat conversion to a single family home with an addition — the design work focused on creating a cohesive open plan that flows from the front entrance all the way through to the family room at the back of the house.
Above photos: The entry, dining, kitchen and family room of a single-family gut rehab and addition —
open plan design that guides how buyers experience the full living sequence. (click to enlarge)
Every finish, fixture, and furniture selection was made with the full spatial sequence in mind — not room by room, but as one continuous living experience. For buyers touring a spec home or a newly converted property, that sense of flow and intentionality is what separates a house that feels finished from one that feels like a construction project with furniture in it.
What National Builders Are Already Doing
The largest residential builders in the country figured this out some time ago. PulteGroup — one of the nation's largest homebuilders — professionally decorates over 425 model homes annually. They've partnered with a platform called MINE, founded by former Restoration Hardware executives, which turns their model homes into shoppable furniture showrooms. Buyers can scan a QR code in any Pulte model and purchase the exact furniture and décor they're standing in front of.
MINE now operates across more than 1,700 model home showrooms nationwide, partnering with Fortune 500 builders to create what they call "Real Life Retail" — a buying experience that begins the moment a buyer walks through the model door and extends well past closing.
The insight behind MINE is the same insight behind every well-executed model unit: the home-buying experience doesn't end when the contract is signed. Buyers who can see, touch, and ultimately purchase the furnishings in a model home are buyers who feel more confident, more excited, and more emotionally connected to their purchase. That confidence translates directly into fewer contingencies, fewer cold feet, and faster closings.
Regional and local builders don't need a partnership with a national platform to achieve the same effect. They need a designer who understands both the architectural side of the project and the furnishing and presentation side — someone who can bridge those two phases seamlessly.
What This Means for Builders and Developers
The markets in Hamilton County are seeing significant new residential and multi-family development activity - particularly in Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, and Westfield. Buyers in these markets are sophisticated — they're comparing your product not just against local competitors but against the polished model home experiences offered by national builders who are actively expanding in the Indianapolis metro.
The question isn't whether to invest in presenting your units well. The question is how to do it in a way that's strategic, cohesive, and connected to the design decisions already made during construction.
At JENRL Design Studio, I work with builders and developers from the specification stage through to the final furnished presentation — bringing the same attention to scale, proportion, and design identity that I applied on the Chicago projects, tailored to the Indianapolis market and your specific buyer profile. And YES, I have a professional Mine account should you want to go that route.
Whether you're building spec condos, single-family homes, or multi-family units, the model unit effect is real — and it's available to you.
Ready to Talk About Your Next Project?
If you're a builder or developer in the Indianapolis area curious about what a design partnership could look like — from finish specifications through to furnished model presentation — I'd love to hear about your project.
Send me a message and let's start the conversation.
