What happens at a colour selection appointment?

Choosing the floorplan decides how your home works. Your colour selection appointment is where you start deciding how it will actually feel.

This is where you work through the colours, finishes and materials available for your home, from the outside of the house through to the kitchen, bathrooms, flooring and internal finishes.

With Mayde Homes in Victoria, the selections appointment takes place at Elle Design Studio and forms part of the current Starter and Elevate specifications.

If you have never built before, turning up to choose finishes for an entire house can sound like a lot. The good news is that you are not expected to arrive knowing the exact shade of every surface in your future laundry.

Here is what to expect and how to prepare.

What is a colour selection appointment?

A colour selection appointment is where you make many of the design decisions for your new home.

You will work through the options available within your inclusions and any upgrades you are considering, so the finishes can be documented for your build.

Despite the name, you are choosing much more than colours.

Depending on your home and inclusions, selections can cover things such as:

Not every home or specification will offer the same choices, so your selections will depend on what is included in the home you are building.

Start with what is already included

Before you start saving every kitchen you have ever liked on Pinterest, understand what your home already includes.

This gives you a much better starting point for the appointment.

Your inclusions will show the standard materials, products and finishes available within your home. From there, you can decide whether you are happy with what is included or whether there are particular areas where you would like to consider an upgrade.

Mayde Homes’ current specifications include choices across areas such as flooring, cabinetry, kitchen finishes, bathroom finishes, tapware and external materials, with the available level of finish differing between Starter and Elevate.

Knowing this before the appointment also helps you avoid mentally spending your upgrade budget twelve times before you reach the kitchen.

What do you choose for the outside of your home?

Your exterior selections are what bring the facade together.

Depending on the design, these may include:

It helps to think about these materials together rather than choosing your favourite option from every individual category.

A brick you love on its own may look completely different once it is sitting next to the roof, garage door and render colour.

If your block is within a new estate, developer design guidelines may also affect some of the exterior choices available to you.

Choosing your kitchen finishes

The kitchen tends to get a lot of attention at a selections appointment, and understandably so.

It is one of the most visible parts of the home and usually combines several different finishes in one space.

Depending on your inclusions and available options, you may be choosing:

Try to look at the kitchen as one complete palette.

If you have a statement benchtop, you may want the cabinetry and splashback to sit more quietly around it. If you prefer a fairly simple benchtop, the cabinetry or splashback might be where you add more personality.

There is no rule that says your first home needs to be beige because beige is apparently responsible.

Bathrooms and wet areas

Bathrooms involve another group of materials that all need to work together.

You may be choosing from options for:

The laundry may use some of the same finishes or have its own selections, depending on your home.

It can be helpful to keep some consistency between the kitchen, bathrooms and laundry. They do not need to be identical, but repeating a few materials or colours can make the whole home feel more connected.

Flooring can change the feel of the whole home

Flooring covers a lot of surface area, so it has a bigger impact than a small sample initially suggests.

Depending on your home, this could mean choosing finishes for:

When comparing flooring, think about it next to your cabinetry, benchtops and paint selections rather than choosing it separately.

You should also consider how you actually live.

A finish can look beautiful in a sample and still be a questionable life decision if you have a dog, muddy shoes and no interest in cleaning the floor every second afternoon.

Choosing your internal colours

Once you move inside, you may also select colours and finishes for things such as:

If you are unsure, starting with a fairly consistent base throughout the home can make the process easier.

You can always bring more colour into the home later through furniture, artwork, rugs, bedding and everything else you eventually convince yourself was essential.

Permanent finishes deserve a little more thought because changing them later usually involves considerably more effort.

Starter vs Elevate

Your available selections will depend partly on the specification you have chosen.

Mayde Homes currently offers Starter and Elevate inclusion levels, with Elevate providing upgraded specifications across a number of areas of the home. For example, the current Elevate specifications include upgrades to elements such as ceiling heights, windows, heating and cooling, cabinetry and selected finishes.

That does not mean you need the highest level of everything.

The useful question is whether the included specification already gives you what you want and, if not, which changes would make the biggest difference to you.

Standard selection or upgrade?

One of the most important things to understand during your appointment is whether the option you are looking at is included or an upgrade.

Ask as you go rather than waiting until the end.

For each selection, it should be clear whether it is:

If you are choosing upgrades, keep track of the running cost rather than looking at each decision separately.

An extra amount here and another there can feel fairly harmless until all seventeen harmless decisions meet each other at the end.

Which upgrades should you prioritise?

If you have a budget for upgrades, decide what matters most before the appointment.

A useful way to prioritise is to think about:

For one buyer, the priority might be kitchen cabinetry and flooring.

For someone else, it might be heating and cooling, storage or electrical choices.

There is no universal list of upgrades you need to have.

The goal is to spend more where it makes the biggest difference to the way you want to live.

How should you prepare for your colour selection appointment?

You do not need to design the entire house before you arrive, but a little preparation will make the day considerably easier.

Before your appointment, think about:

Save a handful of inspiration images if they help.

The emphasis is on handful.

Turning up with 487 saved kitchens ranging from coastal farmhouse to dark brutalist concrete may not narrow things down quite as much as you hoped.

Want to see Elle Design Studio before your appointment?

If you are in Victoria, Saturdays at Elle gives you the opportunity to visit Elle Design Studio and explore the space before a colour selection appointment.

The studio walk-throughs are open to anyone, whether you are already building with Mayde Homes or simply want to see the space and learn more about the selections experience.

You can explore finishes, fixtures and fittings in person, see how different materials work together and get a better feel for what you like before it is time to make your own selections.

View upcoming Saturdays at Elle sessions.

Look for patterns in your inspiration

You do not need to recreate somebody else’s home.

Instead, look at what keeps appearing in the images you save.

Maybe you repeatedly choose:

Those repeated choices are usually more useful than trying to copy one particular room.

They help you understand the overall direction you like while still creating a home that feels like yours.

Think about the whole home, not just individual rooms

It can be tempting to treat every room as its own design project.

The problem is that you eventually have to walk from one of them into another.

Try to create some connection across the home.

That could be as simple as repeating:

You can still give individual spaces personality without making the house feel like four different Pinterest boards moved in together.

See samples together

When you can, look at your selected materials next to each other.

Put the flooring beside the kitchen cabinetry. Compare the benchtop with the splashback. Look at the bathroom tile with the vanity finish.

A colour can change considerably depending on what sits beside it.

Lighting can affect how materials appear too, which is another reason physical samples can be more helpful than choosing everything from your phone screen.

Do you need to follow current design trends?

No.

There is nothing wrong with liking something that happens to be on trend, but you do not need to design your home around whatever everyone on Instagram decided was compulsory this year.

You are going to live in the home.

Choose finishes you actually like.

For the more permanent parts of the house, it can also help to think about whether you will still enjoy them once the current trend has moved on to something completely different.

Furniture and decor are much easier places to experiment if you know your tastes change regularly.

What if you cannot decide?

That is what the appointment is for.

You do not need to walk into Elle Design Studio knowing exactly which tile, benchtop and cabinetry finish you want.

If you can explain what you like, what you do not like and roughly how you want the home to feel, that gives you somewhere to start.

Sometimes eliminating what you definitely do not want is surprisingly effective.

There may be twenty options on the table, but if twelve of them immediately make you say absolutely not, congratulations. You are already more than halfway there.

Can you change your selections later?

This will depend on the building process and how far your home has progressed.

There will generally be a point where selections need to be finalised so documentation can be completed and products can be ordered for construction.

Changes after selections have been confirmed may affect cost or timing, or may no longer be possible.

If you are unsure about something during your appointment, ask when the decision becomes final rather than assuming you can change it later.

What happens after the appointment?

Once your selections are finalised, they become part of the information used to prepare your home for construction.

Your chosen finishes and products need to be documented so the relevant materials can be ordered and the people building your home know what has been selected.

This is why reviewing your final selections carefully matters.

Check that the documented choices match what you remember selecting before everything moves forward.

Colour selection appointment checklist

Before your appointment:

During your appointment:

Before signing off:

You do not need to become an interior designer overnight.

You just need enough information to make choices you will be happy to see again when you eventually get the keys.

Colour selection appointment FAQs

What happens at a colour selection appointment?

You work through the colours, materials, fixtures and finishes available for your new home.

This can include exterior finishes, kitchen selections, flooring, bathrooms, cabinetry, paint colours and other items included in your particular home specification.

How long does a colour selection appointment take?

The length of the appointment can vary depending on the home and number of selections involved.

Your design team will let you know how much time has been allocated before your appointment.

Do I need to know exactly what I want before I go?

No.

It helps to have a general idea of the styles and colours you like, but part of the purpose of the appointment is to work through the available options.

A few inspiration images can be useful. A complete interior design degree is not required.

What should I bring to a colour selection appointment?

Bring or save any inspiration that helps explain what you like.

It can also be useful to have your inclusions information, a list of priorities and an idea of how much you are comfortable spending on optional upgrades.

Are all colour selections included in the price?

The selections available within your price depend on your particular specification.

Some choices will be included, while other products or finishes may be available as upgrades. Ask as you go so you understand the cost before finalising your selections.

Can I upgrade things during my appointment?

Depending on your home and specification, upgrade options may be available.

Consider the overall cost and prioritise the changes that matter most to you rather than automatically upgrading every category.

Can I change my mind after the appointment?

Possibly, depending on how far your home has progressed and whether your selections have been finalised or ordered.

Changes may also affect price or timing, so ask about the cut-off for changes during your appointment.

Does Mayde Homes have a colour selection studio?

Yes. In Victoria, Mayde Homes’ current home specifications include a selections appointment with the interior design team at Elle Design Studio.

If you would like to see the studio before your appointment, Saturdays at Elle also offers studio walk-throughs where you can explore the space, finishes and fixtures in person.

Make your first home feel like yours

Your colour selection appointment is not about finding the one objectively perfect combination of finishes.

There isn’t one.

It is about understanding what is included, working through the choices available and putting together a home that feels right for you.

Start with the things you know you like, ask questions when you need to and do not panic if choosing between two almost identical whites takes longer than expected.

That part appears to be universal.

Important information

Information on this page is general in nature and relates to the Mayde Homes selections process in Victoria. Available selections, inclusions, products, finishes, upgrades and the selections process can vary by home and specification and may change over time. Always refer to the current inclusions, selections information and documentation provided for your particular Mayde Homes home.

Information last reviewed: August 2026.