When you first glance at the interior renderings and virtual walk-through videos created for the Townhomes at Graham Park, it may take a minute to realize these images are digital, and not a fully built and furnished model home. Like many homebuyers who are purchasing a new construction home, the product is often made available for sale months before a model home is built.
At EYA, it's a priority to showcase our homes so we can simplify the process for home shoppers and boost their understanding of the overall site as well as the home's living spaces and finishes. It all starts with the EYA architecture team. Applying years of design experience and attention to detail, combined with a thoughtful understanding of buyer preferences and modern lifestyles, the result is a set of high-quality digital tours that help buyers virtually envision their next new home.
"We're dedicated to building beautiful new homes in thoughtfully designed communities, and this commitment runs throughout every project from start to finish."
- Jack McLaurin, AIA, Senior VP of Planning & Design (EYA)
For the virtual tools, the architectural drawings for each of the three distinct floorplans were recreated digitally to provide a virtual walk-through of each room that helps you imagine the space as if you were really there. Every detail from the dimensions to finishes and lighting, and even furnishings, have been included.
So how are these lifelike renderings created? We got a chance to speak with our partners behind it all to share the process of creating tools to tour a home not yet built.
First, some background — what is a digital rendering?
A digital rendering is a photorealistic representation of a proposed design. It allows you to visualize the positioning of structural components, floorplans, finishes and furnishings, appliances and more in your depicted space.
Rafael Toledo, CEO of the computer software company TrueVista, is an expert in the transformation of architectural plans into detailed, immersive experiences. His work allows home buyers to virtually step inside a home, select different finishes and experience how an open floorplan feels.
Working closely with EYA's architecture, design, and engineering teams, Rafael was able to translate the project to digital renderings featuring the three model homes as well as a virtual scale model of the entire Graham Park community.
“When people are considering buying a home at Graham Park, they’re not solely interested in a particular unit, they also wish to see the larger community that they will be part of,” Rafael noted. “With this tool, they can tour the streets of the neighborhood, identify specific home floorplans, and imagine how it would feel to live there.”
Designing a virtual home that feels close to reality
The ability to virtually walk through your future home and neighborhood is valuable, but it's the interior design that provides context and understanding of how you'd live in the space.
We spoke with Carlyn & Company’s President and Co-Founder Holly Polgreen and Design Director Missy Sinsel to glean their insights. They approached the Townhomes at Graham Park interior renderings just as they would for any built-home design. Their first step was to create sophisticated plans that showcased each EYA floorplan with distinct designs and then determined how to translate this into 3D plans.
"We wanted to not only make the homes look beautiful, but we really wanted to show future homeowners what they could do in the spaces."
- Holly Polgreen
One of the most valuable tools the team relied on during this process is a virtual library of furniture and decor pieces. This is an immense resource with an infinite amount of structural items that people submit via software from all over the world.
Holly and Missy would dig through the library to find the perfect materials for each floorplan, often needing to tweak things just as they do in a real-life home. Working closely with Rafael, they managed to push technology to produce the best possible results.
“Even the most minute details of the virtual model home are depicted just as it
will eventually be constructed,” Rafael noted.
"We had to learn how to convey information to Rafael. If we wanted to move a piece of furniture, we had to provide explicit direction since we couldn't physically do it ourselves. Together, we really pushed the technology to bring the designs to life."
- Missy Sinsel
It's all part of creating a great homebuyer experience
The strong focus on accuracy is important to illustrate what future homeowners should expect from their new townhome.
With three distinct floorplans, the team was able to infuse different personalities that represent the diverse lifestyles and ensured rooms felt unique. One model features a more modern style with many colorful art pieces, one incorporates blues and whites to offer a calming zen environment, and one showcases a more neutral palette with bold contrast.
The incredible attention to detail for each home, including floorplan features, finishes, and interior design takes a lot of effort and time, but we understand that it's essential to help buyers visualize and appreciate how they will enjoy their new home.
Are you ready to take a virtual tour of the Townhomes at Graham Park? Click here to see more and get updates.