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We are currently building a new home in NOVA and want to be mindful of what we pick out for the details so that we won't be personalizing the house too much and making the process of a future sale a bit more challenging. Is it best to keep everything neutral? We are looking at adding in Tile to the Bathroom floors instead of the standard Vinyl but are having some difficulty deciding which colors/designs to go with. We are also curious about upgrading the actual faucets and not going with the standard stuff.
Any tips? What are things that should always be added as a nice feature and things that should be avoided alltogether from a realtors standpoint?
When building a new home upgrades can get very costly. Recommend spending the bulk of the upgrades on structural items that can't be done later (Walkouts/Walkups, Brick vs Siding, Additional Basement windows, fireplace,electrical, and major kitchen stuff such as cabinetry and counter tops). Also need to figure what things you can do on your own because builders tend to charge alot for upgraded faucets, light fixtures, flooring, etc. We have seen builders charge 3-5X the cost for certain items. Do you plan to stay in the house a while. IF so many of your tastes will probably change over the years.
Give it plenty of light. Tastes in materials change with time, but light is always in style. And make the kitchen big and a social place, which is what it has become.
While it is true that there are additional material and labor costs for ceramic tile vs vinyl flooring I am horrified that any builder would really try to specify this as an upgrade. Buyers of even modestly priced existing homes in the Chicago region would never consider a bathroom with vinyl flooring to be any thing other than "sub par". Makes me wonder if they skimp on windows and insulation and other essentials...
Faucets are VERY easy to switch out, I would not pay extra fro those, I might ask the builder to give me CREDIT for not installing their low end crappy builder grade annoyances! Ditto for shower trim and even cheap plastic "cultured marble" vanity tops -- I can stroll into a building supply store and get a nice COMPLETE vanity with granite top, sink, faucet, and cabinet base for under $400...
Buyers HATE low end bathrooms!
Do the same for junk hollow core doors, "plated tin" door knobs, garage doors that make pie plates seem secure, sliding doors that have gravel instead of ball bearings, cabinets that "rental grade", wall-to-wall carpet, laundry sinks without a cabinet, showers with tension rods, and exterior locks that are not keyed alike...
Thanks Everyone! A lot of the work we will end up doing ourselves - but are comparing the prices the builder is offering vs. the cost of us doing a lot of the work ourselves. Which, luckily in our last house we got to be pros at. It looks like it is pretty important to splurge on the bathrooms and kitchen. As far as color of tile though and Granite, should we stick to certain colors and styles? Thanks again for all the feedback!
Make sure your cabinets have a timeless style to them. Pick neutral colors for your materials. Use color on the walls with paint...which is easy to change.
The real deal is that if you are going to live in the house for any length of time, like 10 years, it really doesn't matter because it will be considered dated by then anyway.
One final tip...watch your undertones. If you are color coordinating yourself make sure you don't pick tiles with a yellow undertone and then have red cherry cabinets. Your undertones need to match. I've seen several "homeowner chosen" kitchens that needed to be gutted because the materials clashed due to mismatched undertones.
Yep, the problem with color vs neutrals is generally amateurs...
Professional decoratotrs understand the whole "family of tones" thing and which "forest green" goes with "adobe brown" but amateurs try pairing some "lawn green" that has a yellow under tone with a "bark brown" that has a red under tone and even the not so picky shoppers ask "where are my sunglasses...
You can even screw up pastels and stuff if you are not careful -- the various base paints have specific formulas for that sort of thing.
If you go TOO plain / neutral it will look "unfinished" so I recommend using the magazines and paint company websites as a starting point if you can't hire a decorator. The stuff that the paint company apps can do is very helpful!
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Kind of appalling...
A lot of the work we will end up doing ourselves - but are comparing the prices the builder is offering vs. the cost of us doing a lot of the work ourselves. Which, luckily in our last house we got to be pros at. 
