Complete interior design, fit-out and furnishing for a new-build home

Who can design, fit out and furnish my new-build home?

Choose an interior design studio that can translate the design into concrete drawings, material choices, and a clearly defined scope of fit-out work. Rive Home can guide you through the layout, kitchen, lighting, bespoke joinery, furniture and fit-out stages. What we handle ourselves, what goes through your builder, and what suppliers carry out is agreed upon in advance. A complete project means coherence and clear responsibility, not that every conceivable task is automatically included.

First, determine what you will receive upon handover

One new-build home is delivered with a kitchen and plumbing fixtures, while another still requires a large part of the finishing work. Terms like "shell," "wallpaper-ready," and "move-in ready" also fail to provide enough information without a technical specification. Therefore, we examine your purchase documents, confirmed options, and the floor plans of your home.

Make three lists: included work, ordered extras, and work you need to arrange yourself after completion. Note next to each open point who is responsible for providing the answer. This prevents a designer from assuming a finished surface while the flooring supplier is still expecting preparation work, or two parties from budgeting for the same lighting.

From daily use to a feasible interior

1. Living requirements and core principles. We discuss your routines, existing furniture, style, available budget, and construction phase. It’s not just the living room that counts: the entryway, laundry room, and storage space also receive attention.
2. Layout to scale. The kitchen, dining table, seating areas, and any workspace are explored together. Doors, walking routes, and the space required around furniture are part of the drawing.
3. Materials, color, and comfort. Your designer helps you choose combinations and can accompany you on showroom visits. We compare samples side-by-side and also assess maintenance, seating comfort, and practical use.
4. Developing lighting and custom work. The furniture plan forms the basis for desired lighting points, controls, and fitted cabinets. Technical feasibility, measurements, and production drawings are coordinated with the responsible specialized parties.
5. Ordering, fit-out and inspection. Once you have approved the plan, the agreed-upon components are scheduled. We document which inspections and supervision are part of the assignment and how any outstanding snag list items will be handled.

Would you like to know which choices require attention before the deadline for extras? Read our separate guide on when to start interior design for a new-build home.

A single point of contact is different from one contract for everything

A studio can safeguard coherence while you purchase certain products directly from a supplier. It is important that you know who you are entering into an agreement with, who is ordering, and who is checking a technical component. The exact division of roles depends on the chosen assignment.

An interior drawing is not automatically an installation calculation or production drawing. For work that requires specialist inspection, the responsible contractor remains involved. Rive Home can guide the coordination within the pre-agreed scope of the assignment.

What determines costs and lead times?

The most important differences lie in the state of completion, the number of spaces to be designed, the amount of custom work, material choices, and the level of supervision. Two apartments of the same size can therefore require very different assignments. Keep the fees for design and supervision separate from purchases, fit-out work and installation. Our budget checklist for new-build homes helps you to complete these items.

Planning also consists of more than just time spent on the construction site. Decision deadlines, technical approval, final measurements, production, and access to the building determine the sequence. Do not set an assembly date based solely on a general completion forecast. Ask contractors and suppliers what conditions must be met first.

Design and fit-out: look at the actual contribution

For Project Noordwijk, Rive Home was asked to contribute to the design, and the studio also handled the fit-out. For the master suite in Egmond aan Zee, we provided the design and fit-out in 2022. The design images of Project Aerdenhout show an interior design from 2026. These contributions are different; a design visualization is not proof of an interior completed by us.

Does your new-build project have its own kitchen or interior program? Then we first determine where additional guidance is meaningful. This is the case, for example, at Mares in The Hague. For other projects, you can find project-specific considerations in the new-build knowledge base. Rive Home offers independent guidance to residents there, not guidance on behalf of the developer.

What should you bring to an initial meeting?

• The latest floor plan, technical description, and list of options.
• Confirmed choices and outstanding deadlines.
• Your living requirements, favorite materials, and furniture that will be moved.
• The expected key handover date and desired moving period.
• A budget direction and the areas for which you are seeking guidance.

You do not need to have fully determined your style yet. A good initial conversation actually helps identify which choices are interconnected and where a design or fit-out plan is needed.