One of Northern Ireland’s leading housebuilders has joined forces with garden centre retailer, Dobbies, to create a first-of-its-kind experience for shoppers and house buyers alike, in time for Christmas.
Opening the doors of its show home at the Weaver’s Gate development in Antrim, Lotus Homes officially launched Northern Ireland’s first ‘shoppable’ home.
The 3-bedroom home has been decorated for the holidays, with Dobbies’ 2023 trending themes including an elegant celebration of luxurious cherry reds and antique golds from the Classic Luxe look, and a natural blend of the beautiful outdoors and winter interiors in Cosy Christmas.
Curated by in-house designers and the team at Dobbies, visitors will be able to ‘shop’ the looks right there and then, through uniquely created QR codes, extending the in-person experience to online shopping.
Ken Ferguson, General Manager at Dobbies Antrim, commented:
“This Christmas, our themes are all about inspiring our customers to have fun with festivities and celebrate the season with things that bring you joy – and what could be more fun than a shoppable home where we can bridge the gap between experiential activities and our physical or online shopping touchpoints.
“While the Christmas tree remains an important tradition for many homes, this year we’ll see other elements shine just as bright, with captivating tablescapes, unique wreaths, festive houseplants, and showstopping accessories helping to create a magical Christmas.
“We love the idea of seeing our Christmas range come to life in the very place it’s meant to be – a home. Creating this out-of-store experience is designed to inspire and excite customers and home buyers.”
Martin Tumlity, construction manager at Lotus Homes said:
“The Weaver’s Gate development is a highly anticipated new build residential scheme and we’re excited to launch the show home, not only at the start of Christmas, but by doing something a little bit more creative with Dobbies, who opened last month at The Junction Retail and Leisure Park.
“It's so important that prospective new homeowners can get a real sense of what living in one of our homes will be like – and we think bringing an interactive experience to a show home is a real point of difference and add a little more fun to what is a generally one of the most exciting purchases of someone’s life. We’re confident it should get people talking, increase engagement with our team as people view the home and create more impact than a traditional show home launch.”