Ashton Woods upgrades: the Design Studio, the three orientations, and what to add after closing

Updated October 25, 2026

The short version: at the Design Studio, spend on cabinets, tile, flooring and anything wired in, because those are hard to change later. Use the Pre-Drywall Orientation to photograph what’s inside the walls, and the Homeowner Orientation to check every window. Window coverings come after closing, starting with the bedrooms.

Shutter Boys and Shade Boys aren’t connected with Ashton Woods. What follows about Ashton Woods comes from its own published pages, linked in the sources; the rest is our own advice.

Where Ashton Woods builds

Ashton Woods’ FAQ lists Phoenix; Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa; Atlanta; Raleigh; Charleston and Myrtle Beach; Nashville; and Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio^[1]. Almost all of that is hot, humid summer country. That shapes the advice here more than anything about the builder: west-facing glass, covered patios that are too hot to use in the late afternoon, and bathrooms that stay steamy in August.

The Design Studio and the collections

At the Design Studio, Ashton Woods says “you’ll collaborate with our professional designers” and can “take in all the finishes on our Wall of Inspiration”^[1]. It offers collections, which it calls “designer-curated palettes of interior finishes”^[1]. One of its designers describes the Studio as “filled with thousands of amazing choices around every corner and behind every piece of millwork,” with decisions running from “cabinets and hardware to tile and lighting”^[2].

On price, the FAQ says the final figure is built from the “floorplan base price and any elevation premium,” plus structural options, the homesite premium, and design options and upgrades^[1]. Ashton Woods uses Estimate Worksheets to show where the money goes, and says plainly that “Estimates do change throughout the build process”^[3]. Ask for an updated worksheet after the Studio, so you know what’s left for the things you’ll add after closing.

Its own tips for the first appointment are good ones: build a buffer for upgrades and must-haves into your budget, talk to your lender first, bring only the decision-makers, tour nearby models, and start a Houzz or Pinterest board organized by room^[2]. Add one thing to that board for each room: a photo of a window covering you like. It helps the designer pick a trim colour and hardware that will suit it.

What to choose at the Studio, and what can wait

This is our rule of thumb, not Ashton Woods’ advice:

• Choose there: cabinets and hardware, tile, flooring and lighting: the things on the Studio’s own list^[2], which go in before or with the drywall. If a collection fits, it saves decisions; if you change one finish in it, make sure the trim and cabinet colours still work together.
• Ask about wiring: fan-rated ceiling boxes in bedrooms and the family room, an outlet near the patio door, and conduit to the garage. These are simpler to add before the drywall than after.
• Can wait: window coverings, closet systems, replacement light fixtures and most hardware. They fix to finished surfaces, and you’ll choose them better after a summer in the house.

Window coverings in an Ashton Woods home

Window coverings aren’t mentioned on the Ashton Woods pages we read^[1][2], so most owners plan their own. Start with the bedrooms and anything facing a neighbour; in a new community the houses are close and nothing is planted yet. Then the west and south windows, before the first summer.

Shutters suit bedrooms and street-facing windows: they close for privacy, tilt for light, have no cords, and the louvers can be angled to send light up to the ceiling instead of across a screen. For a sliding door or a wide run of glass, a shade often works better; that’s covered below. In a humid bathroom, read our humid rooms guide first.

The three orientations, and what to do at each

Ashton Woods’ FAQ says that, depending on your purchase, meetings may include “a Pre-Construction Orientation, a Pre-Drywall Orientation, and a Homeowner Orientation”^[1]. It also says you “may, at your expense, have your home inspected prior to your New Home Orientation,” and that you’ll get a final closing date “once the house has a certificate of occupancy”^[1]. The last column is our suggestion.

The Pre-Drywall Orientation is the one people under-use. It’s the last time you’ll see the framing. A straight-on photo of every window wall, with a tape measure in the shot, tells you years later where the studs and wires run beside each opening, so a shutter frame, curtain rod or shade bracket goes in without guesswork.

Fitting shutters without creating a warranty question

Ashton Woods provides “a written, limited new home warranty administered by a third-party company,” given to you “at or prior to closing,” and it is “transferable to your next owner only during the warranty period”^[1]. The pages we opened don’t give the terms or exclusions, so read the document you receive, including what it says about changes you make to the home. Three habits keep things simple:

• Report first, fit second. Requests go through the portal, can “only be submitted by the homeowner,” and Ashton Woods says it will “contact you within 48 hours or less”^[4]. The form takes up to four photos or PDFs, so attach a photo of any window item. Wait for the repair before anything is screwed to that frame.
• Photograph every window before you fit anything. Dated photos of clean frames answer the question of who caused what.
• Fix into the trim or jamb, not the window unit. Our install guide fixes the shutter frame into the opening. If you can’t tell whether a screw would reach the window itself, ask before you drill, and check latches and locks still work with the frame in place.

Matching shutters to the trim

New-build trim is usually painted one colour throughout, and shutters look best when they read as part of it. White is our standard colour. If your trim isn’t a white close to ours, the designer lets you name a paint colour to match instead; a colour match adds to the price, so check it on one window first. Get the brand, colour name and sheen from the Studio or from the paint labels at orientation. The sheen matters as much as the colour: louvers catch the light at every angle, and a satin beside a semi-gloss reads as two different whites.

What a whole house adds up to

Here is a made-up four-bedroom house, not an Ashton Woods plan, priced in stages from our live price list:

Each window is priced on its own, so the stages add up to the whole; splitting an order only means each part ships separately. Keep the louver size, moulding and colour the same from the first order so later rooms match. The designer prices your own sizes in a few minutes.

Other upgrades worth planning

Ashton Woods’ FAQ notes that many communities have HOA rules that “typically provide guidelines on fencing requirements and other improvements”^[1]. Read them before anything goes on the outside. The timing and HOA notes below are our rule of thumb.

Still comparing loans or closing costs? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s homebuying tools help you check a loan estimate before you commit to upgrades^[5].

Outside, and the rooms where shades suit better

Shutter Boys makes wood shutters. Our sister company, Shade Boys, makes the rest: windproof motorized patio shades that run in side tracks, for a covered patio or porch, which you can fit yourself or have a local installer fit, and indoor roller, solar and patio door shades made to measure. A sliding door or a wide wall of glass is often better served by a shade than a shutter; bedrooms and street-facing windows are where shutters earn their keep.

Anything fixed to the outside of the house usually goes to the homeowners association first. Ask for its architectural review form before you order patio shades, and expect it to ask for the colour, the mounting and a photo of a similar product. Shade Boys’ HOA guide covers what boards usually look for on the windows; no product is approved everywhere, because each association decides for itself.

In Texas, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, a covered patio with screens on the open sides is often what turns it into a room you can use in July, and keeps insects out in the evening. Inside, shutters on the west windows and a shade on the sliding door are a common pairing.

Questions worth asking at the Design Studio

These are questions, not claims about what Ashton Woods offers; answers vary by community.

• Does this community offer any window coverings, and are they installed before closing?
• What paint colour and sheen is the trim in my collection, and is touch-up paint left at closing?
• Which windows are sliders, single-hung or casement, and which way do handles and locks project?
• How deep is the window return, from the room side of the trim to the glass?
• Can fan-rated boxes, an outlet near the patio door or garage conduit be added before drywall?
• What does the HOA require before patio shades or screens are added?

Trim colour and window depth matter most: one decides the colour match, the other which louver size tilts freely. Our new-build guide covers the rest of the first year.

Ashton Woods states we cover

Our region pages show housing and weather figures for cities where Ashton Woods builds: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. It also builds around Nashville, Tennessee.