Mattamy Homes upgrades: what the Design Studio covers, and what to add after closing

Updated October 22, 2026

The short version: spend at the Design Studio on what goes into the walls and floors, because that’s what’s hard to change later. Leave what attaches to finished surfaces, window coverings included, until you have the keys. Shutter Boys has no connection with Mattamy Homes; what follows about Mattamy and Tarion comes from their own pages.

What the Mattamy Design Studio covers

On its GTA Design Studio page, Mattamy lists the finishes you choose there: cabinetry, solid surface, tile, flooring, doors, trim, paint and staircase, and fireplace. It lists optional extras separately: bathroom and kitchen plumbing, hood fans, kitchen and bathroom sinks, toilets and bathtubs^[1]. An appointment “usually takes 2 to 3 hours”, and Mattamy suggests making your selections beforehand^[1]. In Ottawa, Mattamy’s Home & Style team invites you to come “as many times as you need”^[2].

The price list

Mattamy publishes design pricing by community: the Hawthorne East Village studio page links a design pricing guide and says “Prices and availability are subject to change”^[1]. Because prices change by community and over time, the only list worth using is the current one from your own studio. We don’t reproduce Mattamy’s prices here.

What to choose before drywall, and what can wait

This is our own rule of thumb, not Mattamy’s advice:

• Choose now: anything built into the structure or behind finished surfaces. Cabinetry and its layout, flooring, tile, plumbing fixtures and anything that needs a rough-in are disruptive and expensive to change after you move in.
• Can wait: anything fixed to a finished surface. Window coverings, many light fixtures and hardware can be added or swapped later without opening walls, and you’ll choose them better once you’ve lived with the light in each room.

Window coverings in a new build

Window coverings aren’t among the Design Studio categories on the Mattamy pages we checked^[1], so most owners add their own. A few things make it easier:

• Look at the windows at your PDI. Tarion says builders must do “a thorough, floor-by-floor walk through with purchasers before they hand over the keys”^[3]. Note any damaged frames or sills then, before anything is fitted to them.
• Measure once the trim is done. Shutters are made to the finished opening, so measure after casing and sills are installed. Newer windows often sit close to the room side of the wall, so measure the depth to the glass and to any handle; it decides which louver size tilts freely. How to measure
• Keep records. Tarion’s warranty runs “for a total of seven years from the original date of possession” and is “divided into one-year, two-year, and seven-year coverages”^[4]. Photos of your windows before anything is fitted are useful if you ever need to make a claim.
• Do every room at once, or in stages. Shutters are priced per window, so you can start with bedrooms and add the rest later. A 36 × 48 in window in poplar with flat moulding and 3½ in louvers is $460 – $570 CAD in Canadian dollars, before tax and shipping. Every size

From the Design Studio to the end of year one

Window coverings fit into a timeline that the builder and Tarion set. These dates come from Mattamy’s and Tarion’s own pages; the last column is our suggestion.

The 30-Day Form is the one people miss. Tarion says you can submit only one, during the first 30 days of possession^[5]. If a window doesn’t close properly, has a cracked sill or a damaged frame, put it on that form before anything is fitted to it. A shutter frame screwed over a problem makes the problem harder for the builder to see and fix.

Fitting shutters without creating a warranty question

Tarion’s freehold warranty excludes “deficiencies caused by homeowner actions” and “damage caused by a third party”^[6]. That’s ordinary, and it doesn’t stop you fitting window coverings, but it means damage from the fitting is yours, not the builder’s. Three habits keep that simple:

• Photograph every window before you fit anything. Tarion advises noting and documenting “any concerns or damaged items as soon as you notice them after taking possession”^[6]. Dated photos of clean frames answer the question of who caused what.
• Know what you’re screwing into. Our install guide fixes the shutter frame into the window jamb. In many new homes the window unit sits inside a drywall or wood return. If you can’t tell whether a screw would go into the window unit itself, ask the builder before you drill.
• Leave the window’s own seal alone. Tarion’s two-year warranty “protects against water penetration through the basement or foundation walls, windows, and the building envelope”^[6]. If a window leaks in that time, you want the claim to be about the window, not about a screw hole someone else made through its frame.
• Keep the window’s own parts free. Check that cranks, locks and tilt latches still work with the shutter frame in place. Our casement guide covers crank clearance.

What a new townhouse adds up to

Most new-home owners don’t do every window on move-in day. Here is a made-up three-bedroom townhouse, not a Mattamy plan, priced in stages in the basic build (flat moulding, paint stage 1, 3½ in louvers), in Canadian dollars before tax and shipping:

Bedrooms usually go first, because a new subdivision means neighbours close by and no curtains yet. The main floor follows, and the stair and bathroom windows last. Each window is priced on its own, so the stages add up to the whole; what changes when you split an order is that each part ships separately. Use the same louver size, moulding and colour from the first order so the later rooms match. If you’d rather do it all at once, the whole-house row is the number to plan around, and the designer will price your actual sizes in a few minutes. Prices for every size

Matching shutters to builder trim

New-build trim is usually painted in one builder colour throughout, and shutters look best when they read as part of that trim rather than a slightly different white beside 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. The easiest way to get the name right is to ask for it at the Design Studio, or to find it on the paint cans left in the garage at closing, if your builder leaves them. Take the brand, the colour name and the sheen: the same colour in a different sheen looks like a different colour on louvers, which catch the light at every angle.

Questions worth asking your Design Studio

These are questions, not claims about what Mattamy offers; the answers vary by community.

• Does this community offer any window coverings, and if so, are they installed before closing?
• What paint colour and sheen is the trim, so shutters can be matched to it later?
• Are the windows casement, sliding or single-hung, and which way do the cranks or handles project?
• How deep is the window return, from the room side of the trim to the glass?
• Is there anything you’d rather I didn’t fix to, inside the window opening, during the warranty period?

The trim colour and the window depth are the two that matter most for shutters: one decides the colour match, the other which louver size tilts freely.

Mattamy communities near you

Mattamy builds across the GTA and Ottawa, among other places. Our city pages show each area’s housing and weather figures, and what they mean for shutters: Oakville, Milton, Ottawa and the rest of the GTA.