First Home owners/builders

It is always a good idea to use Houzz (houzz.com) resource for finding/checking similar interiors.

You would probably need to use a proper interior design software if you want to see how things will be looking like.

Good thing is that you still have hell of a time until your builder will be able to start interior works.

The only thing you would need to chose post lock up stage is kitchen cabinets/wardrobes and your tiles. The main rule of the thumb here - everything should be looking good. E.g. you would not need to pay for a marble or granite for your tiles or benchtops to look like marble or granite - good quality marble-look porcelain tiles cost $75 per sqm supply & installed, while marble installations can only start at $200. In addition, you get all the maintenance related issues which come together with marble.

Remember, that painting and flooring always comes in the last stage of your build. Moreover, you can even receive your certificate of occupancy without flooring and then install your floors later.

At your stage, I would rather focus on the following important things:

1) the quality of the building materials used by your builder;

2) the quality of the structural works (did you have independent building inspector to inspect your slab and framing?)

3) the quality and consistency of insulation (hire thermal camera to check). Even though you are in QLD, insulation works two way - to prevent excessive sunlight on one side (e.g. reflective insulation) and to prevent aircon-cooled air from leaving your house (batts),on the other.

4) the quality of the doors and windows and the quality of the installation (how well they are thermally and weather sealed). Always go for the lowest U-value and best looks and hardware you can afford. You probably do not need much of double glazing in QLD, however, you might certainly require some Low E glass. Windows + entry door is arguably the most important and price/value investment to be made in your house.

5) quality and design of your mechanical aircon installation (is it enough for your needs? where do you have your ducts placed? where are the air inflow vents? will you have drafts and where?). If your home is airtight and well insulated, then here you would also have to review the quality of your ventilation system.

6) quality and design of your electrical system: remember, that in 90% of the builds power outlets are not always enough or located wrongly - you would have to plan your furniture positions in order to get an understanding of where you will be positioning your power outlets and how many you would need. Go for at least quad outlets + USB in bedrooms and living room areas, 2x Quad outlets in kitchen. Same applies to the data points, TV connection provisionals, etc.

7) quality and design of your lightning: this is one of the major aspects of your house and commonly mis-engineered. There are multiple layers of lightning you would need to consider: general lighting, kitchen/pantry/laundry work area lights, reading lights for bedrooms, mirror lights in bathrooms, shower or bath tub lights, spotlight lighting for your feature artefacts (shelves, walls), night orientation lights to your bedrooms and walkways, dimmers to bedrooms/living areas, outdoor lighting, colour and intensity of lights being used, etc. Approach a specialist here, the builder is most probably not the right one.

8 ) quality and design of your plumbing: where exactly is your plumbing located. Is your plumbing acoustically and thermally insulated? What kind of plumbing is your builder using? Is it healthy? Is it a good brand with a history?

As you see, there is a lot of far more important things you would need to focus on and make decisions before deciding on the interior.
Most of the people are simply ignoring those, but this is mainly what turns house into a home, not the color of your tiles or floors - it is relatively cheap to repaint/re-tile or re-floor your house later during your next scheduled renovation (e.g. in 5 to 10 years time).

It will be highly problematic for you to change any of the above, though.

Hope it helps.

Take note, this poster is switched on, its what few people do, but everyone should, smart people take note, great post.