The almost weekly launch of new homes schemes, albeit modest in number, is a welcome development in a market starved of new properties to buy. But developers take note: it can be disorienting, and disappointing, when every new home begins to look like the last.

That chandelier in the drawing room, the swirly mirror over the fireplace, the grey colour palette, haven’t you seen it all somewhere before?

The return of a fledgling new-homes market hasn’t been accompanied by an expansion in businesses offering “staging” services to furnish showhomes in modern styles.

Throughout the boom these were two-a-penny, but it seems the same few interior design companies are now being tasked with reimagining these spaces. They can’t be expected to run out and purchase a whole new range of furniture for every project, but the same sets of tables and chairs, lampshades, mirrors and soft furnishings are cropping up again and again.

Last week alone we saw furniture featured in a Rathfarnham scheme – where houses start at €900,000 – crop up again at a one-off Dartry property asking €2.2 million. And the plush boutique styling featuring heavy velvets, glass and chrome, and leather coverings has been around so long it’s beginning to look dated, too.

Like the market, interiors trends have moved on. Existing service providers need to refresh their designs and colour palette. Grey is the new magnolia: what’s next?

There’s a business opportunity here for talented specialists to offer something different. Strong design can add as much as 10 per cent to the value of a property: it’s worth shelling out the extra money to stand out from the competition.