Designing the custom home of your dreams may seem like an arduous task, but it doesn’t have to be as long as you follow these simple tips.
1. Consider Your Family’s Needs
While it’s easy to look at magazines and let your imagination run wild, you are much better off designing your custom home with your family’s needs in mind. If you already have a spouse and children and you know how many people will be living in your new home, this should arguably be much easier. On the other hand, you have a little more planning to do if you plan to have children in the future.
If you already know who will be living in your new home, ask yourself what works about your current living space and what doesn’t. You should be able to keep what you love about where you live, and either change or remove what you think doesn’t work. Take your family’s lifestyle and living arrangements into account, and plan accordingly.
If you think you will need extra space for when you have children, factor that into your custom home’s design as well. This will probably mean an extra bedroom or two, and possibly more space in your living room. Try to be more conservative in your estimates, as there is never a way to know what the future truly holds.
2. Make Your Home Livable and Stylish
While you no doubt want a trendy and stylish home, function is still as important as form. If you’re living in a higher income neighborhood with more stylish homes, you can have a slightly more refined taste with your design. On the other hand, if what you really want is a comfortable home for your family, keep the atmosphere a little more laid back. It’s tough to marry the two concepts together, but the next tip will probably make things a little easier.
3. Mind Your Budget
You don’t want to go overboard with your budget when you design your own custom home. Even though you might have tens of thousands of dollars to invest in your new house, a home that is too expensive will cost you more in monthly mortgage payments. Ask yourself if you plan to live in your home until you retire or if you eventually plan to sell. If you are going to stay put for some time, you can afford to spend a little bit more. If you plan to eventually sell, a more modest home might be easier to move on the market.
4. Give Some Direction to Your Builder
Your builder will be the one actually constructing your home, so make sure that you give them plenty of guidance. Keep your design realistic and easy to follow, and work closely with your builder so that they stick to your personal vision.
5. Trust Your Builder
Even though you should provide your builder with some direction, at some point you need to step out of the way and trust that a professional builder will know exactly how to build your new home. Trust the building process and trust your builder, and before long you and your family will have the home of your dreams.