Designing A New Home – 10 Tips To Make The Process Smooth And Enjoyable
How often do you build a new home? Well, hopefully not too often, but given you won’t build a new home too often; the decision to build … Build in… should be taken with care and consideration.
1) Do Not Compromise on Location
Your first and most important decision when designing a new home is to find a location you love. Don’t settle for anything less than an area that excites you. And don’t forget about all of your needs—transportation, safety, entertainment, schools, and more. Finding a home in your dream community could have huge payoffs in terms of your happiness (and finances) down the road. If you’re thinking about building from scratch or picking up and moving somewhere else, make sure location is top-of-mind at every stage of your design process. You’ll thank yourself later!
2) Get Good Advice
As with most things in life, building a new home is about striking a balance between saving money and getting what you want. Depending on your priorities and how much work you want to do yourself, that balance will be different for everyone. Before you begin, it’s important to get as much advice as possible from people who have built homes in similar areas. Take them for their words; design your own house around their experience—not just what they say but what worked and didn’t work for them.
3) Don’t Hesitate to Remove Elements That You Don’t Love
Don’t be afraid to tell your architect or designer that you’re not a fan of a particular element, feature, or design. It doesn’t mean they won’t try to sell you on it — it just means they need to explore some alternatives. Removing an unnecessary feature could result in a lot of added value (and extra money in your pocket) during negotiations. Plus, there’s no better way to make yourself feel at home than by making sure everything is just as you want it to be.
4) Add Beautiful Outdoor Elements
If you’re considering building a new home, it’s well worth your time to plan for outdoor living spaces. Most of us spend more time outside than inside, and many find that much of their free time is spent relaxing in their backyards—it’s no wonder homebuilders have caught on to outdoor living trends. If you’re looking for a way to enjoy family time or host friends and neighbors, build an outdoor kitchen, patio or deck. These spaces are often large enough to accommodate multiple guests. If you have children, consider adding a sandbox or tree house as well; when everyone has fun outdoors together, they tend to stay put!
5) Understand That Every Space Needs a Focus
Just like your home’s interior, you want your landscape to be a place where people relax and feel at ease. It is often said that first impressions are most lasting, so in order to create a lasting impression of your home when someone visits or passes by, you’ll want to make sure your landscaping looks unique and inviting. With so many similar looking homes on any given street, it’s very easy for visitors and passersby to get in their cars and forget about how well your home fits in with its surroundings. There are many ways that you can create an original look for yourself using plants, rocks and more; however, creating a custom look doesn’t have to be expensive!
6) Hire Professionals to Complete Tasks You Don’t Like
Whether you hire a contractor to complete your home’s exterior, or pay someone to do the landscaping, or buy a number of appliances instead of putting in new ones yourself – you will save time, money and stress. As long as you stick to your budget and use caution when searching for candidates, spending a little extra money up front on professionals is worth it to make sure you get exactly what you want. After all, how often do we build our own homes? Don’t take any chances. Hire professionals and get it right.
7) Simplify the Layout by Removing Unnecessary Rooms
Your style and budget will ultimately determine how your home is laid out, but there are a few general rules of thumb to keep in mind as you start planning. Removing unnecessary rooms from your layout can simplify things and save money. For example, if you aren’t certain that everyone in your family needs their own bathroom, consider sharing a common one (and taking turns with guests). In fact, for most homes, multiple bathrooms are often not necessary; instead of adding multiple lavatories to a layout that only uses them occasionally (such as vacation homes), it’s much more practical to just build an additional bathroom when visitors come over. That way you’re only spending money on what you need when you need it.
8) Go for Originality and Style in Your Landscaping
Building a home is one of life’s most rewarding experiences. It can also be incredibly complex, so it’s important to find an expert who can help you navigate all of those contracts and protect your best interests. You don’t want any surprises at closing! (Also, read Why You Should Work With An Expert.) It may cost more up front to hire a professional, but your peace of mind will be worth it—and so will your next home. Remember: It’s not just bricks and mortar that create a house, it’s what you put into it that makes all the difference.
9) Have an Expert Help with Finances and Contracts (You Don’t Want Trouble from Start to Finish!)
Building a home can be stressful enough without having to worry about finances and contracts, too. This is one area that’s best left up to an expert—for a couple of reasons. First, if you don’t get these important areas right from the beginning, it can lead to problems throughout your building process. Second, you want an expert on your side who knows how to balance out your needs as a homeowner with what’s best for everyone involved. That said, experts are more than just financial advisors and contract lawyers; they also include architects, builders and other specialists who will help ensure your building experience is smooth sailing all around. After all, why would you risk it?
