Designing your own home is so exciting. This is your chance to have a house that not only looks nice but is also built to suit your everyday needs and lifestyle. But how do you go about designing that perfect home? Here are some tips to keep in mind.
Choose timeless over trendy.
When designing a new home, it can be tempting to go with whatever is trendy at the time to make your home look as new as possible. But if trends change in a year or two, your home will look outdated way too soon. As such, when designing your new home, it is often best to aim for timeless styles instead of trends. If you want to be trendy, do it with the decor and with more easily adjustable elements such as the paint colors and carpet.
Don't go bigger than you need.
Homes are getting bigger and bigger. In some cases, a larger home may make sense. You may want a bigger home if you have several kids or if you work from home. But try to resist the urge to make the home bigger and bigger just because you can. When working with the designer, it may help to set a square footage limit at the onset. For example, you might tell your designer, "I want the home to be 2,000 square feet, at most." Having this framework to stay within can help guide you to make wise choices with spatial use.
Pick the most important finishes to upgrade.
Usually, when you have a home designed, you'll be quoted a price for standard finishes. Your cost will go up if you upgrade the finishes. It's so tempting to just upgrade everything, but this isn't usually necessary, depending on your lifestyle. Consider which finishes make the most difference to your life. For instance, if you cook a lot, the most important finish might be your kitchen counters. Upgrade those and save money by going standard on your paint and bedroom carpet.
Don't neglect the outside.
Sometimes people get so wrapped up in designing the indoor living space that they don't consider the outside. But your home's exterior needs to suit your needs, too. Make sure you carefully consider your porch or patio materials, backyard layout, fencing, and other amenities.
With the tips above, you can design a home that is better suited to your needs. Talk to a building designer to learn more.
it is interesting that, as a society, we have decided to lump so many different jobs and trades under the umbrella term of "contracting." One person could use the work contractor to refer to someone who is framing a new building. Another person could use the word "contractor" to refer to someone who was painting walls. Don't even get us started on the term "construction worker." That one's pretty vast, too!
Since we realized we cannot possible say everything we want to say about construction and contractors in a few paragraphs, we decided to write a blog. And if you are reading this right now, you've found it. Please stick around and read a bit!