Are you excited to build your dream home? You probably bought the perfect lot but still undecided on what you need to consider before designing your dream home. Designing your dream home is not an easy task to accomplish. It is an exciting phase for future homeowners but there are several things that you need to know in order to have a beautiful and functional home. Here are some tips for designing your dream home:
1. Plan Ahead
Before the proper design stage, you must know what type of house you want to build. Depending on your need, the house can be a bungalow, a two-storey or multi-storey type. You need to analyze how can your family live comfortably. What is the size of your family? Do You need more bedrooms? Are you expecting more children in the future?
Look at your current home and answer these common questions:
- Do I have enough living space?
- Am I constricted with kitchen space?
- Do I need more natural light?
- Is privacy enough?
- Do I need more storage space?
- What other spaces are essential for my family?
- Is my current room layout efficient in terms of flow and function?
- Should I need more bathrooms?
- Do I need an outdoor space or a garden?
- Should I need a garage structure?
- Will a 2-storey home be comfortable and accessible to live in? Will ageing family members can access the upper storey?
Each question represent an important factor in deciding the house type and layout that you need and at the same time what you want. Moreover, avoid providing rooms that might be under-utilized, or that can’t be easily repurposed. Do not build large spaces that you don’t really need. Sure, spacious home is comfortable, but is it really useful in the long run? Remember, larger space means more construction which means added cost.
2. Know Your Budget
One of the most important tips for designing your dream home is the budget. It is a must to be upfront about your budget. You cannot successfully build your dream home if you are not aware of how much it costs. You don’t want an unfinished and unliveable home in the end, right? Typically, you allot a minimum budget and a maximum budget that includes contingencies in case of unforeseen expenditures. Your minimum budget includes all the essential items that are needed to build a livable home. The budget should be able to give you enough cash to purchase hard materials, windows, doors, roof and ceiling. It must also include finishes, fixtures and appliances. On the other hand, the maximum budget is allocated for material and labour cost changes and change of design decisions.
3. Maximize Space Through Open Plan
An open plan house can offer many benefits; more light throughout the house, better ventilation and of course, gives you more space. If you have kids, an open plan can be safer because it gives you an open sight. Additionally, It provides better flow in activities and traffic. If you are more of a traditional homeowner, you can opt not to design an open plan since it is a modern home layout.
4. Research and Know Your Style
With the Internet, it is much easier for you to find different styles and designs. But it could be confusing right? You can find almost anything on the internet now and this could be overwhelming for you. Pinterest is a great online tool to streamline your choices. You can also create mood boards depending on each style you want. Narrow down your style choices to several choices and research on how much would it cost, or is it buildable? Also, one way is to have your options vary according to budget.
Apart from design, It is also good to research on the materials. Is it durable? Will it cost me too much? Is it practical? Materials specifications and costs are available on different builders website. This could give you a sense of how much is your home to build.
5. Sketch
With the previous items in mind, you should be able to sketch the layout. If you are not a professional, you can just draw boxes of rooms and analyze if it will give you better space and flow. You can also, try home planner software and tools that can greatly help you to envision your dream home. There are mobile apps and computer software that is easy to operate even if you do not have technical knowledge.
Try to Compare our available home designer software. Each software has powerful tools that will help you visualize what you want.
6. Get Professional Advice
Of course, new build homes require building control approval. One of the important tips for designing your dream home is to ask for professional advice from an architect. They have the technical knowledge to help you design an efficient, practical, building control compliant home. They have the responsibility to deliver a more detailed and technical plan for home construction.