5 Things To Consider When Building Your Custom Home
If you are starting out with a builder, or simply considering the process, here are the 5 tips for building a custom home.
#1. Get A Vision And Be As Specific As Possible Early On
A VISION is everything.
Do It Right: Get a fairly clear idea of what each room will look like- not just the fun stuff, like the exterior and the kitchen- plan how you will style each room, the bedroom… picture the floor, the walls. Have a good idea for the look and feel of all of the rooms.
If you don’t have a clue what kind of style you like and feel overwhelmed, hire a designer if it is in the budget at all; this can be the way to go if you are not someone who enjoys making lot of decisions quickly.
#2. Working together When Building A Custom Home
If your partner has a strong opinion on design, how will you work together? What if your styles are vastly different? Two different styles of course CAN blend (I love a farmhouse table with modern chairs!) but you are going to have a lot of negotiating to do. That being said: if you have different styles than your partner, regardless of what they may be, don’t go too far in one direction- stick with understated choices since you are marrying two different styles!
#3. Plan For Extra Storage Space Before You Build
It's always better to have extra drawers in the kitchen.
#4. Plan to Spend Throughout The Build
When you are building a custom home, obviously the opportunities are endless.
If you are splurging on every idea that comes your way (and that takes discipline not to!), long before you get to the landscaping there will be nothing left. Be discerning. Remind yourself that if you get all those bells and whistles in the beginning, there will be other shiny things later you will be forced to turn down.
#5. When something goes wrong: ask how much time? how much money?
Another thing to consider when building your home is how you are going to face challenges.
With so many little details, when building a custom home – even with the best builder and the most organized client – a little hiccup or two might happen. But out of all the useful tips when building a home you should know, a major one is how to reconcile “mistakes” when something goes off track. The two big questions when you don’t like how something is turning out are: How much time, and how much money to fix this? Then you will have your answer if its worth it to fix, or if you need to get creative.
