Designing a home isn’t an easy task, especially if you are a newbie. To figure out how you want your space to work for you, you need to know how you intend on using it. Most times, when you move into a new home, you find yourself adapting to the space’s layout and home location.
Most houses aren’t built for one occupant, so they don’t usually fit into how people live. So how can you merge the information you have about homes in general with how you want your dream home to look? The following easy checklist for designing a home will help you get started on the design process.
1. Start by sketching
When designing your custom dream home, you don’t need to have any fancy software. All you need is a piece of paper and a pencil, and you’re set. Put your ideas on paper and brainstorm on them. Make a detailed list of any features you would like each room to have. Even if the sketches aren’t perfect, they can still help you and your designing team get a clear picture of what you’re looking for.
2. Create a budget
Creating a budget for your custom home allows you to understand the limitations of designing your home. Whether you want a traditional home or a luxurious one, creating a budget helps you stay disciplined and not spend money that you don’t have.
3. Plan for the future
Are children in your cards in the near future? Do you live with aging parents? If you check any or both of these things, then you need to plan for how you’ll accommodate your close family members.
Likewise, if you plan to move from working from an office to operating from home, you need to include a flexible space into your custom house design. When you think of the various amenities that you’d like your home to have, you should include any features that you envision would come in handy in the future.
4. Set your priorities straight
When designing your home, you obviously have many ideas for the features you want your home to have. While some of these ideas may seem worthy, you need to put crucial amenities first. Designing your dream home might easily exceed the budget if you’re not careful. With so many luxuries running in your mind, you need to ensure that your design’s most crucial aspects, such as the kitchen layout, are given priority.
5. Keep functionality and flow in mind
As you and your designing team are throwing around ideas for various rooms’ locations, you need to consider how each space flows into one another. Functionality and flow should always take priority in the final design.
A good example to put into practice is to ensure that any sleeping areas are placed far away from communal areas to reduce noise. In the same light, if you and your family prefer to gather in the kitchen, an open floor plan will provide you with an easy flow that will suit you well.
6. Get creative
The phrase ‘fake it till you make it’ also applies to home designing. For instance, if you don’t have enough money to get a staircase runner, you can paint one.
Remember, the bolder you go, the bigger your smile will be when you see the final product. You should therefore let your creative flag fly when designing your home.
7. Reuse, reduce recycle
Global warming is a huge subject of debate today, and we must all ensure that we play our part in protecting the environment. When you’re designing your home, try as much as you can to recycle some materials.
For example, if you have any chipped tiles which you won’t use, you can break them apart and create a mural or decoration with them. You can work together with a residential recycling service to recycle items such as glass or plastic paper that might be left after the design process and construction wrap up.
8. Ensure your paperwork is up to date
Obtaining the necessary paperwork such as permits, inspections, and insurance can be challenging. They make home designing and construction a tiresome and complicated process. However, they are necessary for ensuring that you don’t encounter any issues when making your dream home.
9. Look for a reliable contractor
Your choice of a contractor can make or break your vision of getting your dream home. You need to find a contractor who will share the same enthusiasm for ensuring that you get your dream home. Conduct your research on the best designer and contractor in your area and meet up with them to ascertain their credentials.
The bottom line
Designing your dream home is a huge step. Although it can be scary to make that first step towards achieving your desired home, the results will prove to be worth it. Hopefully, the checklist above helps you get started on achieving your dream home.
