Building a new home is an extremely exciting event, especially when you are customizing it yourself. You get to choose what works best for you and for your family. The opportunities are endless! However, it is important to figure out exactly what you want in your new home before you give the final okay on your floor plans. For instance, you do not want to sign off on papers and then realize late your front door opens into the main room and not into a little entrance area.
It is critical to triple-check your floor plans before finalizing them. Avoiding mistakes will ensure you get the home of your dreams and minimize any problems that may arise, many of which could be costly.
1. Do Not Overlook the Site Conditions of Where You Are Building
Think closely about where you are planning to build your house. Which way does the sunlight come in? Which way does the wind tend to come from? Analyzing the site you are building on prior to finalizing your floor plans is a huge aspect of the building process and creating your floor plans.
You want to ensure your floor plans align with all of these facets and do not work against them. Make sure you figure out how the sun moves around the area. Then place your bedrooms, living spaces, kitchen, and bathrooms accordingly. Do you want the sun shining into your bedroom bright and early, or want to take in the sunset from your back deck? Take this into account before finalizing your plans.
2. Take Your Lifestyle into Account
Is this going to be a family home? Will you have pets in this home? Do you plan to grow old here? Do you frequently host friends and family? All of these lifestyle choices should be taken into account before finalizing your floor plans. Your lifestyle is the biggest factor that should guide the entire layout of the home you are building.
For instance, if this is a home you plan to grow old in, you may not want to have too many stairs or stairs that are steep. If you tend to host a lot of people, maybe you’d like to add in a guest area that has its own bedroom and bathroom. If you have a nice outside space, make sure you have easy access and even a seamless living from your family room into this pace.
You want a home that functions with you, not against you.
3. Don’t Forget Storage Space
One of the most common mistakes made is not including enough storage space in the floor plan. When you are looking at the grand scheme of things, it’s easy to overlook these spaces, which seem like small details. However, they are important. Think of everything you currently have in closets—what would you do if you didn’t have ample room for it in your new home? It would certainly put a strain on things.
Storage spaces do not have to take up much room, but they should be found throughout your new home and be customized to your needs.
Where’s it most beneficial for you to keep your cleaning supplies, such as the broom and sweeper? Make sure you incorporate a small storage area in that specific room. It will definitely make life easier for you in the long run.
4. Think About Furniture
Do you already have furniture you’re planning to use in this home? Or do you have your eye on a certain piece that you want to add to the mix? You need to ensure the dimensions of each room will work to fit these pieces. Considering the correct furnishing layout while creating your floor plans is a way to do this.
In the layout of your floor plans, include scaled furniture to ensure everything will fit the way you imagine. You do not want to have a finalized home and then realize the couch you already purchased does not fit in the living room as you assumed.
Another important thing to note is the amount of wall space. With fewer walls in an open floor plan, there less wall space that you can hang décor from or place furniture in front of. While this concept is nice in theory, will it work for you?
5. Include Enough Windows
A lot of people prefer to have natural light streaming into their homes. If you are one of these people, this is something for you to think about while creating your floor plan.
You want to make sure your home is designed with enough windows and with the proper type of windows. Is sunlight all you want? Then you may not need as many windows that open. However, if you are looking to let some fresh air into your home, remember that you will need windows that can open easily too.
Consider the placement as well, such as in a bedroom, living space, or kitchen. Think about which rooms you tend to spend the most time in and plan your window placement accordingly.
On the other hand, if you are not a fan of natural sunlight or you prefer windows that do not open, take this into consideration as well. You may want a large window in your kitchen that will not open, keeping pests out but allowing light to filter in.
There are many different things to consider while customizing your new home. However, the biggest aspect is to think about your lifestyle and what will work best for you and your family. This will heavily influence the floor plans.
You do not want to finalize a floor plan only to realize that its functionally doesn’t work for you. Additionally, you do not want to realize once everything is done that you did not include enough storage space or that there is not enough light coming into your home.
All of these are costly mistakes and here at New Tradition Homes, we want to ensure you have your dream home without wasting any excess money. We value your time and the effort it took to get to the stage where you’re ready to build a custom home. Avoiding these five common mistakes before you finalize your floor plans will help ensure you stick to your budget while creating the home of your dreams.
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.
