Building a new home is one of those special moments that can be nothing but cherished. You are finally starting from scratch and have an opportunity to build your dream house just the way you always wanted. The problem here is that very few of us are 100% sure about what we want, and the mistakes we make in the initial stages of the construction are usually paid for in years to come. Most of these problems can be summed up to one – a poor floor plan that shoots in the foot any latter attempts at efficient and functional design.
Let us then take a look at a couple of tips that will help you find the custom floor plan for your house and move this issue off the table.
Take an honest look at your lifestyle
Your home should reflect your interests and daily activities. Not the passing interests but your general habits. Open floor kitchen may sound exciting on paper, but if you don’t have enough time for vigil maintenance, you will end up with a constant eyesore in your bedroom. Some families with a couple of children prefer to keep private spaces of the house grouped in a separated part of the home. And if you are dealing with high bills, maybe you’re just ready for good old downsizing. Examples like these are countless. You just need to go through as many of them as possible.
How often you entertain the guests
More friendly people and families like to have their houses always ready to let in and entertain the guests. Squeezing those crowds through narrow mazes of hallways and denying them easy access to entertainment rooms and bathrooms is a recipe for failure. What then should you do instead? Well, if we take Australia as an example where people like to hang out a lot, we can see that an expansive foyer leading into an open floor living/dining room with direct access to the bathroom probably makes the best possible solution. Add one glass wall with an exit to the backyard, and you are in for a treat.
Hire a professional help
We are, of course, talking about the very first initial steps when you are still making a draft. Reasons for these are numerous, and we will, once again, go Down Under for examples, since this trend is booming in Australia. First and foremost, consulting agencies will understand your needs much better and know how to translate them into efficient architectural solutions. The second benefit you get in this deal is flexibility since, for instance, professional architects who specialize in offering drafting services in Sydney are very experienced in creating environments that can serve multiple purposes.
Consider the storage space
People have a tendency to grossly underestimate how much storage they will need no more than a couple of months in advance. Seasonal clothing, hobbies, kids’ toys, copious amounts of books, and other similar examples are always there to throw a wrench in your neat little design plans. So, try to be as imaginative as you can when choosing a floor plan and then leave some more space for the unexpected. While you are doing this, you should remember that every room needs to have an undisrupted flow of traffic so moving in countless storage units is not always an option. We say go for a spacious attic and basement.
Set your house for sustainability
Although they are still considered a novelty, eco-friendly homes are on the way to become a new norm sooner than later. Therefore, it would be much wiser to set up your home for sustainability from the get-go instead of making expensive upgrades further down the road. Not only will you contribute to the global fight against climate change, but you will also make substantial long-term savings that will more than make up for the eventual up-front investments you are asked to pay while the house is built. Sound insulation, natural light, and double-glazed windows don’t cost a fortune.
See what you are missing at your current home
There is no better way to compile a shortlist of requirements than to see what you would like to have around your current home but can’t due to a specific layout or some design flaw. Of course, you should be realistic and stick with the functional improvements but darn it – if that backyard porch or separate library can objectively improve your quality of life, you should sacrifice a couple of dollars more for these pleasures. Every subsequent attempt will only cost you more. So stick the homerun the first time.
Over to you
We hope these few tips will help you to make the first draft of your new house and move this chore off the table with as little stress as possible. Building a home is an excellent opportunity for a fresh start, but every mistake you make can cause many problems further down the road. Do your best to cut these issues at the root and make the best custom floor plan you can.
