19 Oct Tips for Designing Your Dream Home Floor Plan
There’s a lot that goes into creating a Hill Country custom home – you have to buy land, find contractors, and a whole lot more. While it’s almost always more beneficial to go with a full-service home builder, there’s always the “do-it-yourself” option. You’re always welcome to find your own commercial plumber, general contractor, and/or electrician, but choosing a custom home builder really is the simplest way to go. We can also help you navigate the exhaustive labyrinth of by-laws and forms involved.
But before any of that, you need to create a plan for your dream house. This article will help you do just that:
The Big Three
When designing your dream home, there are three major factors to consider:
- Design
- Location
- Budget
A fourth factor, time, is also important – if you need your home built before a certain date, it can affect all three of the above. How time affects design, location, and budget is a bit unpredictable, however, so we’ll leave it out for now (though the build will definitely cost more if you need it rushed).
Design
You are designing your dream home. Dare to dream. Seriously. Write down everything you want, no matter how wild it might seem. Do you want a home that looks like a medieval castle, complete with turrets and a moat? Want an incredibly modern design, with floor to ceiling windows all around the house? Whatever it is, jot it down. Sketch your dream home. You can pare down what you don’t need later when you’re trying to meet location and budget-based constraints.
While we encourage you to dream big, you should prioritize what you need and what you want. You might consider ranking things from 1-5, where 1 is absolutely essential, and 5 is optional, but not necessary.
One of the most important things to consider is the layout of your dream home. You might want a wide variety of different rooms, including:
- Living Rooms
- Dining Rooms
- Theater Rooms
- Home Offices
Or any other specialized rooms you might think of. You’ll also (of course) want to think about how many bedrooms and bathrooms you’ll need, as well as what size those rooms should be. In addition, it’s important to think about where the rooms will be located, and how to navigate from place to place. Open concept? Something a bit more closed off? How many floors? The choice is yours.
One excellent idea is to look at other homes in similar styles to the one you want, and create a photo board. This board should include two columns: homes you like, and homes you don’t. This will give the architect a good idea of your likes and dislikes, so they can more readily help you create your dream home.
A final note on design – choosing interior paint colors and other easy-to-swap aesthetic flourishes is something you should think about but not commit yourself to at this point in the designing. Lighting has a considerable effect on color, so it’s best to wait until you have a pretty good idea of how windows and lights are going to be placed in your home before you dedicate yourself to your tints and shades.
Location
Location dictates a lot of what you can actually build, from how close you are to your neighbors to how the land on your property slopes. The location can also affect the effectiveness of green technologies like solar panels, which depend on how your home is oriented in relation to the sun’s movement.
There are also several practical and aesthetic considerations when it comes to choosing the land you’ll build on. Are there trees on the property? Nearby schools, amenities, parks? How close are you to infrastructure like roads, power lines, and water and sewer systems? All of these and more should be considered.
Try to select a wide variety of potential locations to build on, but don’t delay – land sells quickly. When you’re selecting potential spots, you should be almost ready to pull the trigger on buying and building.
Budget
Finally, your budget is the number one constraint in what you can create. You shouldn’t budget for a single number – instead, create a range, from low-end to high-end, of what you can afford to spend. Go online and look at properties similar to your dream home to get a better idea of costs, but don’t let that limit what you envision – as we mentioned in the design section, you can always get rid of features that aren’t must-haves in order to fit your budget.
With all of this information, you’ll just need to talk to an architect and a general contractor to get an estimate of what everything is going to cost – once these consultations are done, you’ll be ready to build your dream home! When you’re ready to start building your custom home, contact the professionals at Pasadera Builders. We’ve been the go-to for luxury custom homes in the Hill Country since 2006!
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