Choosing to build, rather than purchase your next home can be an incredibly exciting and scary venture at the same time. But, once you’ve decided on the perfect builder, like MDV Remodeling, and picked out the right spot for your new home, the next big step is designing your future residence. This can be tough – putting together a home design that reflects your taste, yet also fits your needs and budget is a balancing act that takes planning. The following ten tips will help you through the process.

1. Do Your Homework

Before you can decide on what your home will look like on the inside, you must first decide what type of home to build. House styles today are as varied as those who live in them, so you have a plethora of designs to choose and sample from.

Make note of home designs that appeal to you, and try and figure out exactly what features or characteristics caught your eye. Make a quick sketch of your ideas and keep them together in a file. You don’t have to put the pieces together just yet, but eventually you’ll figure out how they all to fit into your home design plan.

2. Create a Home Design List

Creating a list of criteria for your home design, starting with the basics, such as: the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and family areas: choosing between a formal dining room or a more open, community eating area; deciding on a porch or deck or both. Once your list of basics is complete, you can start to refine the list by tackling the plan for individual rooms. Remember to list features and needs that are most important to you first and then add your wants from there. This list can include kitchen features, master bathroom features, audio wiring for speaker systems, Internet and phone connections, etc.

3. Check Local Zoning Laws

We’ve mentioned this several times on our blog, but it is imperative to do so when building a home from the foundation up. Zoning laws can affect everything from house framing to yard fencing. Checking first to see what zoning laws your community has can save you many headaches.

4. Plan Within Your Budget

Once your list is completed, compare it to your budget and adjust to fit. This is particularly difficult for first–time homebuyers. A good resource to help with this process is picking up home design software, like Home Designer Pro, that includes a cost estimator that gives you a running total of costs as you design your home.

5. Design to Fit Your Plot

Your land plot is unique and each plot has its own set of assets and challenges. Keep these in mind while creating your home design. Use existing grades of your plot to your favor. If your lot slopes sharply to the side, consider a walkout side basement door instead of the traditional back door. Working with your land, instead of against, saves you excavating costs and retains more of your plot’s natural character. Other things to keep in mind include: positioning ground–level bedrooms and bathrooms toward the back of the house, away from street and foot traffic; and designing windows, foliage and fences to maximize beauty and increase privacy.

6. Maximize Your Space Efficiency

When mapping out your floor plan, make sure there is a logical flow to your home design (check out our blog on Kitchen Workflow). Here are a few things to consider when mapping out your floor plan:

  • Design direct access to the kitchen from the garage
  • Design all your plumbing in one general area to reduce the amount of pipe needed
  • Place your heating ventilation and air conditioning system as centrally as possible, allowing for better temperature balance throughout your house
  • Bedrooms should be isolated to reduce noise and increase privacy
  • Place your washer and dryer on the same floor as bedrooms (for two or more story homes)
  • Make sure all doorways, hallways and stairways are wide enough to move furniture through
  • Make sure that light switches are placed appropriate to traffic flow and that outlets are conveniently placed

7. Plan for Expansion

If you can’t afford to build your entire dream house now, plan your home design so that it is not only possible, but also easy to expand later on. This is known as building in phases. Start by building your main house structure first, then add on a detached garage a few years later. Finally, you can finish the basement. Pick affordable priorities and tackle those first.

8. Picture Interior Design

When putting together your floor plan, place furniture in the design to see how it all fits together. You can do this using graph paper, magazine clippings or by using home design software. Also, consider your lighting, paint and flooring choices, and how your design will work for entertaining. Planning ahead for all your favorite activities will help you create proper spaces for entertaining, dining and socializing.

9. Don’t Forget the Sun

The position of the sun can affect your home design in many ways, depending on the direction your home faces. For example, a south facing home will be warmer in the winter, but hotter in the summer. In addition, window placement can help to take advantage of natural light, which allows for better energy conservation. Remember that window placement affects the inside and outside look of your house, which leads into…

10. Beautify All Sides of Your Home Design

Whether you live on a corner or in the middle of the block, the sides of your home are going to be seen. Design the look of your home so that you’d be proud to let anyone walk around it, putting small design elements here and there—whether they are architectural, landscaping or both. Work to create a pleasing, comfortable atmosphere wherever visitors may go.

Building a custom home can be stressful, but by following these tips, you can help easy the stress and come out with the home of your dreams! Let MDV Remodeling help you get started with your custom home design today. Click here to schedule your free estimate.