Building your new dream home is one of the biggest and most exciting projects you can take. The process of building a home from scratch or renovating an existing structure is all about your needs and wants. It is your living space, and you can dream of whatever you’d like.
However, creating your perfect home is more than just deciding how many bedrooms and baths you want. It is more than that – sometimes to the extent that it can be overwhelming for some people. As you begin your brainstorming phase, we’ve created a list for you to review. It includes all the basic steps and tips you need to build your home.
Consider the steps in chronological order and you’ll find the planning, designing, and constructing process far easier than imagined. If people can build homes in the middle of the snow, high mountains, or even under extreme climatic conditions, there’s no reason why you can’t build your dream home either.
Read on to find steps, tips, and important considerations for building your home:
Steps to Building Your Dream Home
1. Set Preliminary Goals
Building a new home for yourself is all about setting preliminary goals and steps for you to achieve them. You’ll want to begin by asking yourself the right questions and then noting down all your dreams about your new home.
Goal setting sometimes takes weeks or even months. Sometimes we’re so overwhelmed with ideas that we are unsure about where to begin. One way to control your mind from wandering in unimaginable places, note down each idea you get about your new house. Whether it is the open spaces, the color of your bathroom walls, or even the type of kitchen flooring – make sure to write all of it down.
Some of the questions you can ask yourself include: What do you want to achieve? Where do you see that specific goal? Is it cost-effective? Can it be done? Are there reference pictures available online? Is there a plan B?
By doing this, you’ll be able to shortlist and factor out those goals that are important and achievable, compared to those that are more difficult.
2. Study Your Finances
Possibly one of the key factors in building your perfect home is considering finances. The budget should be pre-decided before you even set your goals because that gives more perspective on what you can actually achieve.
Make a budget plan by considering what you can afford and how much you want your house to cost. Make sure you include all the direct and indirect costs, for example, the cost of land, taxes, designing fees, construction fees, furnishing, decoration, and everything small that requires some payment or the other.
Building a prospective budget can be difficult. Due to this, consult a colleague or expert who is well-versed in building homes so you don’t understate or overstate your budget. Moreover, track your expenses on an Excel sheet so you can access it at any time. Avoid using paper and pencil because there is a high chance you’ll lose that along the construction process.
3. Gather a Team
Building a home isn’t a one-man job. From the construction to the furnishing part of the house, you will need a team to help you achieve your end product. Due to this, you will need a team of tried and tested professionals who can help guide you and make the process easier for you.
A team of an architect and a builder (or a building company) are going to be the most important members of your team. Both are equally essential to guide, counsel, and listen to your needs, all while they use their professional touch to suggest changes or modifications to your dream home. If your team is experienced, they’ll make sure the overall process is enjoyable and stress-free for you.
Some extra additives you can add to your team can be an interior designer or a specific kitchen and bath designer. Once you consider your budget, these team members will be able to make sure your house looks practical, aesthetic, and livable.
4. Plan Using the Internet
As important as your goals and budget are, the planning process of your dream home never ends. It is something that begins from the point you think about building your home till the end of the process.
Planning can take shape in many ways. You can use the internet to find out ideas that you’d like to include, or formulate contingency plans in case something goes wrong. A few examples to include in the planning process include:
What ifs: Explore all the possibilities of building your home. Consider plan A to plan Z and everything that can or might go wrong along the way. You don’t want the thought, “We should have done this…” once your house is almost complete because that would imply that you are having regrets of some sort. Hence, make sure you consult experts and read on personal cases of people who went through the whole building process.
Big ideas: There is no harm in dreaming big. This means that your dream home can also incorporate big ideas that you wish to see. The house is yours and you’re allowed to have a grand plan that can be implemented in some way or the other. While your budget is important, don’t let it hinder your thought process and allow your mind to explore the variety of options available to you.
Decisions: Since you’re someone leading the team considering it’s your home, plan such that you don’t get overwhelmed with the number of decisions that come right at you. You can have all the decision-making meetings during the weekends, or ask each member of the team to reach you during a certain hour. Emergency situations are separate, but decisions that require your insight can be streamlined through such means.
5. Accept Mistakes
There is a chance that some aspect of your perfect home does not end up the way you wanted. Even though you secured the finances, finalized all plans, and were eager for implementation, something went wrong and a cabinet, wall color, or room was not even close to your imagination. Don’t fret over it! Instead, accept the discrepancy, and make sure you work with your team for a solution. If you panic, your acceptance will never come anywhere close to needed.
Some ways you can ensure that you’re able to stay sane through the process include:
· Don’t change things last minute: Once you finalize parts of the designing and construction process, don’t change those things at the last minute. There may be moments that you want to alter something, but make sure it is not something so big that it creates a dent on your overall budget. Moreover, the team working with you is not going to remain patient all the time. If you change decisions consistently, there will be a moment when their attitude begins to reflect on the work being done as well.
· Don’t listen to everyone: There will be tons of nosy people around you who will suggest you to build your house in some other way, even if you have hired the most experienced team in your area. In such a case, listen to such people intently but turn a deaf ear to any advice you deem unnecessary. The only experts in your team are the members you’ve hand-picked yourself and they’re well-versed with your overall designing, planning, and building process.
6. Enjoy
Building your new home can be stressful. However, you’ve worked hard and tirelessly to achieve your dream. Once your home is complete, it is now time to enjoy it fully. Find new hangout spots to spend time with friends around the house, or discover cozy corners to read a book on a cool, winter night. No one can enjoy your home more than you because you watched it become what it is now with your own eyes.
Important Tips for You to Consider
Some important tips you can consider when planning and building your perfect home include:
Size Matters: The size of the rooms in your house often depends on the size of your main house block. Consider how you will furnish your room and analyze the space you have based on that. An example includes idealizing a king-sized bed with two side tables for the master bedroom. Understand how much space that would require and then have the rooms sized and designed.
Practicality: Your dream home can be aesthetic to look at, but not usable or practical for everyone, or even yourself. Factors such as direct garage access from the kitchen, storage space, or a large pantry are all that inhibit practicality. You may not realize how important each of these factors is, and why most homes are designed keeping them in mind.
Timeless Design: Using trends and designs that are in fashion might look great right now, but they will soon become outdated as you live in your home. Use classic designs that look good and also save you the cost of remodeling your house every time trends change. If your dream design does not have any of the classics often used, be innovative and try to incorporate a mix of the two. Ask your interior designer for advice and make a plan on what might or might not work.
Easy-To-Use Fixtures: This is not something many people consider. However, choosing easy-to-use fixtures and fittings will only save you time and costs to change them later on. An example includes paddle-style taps compared to round-twist-style ones that seem outdated and less practical nowadays.
A home that is functional, fun to live in, and aesthetically pleasing sounds like a perfect home. However, the definition of a perfect home might vary for everyone. As you envision yourself in your home, consider the important steps mentioned above and let the process be as smooth as ever. Remember, plan, work hard, and enjoy the construction process!
With over 50 years of knowledge and experience, Maronda Homes can help construct your perfect home. We are committed to customer satisfaction and delivering quality products to everyone we work with. Throughout our years, we have worked to deliver budget-friendly and top-quality homes. If you have any questions about our services, feel free to contact us and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!
