4 Oft-Overlooked Tips For Building Your First Home
Custom building your first home can be an extremely fulfilling experience. If you have an eye for design and the funds for professional construction, it is very possible to have a home built to your exact specifications. However, while your overall design may be excellent, minor details can be easy to overlook. Here are a few pitfalls that you must be careful to avoid when building your first home.
Make Sure the Tops of Windows and Doors are Level
Symmetry in all of its forms is one of the most important elements for making a room feel balanced and comfortable to the eye. You have likely been in rooms before where you felt like something was just off aesthetically, but you may not have been able to place it.
One of the easiest and most easily overlooked methods for maintaining balance in a room is making sure that all of its windows and doors are level on top. Doors and windows that are off-level is a subtle design flaw, but the effect can be less subtle. In some rooms, it can create an optical illusion that makes it seem like the floor is un-level.
Take Advantage of Potential Storage Space
Storage space is something that you rarely think about, let alone miss, until you find that you don't have enough of it. When you are designing the floor plan for your home, storage space should be a defining factor of the design, and not just an afterthought. Fortunately, you are likely to have much more potential storage space in your existing design than you may think.
The most important places you should be planning to use for storage are under stairways. Under stair storage is a traditional way of utilizing unused nooks and crannies, but there are several ways you can put a creative spin on the idea. Keep in mind that any unused space in your floor plan is wasted space, and could be used for a convenient utility closet instead.
Consider the Direction Each Door Will Open
This is an especially important tip for the ends of hallways where you may have two or three doors close together. You should make sure that you (or the construction crew you hired) are installing doors that will not open into each other or any other obstructions in the room. It can be very easy to overestimate the amount of open space you will have before you begin moving furniture, shelves, and appliances into your home. Make sure to include these features in your initial floor plans to avoid this problem.
Restrooms Should be Close to Entryways
Whether you choose to go with vinyl tile or authentic hardwood flooring in your home, you should do everything you can to protect it from mud and moisture being tracked in from outside. If you will find yourself working outdoors frequently, it is definitely worth it to place a bathroom as close as possible to one or both of your entryways.
If you are careful to always take off your shoes before you come indoors, you may feel like this is an unnecessary precaution. However, the same consideration may not be found in your guests, your kids, or your kids' guests. This is also a useful step for protecting your floors in the event that you need to pack buckets of water outside, or for emergency cuts and bleeding.
Creating and building a custom-designed home requires a lot of careful planning, but you should never let that deter you from your goal. Keep this guidelines in mind so that you can catch small problems before they occur and avoid annoyances or costly remodeling in the future. Custom home builders are also a great asset to have.
