5 Factors to Consider Before Building a Custom Home

By Mike Igi | March 25, 2021

From kitchen islands to low-maintenance landscaping, there are tons of things that every dream home has in common. However, the bulk of your dream design is uniquely yours and would provide you with a sense of self-expression and comfort that no other home could.

Because of this, building a custom home is the perfect way to achieve your dream home (and your dream lifestyle). Still, there are some practicalities that you need to consider when making this abstract idea into a reality. Read on to learn what they are so that you know how to build a custom home the right way.

1. Your Preferred Location

The very first thing to consider before building your dream home is the location at which you want it built. You need to choose a place that fits in with your lifestyle, and since you can commission your house anywhere, it’s critical that you do your research on the places that you’re considering.

If your family or friends all live in one area, getting your dream home erected there is a no-brainer. It’s important that you have a strong support system, so go for it. The same applies if you’ve always wanted to live in a specific state or near a specific city. If that’s part of your dream, you should 100% go for it.

For some people, though, location isn’t such an obvious choice. You’ll want to think about all the classic considerations. Rural vs urban locations, liberal vs conservative areas, and varying climates should be thought about before building your home. You want a place that shares your ideologies and values as well as one that has a climate that you can thrive in.

2. Your Tastes and Dream Home

Pretty much everyone has a dream home that they’ve planned out in their head since they were a kid. While having a waterpark with a giant tube slide likely isn’t a realistic option, you want to build a house as close to your much-desired dream home as possible. An outdoor pool and patio is a realistic alternative to this childhood dream.

You also need to consider your tastes when constructing a dream home. Do you want a contemporary space? Are you a fan of antique-look Victorian estates? Well, the build of your home needs to reflect the interior design scheme that you want.

Contemporary plans need to have high ceilings, large open rooms, and skylights. Victorian-style homes should have smaller ceilings and winding staircases that are padded with soft carpet steps and illuminated by soft lighting. Be sure to talk to your building designer about your specific needs.

3. Your Budget

The next thing that you need to consider for the sake of being realistic is the budget that you have to work with. Financing a custom home build will always be expensive, but doing it on a budget is completely possible.

Do your calculations and be hyper-aware of your budget down to the cent. Make sure that you have it on paper in front of you (or in a digital document) so that you can do the math and visually conceptualize how much money you have.

Next, list the rooms that are the most important to you in your dream home. The bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and other essential spaces should come first.

After that, you can move on to your outdoor living area. This is essential because getting enough sunlight can fight off health issues and boost your mood. You don’t want to deprive yourself!

4. Your Most Important Features

After the essentials are taken care of on your list, add the features of your dream home from most to least important. These features might include a library, a home theater, or an outdoor pool. Make sure to rank them so that you can easily cut back on nonessentials when your builder tells you how much everything is going to cost.

Keep in mind when choosing the important features of your home the decor that you’ll be using in different areas. If having a library is extremely important to you and your dream library has a $5,000 chandelier, you might want to cut back on another part of your home to make room for this gorgeous lighting piece. You can make do with 2 bathrooms rather than 3, after all.

The basic principle is to view your home holistically and make sure that everything is perfectly planned and thought through in advance.

5. Your 3D Home Tour Findings

To build a custom home that works in the real world (rather than just conceptually), a virtual home tour is essential. These tours allow you to put together the dream home that you’ve constructed and view a 3D-rendered image of it on your desktop. You can then move through the various rooms virtually and tweak things that aren’t working for you.

This will give you an idea of what your home will look like in reality. You can see the various sizes of each room and how they work in relation to other areas of the home. You also will be able to get a better grasp of your floor plan and alter it if you’re finding it not to be open enough (or, conversely, to be so open that you don’t get the privacy you crave).

Make sure to add your dream furnishings into these tools so that you can see roughly what the room will look like when it’s complete!

Beyond Building a Custom Home

Now that you have some of the most important tips for building a custom home, it’s time to get some ideas for its interior design.

Check out the ‘real estate’ and ‘lifestyle’ tabs on our home page for some ideas on how you can make your dream home a reality. Here, you’ll find articles on everything from construction to furniture, so start browsing ASAP.