You want to build the home of your dreams. You’ve thought about size, style, number of rooms, and you’ve even fantasized about your ideal space for your favorite hobby. If you’re employing the services of an interior designer as well as a home designer, you’ve probably also thought about colors, finishes, the type of bathroom and kitchen fixtures you want, and everything else that will make the house you build the home you’ve always wanted.
Table of Contents
Storage Space
Floor Plan
Primary Bedroom
Flexible Space
The Laundry Room
Outdoor Living
Large Garage
Technology
Eco-Friendliness
Ask Us
Final Thoughts
Storage Space
If you’re building your dream home while living in an apartment, condo, or smaller house, you may be cramped by the small space and its lack of storage. Basements and garages make great storage spaces. Growing up in Michigan, my childhood home had a basement with a ‘playroom’ and a ‘workroom’. The playroom had an extra closet and there were a lot of things – toys, games, and even some hunting and camping gear, and other things I can’t exactly remember. The ‘workroom’ held my dad’s tool bench, the washer and dryer, two giant utility sinks (for bathing the dog mostly) racks for storage, and in the bathroom under the stairs, a storage space that held holiday decorations, luggage, and whatever else fit.
When it comes time to design my next home, I plan to have plenty of storage. Some ideas for storage solutions include built-in shelves and drawers, hidden storage like drawers under banquette seating, and larger closets. Some of these ideas, like larger closets, will put a dent in your livable square footage, but if storage is a priority fo you, there are plenty of ways to make it happen.
Let the design team of Acipe Design know your storage needs when planning your home design. We’ll do our best to make sure you have a place for everything.
Floor Plan
When customizing your home, you control every aspect, including the floor plan. Many families love the space and practicality that an open floor plan provides. Someone can be in the kitchen preparing a meal while also being a part of the fun in the living area. You can set the dining table while keeping an eye on the pot ready to boil on the stove. Everything is at your fingertips, no matter where you are.
While not as popular, some may prefer a plan where rooms have more definition. You may prefer a formal dining room away from the TV and commotion of the living room, so you can focus on loved ones during the meal. The living room and the kitchen are separate so relaxing and family time, and maybe a little TV watching, are the focus.
We listen to your needs and priorities and design spaces that accomplish those goals. It’s the home of your dreams, after all.
Primary Bedroom
Future homeowners coming from smaller living quarters will be looking forward to having a primary bedroom large enough to fit a whole bedroom set, and have some extra space left over. Acipe Design can imagine you a bedroom as big as you want, and can show you how to commit even a whole floor to a primary suite. Large en suite bathrooms, extra space for a sitting or lounge area, large windows facing the view, and everything else that goes into the perfect primary suite can be figured in to make a space you may never want to leave.
Flexible Space
A custom home is flexible for its owners. What may be the dream today may change some time down the road. What used to be a downstairs family room and play room for the kids is now being turned into a mother-in-law suite, or a game and media room. These flexible spaces are a blank slate for you to do what you need, when you need. We’ll help you think into the future to imagine not just what you intend the space to be now, but what it may look like in the future.
The Laundry Room
There are all shapes, sizes, and even locations for laundry rooms. It could be as large as a bedroom, with full size machines, a folding table, the ironing board, hanging space for delicate items, and more. It can be in the basement workroom near the HVAC system, or just inside the garage entrance in a mudroom. You may want the laundry on the same floor as the bedrooms, or even built into your primary bedroom’s closet. No matter how you see your laundry needs shaping up, you’ll want to make sure to pay attention to it during the designing and building process instead of making it an afterthought.
Outdoor Living
Outdoor living is a major item on many peoples’ dream home list. Having a large back yard where you can install a pool, a large deck, gazebo, a swing set or climber for kids, and more in addition to having green space to run and enjoy, or even a cozy back yard that’s easy to maintain, outdoor living at your custom home is a must.
Keep in mind, the potential for outdoor living is limited by your lot size, the size of home you want, and the buildable area on the plot. Consider the environment, too. You may want the feel of lush, green grass between your bare toes in the summer, but Southwest region climates aren’t necessarily a good home for grass.
Large Garage
A large garage serves multiple purposes. Not only will it house your vehicles and protect them from the elements, the garage is also added storage space. The two-car garage at my childhood home was just big enough for the two cars, with items like bikes pushed in at the sides or in front. My parents made use of the walls, hanging items most used outside. Still, my dad bought a small metal shed for the back yard that held the lawn mower, toys, pool equipment, and other items too large to fit in the garage.
Planning for a large garage at your custom home will make sure you have room for it all without having to add on or plan for accessory storage units on the other side of your property.
Technology
Many homes today have a central control system. The “brain” of the house controls the HVAC system, internet, lighting, audio, and more. This, of course, is an option you can choose to include or omit. It’s a big help to have everything in one place and at the touch of just a few buttons. Some other items include:
- wall outlets that not only have grounded outlets but also USB and USBc outlets for today’s most popular tech items.
- electronic door locks easily integrated with home security systems and use smartphone app controls.
- Programmable thermostats that can work on a schedule, so it’s warm in the winter when you get home, and cooler in the summer. smart shades controlled via smartphone app to adjust your shades automatically without the need to get up and tend to shades in every room.
These are just a few and there are many more to choose from. Ask us about integrating some of these tech ideas into your home.
Eco-Friendliness
While it may not be a main goal of yours during your home build, one of the things Acipe Design strives for during every home design is how to make the home the most efficient. Eco-friendly building materials, better insulation, green roofs, solar panels, high quality windows and doors, and more that take steps to improe the environment are all considerations we address to help you create the perfect home for you and the environment around it.
Ask Us
There are so many things you may want to include in your custom home. It’s impossible to describe them all in a single entry. If you have ideas or specific wants and needs, a design session is the perfect way to get all of your questions answered and come out on the other side with a house you can call home for years to come.
Final Thoughts
The staff and designers at Acipe Design help you create your dream home from foundation to completion. We can help you explore everything that goes into building your custom home and curate your list of must-haves, then turn your vision into a reality.
Contact us today!