3 Steps You Need to Take Before Designing Your Home

Designing your future house is a thrilling experience – you get to have creative control over the place you and your family will turn into a home. But before you jump headfirst into sketches, materials, and everything that goes into the design process, you need to take 3 important preliminary steps before the real fun begins.

Figure Out Your Needs

Think about what kind of home you want build. You most likely have a location already picked, but if not, think about the long-term implications of where you want to live. If you are planning to have children, is the school district suitable? Are you close to where you and anyone else in the household may end up working?

When it comes to the type of home, think about size and amount of rooms. If you are planning to live there for the rest of your life, do you want to have the master bedroom on the main level? Are there any needs your family has that your house will need to accommodate?

Build a Wishlist

Create a wishlist to bring to your first meeting with your chosen home designer and builder. Outline the things you absolutely need in your home (e.g., a certain size kitchen), preferences for the design, and things that need to be avoided.

If you aren’t sure where to begin this wishlist, take a look at how you currently live. What is there in your current home that you love or hate? What do you frequently find yourself wishing you had in your current home that would make life easier, such as more windows or double ovens? Rooms that you use a lot might be able to be improved in some way, such as being placed in a part of a house that allows for it to be warmer or cooler, equipped with more storage, or has an outdoor access. Think about the rooms you never use; why is that? Maybe they don’t fit your furniture or are designed in an unusable way. Thinking about your current home is a great start to gathering ideas before you begin designing your new one.

Decide on Your Budget

A huge aspect that shapes what you’ll be able to accomplish on your wishlist is your budget. While it would be nice to be able to afford everything you want in a home, unfortunately most of us have limited funds. Determining how much you are willing to spend and being up front with your designer when the process begins will help them stretch your money and get you the most with whatever you can afford.

Skilled Residential Drafting Services in Maryland

At Irvine Construction, we aim to make the home design and building process as seamless as possible. Our start-to-finish design-build process means you get the same level of service from the very beginning of your project. Contact us today for a consultation!