I think that everyone, in one way or another, would like to live in a customized home. Whether you live in an apartment, a small country four-over-four, a mansion, or any other kind of dwelling, it is hard to resist the lure of customization. Even people who have built their dream homes from the ground up may one day find themselves overcome with new ideas for remodeling and expansion.
What I find funny is that every single dreamer who wishes to build a custom home knows how complicated and difficult it can be. They know how stressful it will be. They know it will very likely take longer to build than they thought it would, and will be more expensive than they had planned. But they do it anyway, because the dream of a customized home is just that strong.
As someone who chased that dream, I wanted to convey some of the complications and rewards of my experience. I hope my experience building a customized home will prepare you for what’s in store and help you create a plan that will, in the long run, save you time, money, and stress.
Building a custom home: Details, preparation, and more details
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from building my own customized home, it’s that you are going to have to make choices—many choices. The risk of decision fatigue is very real, and after a while everything starts to blur together. Getting lost with the endless small decisions about tiling, fixtures, cabinetry, etc., can exhaust you from dealing with big issues such as layout, lighting, windows, and other things that greatly impact your home experience and can’t easily be changed later. The solution to this is simple: thorough preparation.
Building a custom home is all about moving detailed plans into the real world. Check, double-check, and triple check. Plan the work and work the plan. Have a complete timeline of what the home building process should look like—from meeting with the architect to putting the locks in the doors—then think about where snags and delays are likely to occur. Your plan should be thorough enough that if you’re ever unsure about what to do, you can refer to it for guidance.
There are plenty of ways to prepare for the unexpected. A neat trick, for example, is to buy a good 16-foot tape measure, some masking tape or string, and actually start measuring out the spaces of your home. You can do so in your yard or any open space. Being able to “see” the layout and shape of the rooms can be very enlightening, allowing you to make adjustment before the first drop of concrete is poured.
Measure out ceiling heights as well. Proportion is hard to understand before anything is built. Compare them to the ceilings of your current home. Ten foot ceilings are amazing for central living areas, but too much space can feel too big, like a warehouse. Bedrooms with high ceilings can actually feel smaller and more cramped, as opposed to the cozy atmosphere most people want from their sleeping areas.
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