Designing a home can be a lot of fun. You’ll get to pick out exactly what you want and be able to make your space your own. If you’ve always dreamed of a large kitchen, or a separate room for laundry, it can be yours. Almost anything is possible in a home these days, even that large skylight over your living room.
When you plan your dream home, you will want to consider the topography of your building site. Homes are ideally south facing to allow for plenty of sunshine. You’ll also want to consider any existing vegetation and whether you want to keep it, or if you’ll need it cleared before building can begin.
When you choose lightweight construction, you’ll save time and money, and be helping the environment. Lightweight homes can be adapted to a variety of climates and situations.
When it comes time to sit down with your designer and finalize the details, it helps to be prepared. You probably have lots of pictures in your mind of how you’d like your home to look, but it might be hard to describe these to someone else. It can help to clip pictures out of magazines and flyers and make collages or scrapbooks of them to show to the designer. It’s also helpful to come up with a “Needs and Wants” list. There are certain to be some things you are unwilling to compromise on, but there are probably others that you are willing to adapt. Show your list to your designer and let them help you figure out how to fulfill your dreams.
When deciding exactly what you want, it can help to talk to other homeowners, especially those with a home similar to what you have in mind. Ask them what they like and don’t like about their home and use their information to help you decide what you really want.
Before you meet with your designer, have a good idea of how much you want to spend on the home. The actual building construction is only a portion of the cost of building a new home. The interior structures, and optional features such as windowsills, designer paint, fancy lighting fixtures and bathroom upgrades will all affect the final cost of the home. Since you are building with lightweight construction, you’ll be saving on the main construction of the home, so you may be able to be more extravagant with the special touches that will make your house a home.
When it’s time to pick out indoor features like kitchen cupboards and door handles, try to visit a home store that has items on display that you can actually pick up and touch. If you are able to view mini kitchens in a store, you’ll be able to get a better idea of what you’d like to work with every day.
Remember that how you build your home is ultimately your decision. Don’t be pressured by family or friends who have their own ideas of how things should be done. If they aren’t going to live in the home, they don’t need a say. Let them know that you will consider their ideas, but that you have specific ideas of your own in mind.
When your lightweight construction home is finished, you’ll be proud to invite friends to show them your amazing design skills.