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Home Design: 6 Pro Tips for Designing a House

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Did you know that the average price to build a home is around $290,000?

Whilst still cheaper than going out to buy a property yourself, that’s a hefty price tag! If you’re spending that much on a house, you probably want to get it right the first time.

But designing a house is no easy feat. Whilst the results are definitely worth it, you can’t just jump in and draw up a flawless plan of your dream property. There are a few things you need to learn first!

To help you out, here are some top tips for designing a house that you need to know.

1. Create a Realistic Budget

It would be nice to add an Olympic-size swimming pool to your garden and a home theater on every floor, but you need to create a budget to show you how much you can actually spend. These crazy features cost a lot of money!

In your budget, make sure to factor in the cost of materials and building works; these are the basic. But, there are other things more frequently forgotten that you have to remember to budget for, including:

  • Insurance costs
  • Fees from your local authorities
  • Landscape costs
  • Site surveys
  • Sewer connection charges

The best way to create an accurate budget is to first create an accurate plan. When you know what you’re building and how you’re building it, it’ll become a lot easier to price up.

2. Consider the Noise

When it comes to how to design your own house, there are many technical aspects you need to consider in the design process.

These can easily be forgotten when you’re picking out kitchen countertops and browsing through couch styles, but they’re essential if you want to create your dream house. One technical aspect not to overlook is noise reduction.

Houses are noisy places, but if you design carefully you can keep unwanted sound at bay. For example, focusing on thick, insulated walls will help muffle sounds throughout your home.

You should also look at the placement of your rooms to reduce noise. If you have kids, keep their rooms away from your own to stop being woken up in the morning, and avoid placing their room over your living room where you may watch TV after they’re asleep.

3. Plan for More Than You Have

If you’re wondering how do I design my dream house to last a lifetime? a vital area to look at is storage. In general, it’s always best to add more storage space than what you currently need. Sure, you might not have much now, but what about after 10 years of collecting new things or growing your family?

Homes often lack the storage space they need for you to comfortably live in them for many years.

Don’t make this mistake in yours. Instead, find savvy storage solutions like fitting cupboards or shelving under the stairs and adding a pantry in your kitchen.

It may seem unnecessary to have so much storage space now, but in years to come, you’ll incredibly thankful you put it all in!

4. Leave Room to Expand

As storage space has shown, it pays to think about when you start to design a house.

Over your lifetime, it’s likely you’ll want to expand your home. Whether it’s because you’ve had children or you need more space for new hobbies, there’s always a reason to add extra space.

You could add in a couple of spare rooms you don’t really have a use for right now to future-proof your home.

Or, why not get planning approval now for an extension that you might build in the future?

If you do this, remember to put in the foundations whilst you’re building and set up capped off drainage connections that you can easily connect and use.

If you’re planning to live in your home forever, consider your future physical health as well. If something happens and someone in your home ends up in a wheelchair, are your doors wide enough? Do you have a downstairs bathroom that’s easily accessible?

These might not be things you expect to think about now, but they can help you create a home you’ll want to live in forever.

5. Remember the Lighting

Natural light can play a crucial role in increasing happiness and reducing stress, so make sure there’s plenty of it in your home. No one likes dingy, gloomy rooms, which is why you need to plan your windows carefully.

If you have a wall that isn’t hit so well by the sun, consider installing skylights.

In a room that gets plenty of sunshine, make the most of it with large bay windows and light-colored walls. A bright, well-lit home will instantly be more welcoming than a dark one!

6. Get Help From the Professionals

If you’re still stuck wondering how do I design my own dream house? remember that you don’t have to do everything on your own!

It’s very common to hire a designer when building a house, and it doesn’t mean it won’t be your design anymore.

When you hire a designer, you can work together to create the home you’ve always imagined.

You can share your ideas and they’ll give you practical ways to bring them to life, keeping in mind all the technical aspects you have to remember when designing a home.

It’ll make the whole process a lot easier and quicker, so you can start building your home as soon as possible.

Get More Tips for Designing a House

Creating your dream home isn’t always easy but it’s definitely worth it. All of the toil and sweat will pay off when you’re sitting in the home that your imagination built.

If you enjoyed these tips for designing a house, we have plenty more!

Whether you’re starting from the ground up or renovating your existing property, our DIY decor is the ideal way to fill your home with beautiful furniture without the price tag.

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