Purchasing a home is one of the most exciting events of a person’s life, and can be even more thrilling when the home you’re purchasing has been custom-designed by you. If you’re thinking about planning and designing your own home to create the house of your dreams, here are some tips to incorporate to help you along the way.
Get Inspired
While you may have an idea of what you want your dream home to include—like a gorgeous lanai overlooking the coastline—you might not have all of the details of your vision worked out. Will you need extra rooms to accommodate a visiting family? Where is the best place for the laundry room? Is there a way to design your dream home to be more energy efficient? To help you get inspired, look through design magazines, talk to friends and family, and even tour some open houses to help get the wheels of creativity turning.
Plan Ahead
Building a home is often a lengthy process, especially when it’s being custom built with all of your specifications in mind. To keep things flowing smoothly along the way, it’s important that you make a plan for your home and the home design process well in advance. Your plan should include a rough schedule for design decision finalization, materials sourcing, and all stages of production, including construction. Work with your contractors and subcontractors to make sure that everyone is on the same page and that all the deadlines you’ve set can be met. By working out as many details as you can before you start laying the ground work, building will be faster, less complicated, and less of a headache for everyone involved.
Work with a Building Professional
While you might have a great vision of what you want, working with a design professional service when planning your dream home is highly advised. There’s been a push recently for do-it-yourself design, with a suite of home design software catching homeowners’ eyes, but even the best software is no match for an experienced Hawai`i team. A design professional has the creativity to make your dream a reality and will draw upon years of experience designing and constructing homes in Hawai`i. The connections to other professionals, from construction crews to realtors and architects, will be invaluable down the line. A design professional will guide you to a dream home that incorporates features you have your heart set on into a budget you can afford.
Design Considerations
If you’re building your own home, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t strive to make it the latest and greatest in technology and green living. Things like appliances and solar panels, for example, can save you thousands of dollars each year on your water and electric bills, and are better for the earth, too. You can also use eco-friendly building materials, and you may even be able to work with your design professionals to position the home to regulate its temperature naturally by taking advantage of cross breezes, natural light and more in your micro-climate. Hawai`i has no natural gas, electric rates are much higher than on the mainland, and fresh water is pumped to the surface using electricity. Go solar and save!
Splurge Smartly
If you’re designing your own home, chances are there are going to be a few splurges along the way for items that you’ve always dreamt of. While there’s nothing wrong with a splurge here and there, it’s important to splurge smartly. Solar paneling, for example, is more expensive than traditional roofing options, but it’s a great splurge that will save you money in the future. Another smart splurge is huge doors and windows that open wide to let in the cool breezes coming down the hills in the morning and up from the water in the evening. Ask your designer whether that dreamy feature you’ve always wanted will work with your design—they’ll be able to help you strike a balance between living your dreams and staying within your budget.
Have Fun!
Designing your dream home should be an experience that’s thrilling and gratifying. If you’re stressing out along the way, lighten your load by working with a professional and refocus your energies on more enjoyable aspects of the design process. Teaming up with Greg Putman Construction will allow you to combine your strengths and vision with his years of experience and chilled out personality to guide you to the Hawaiian home of your dreams.
