Choosing a House Design

Building your own home is both an incredibly exciting and terrifying experience. When it comes to design and fittings, many of the choices are up to you. Choosing your house design will determine how you and your family live in the house for the rest of the years that you own it. This may be your forever home, so getting it right is incredibly important. At Sloane Homes, we have many years of experience in helping you design the best home to suit your needs. We take into consideration the aspect of the block, where it is situated and the family’s needs, amongst many other factors. To help you, we have compiled a list of the key items to keep in mind when choosing a house design.

Start With A Spread Sheet

There is nothing worse than looking at a task, such as building a house and having no idea where to start. If you have built a home before, you may have a pretty good idea of where you should begin. If this is your first time, it may be quite daunting. Beginning with a spreadsheet of what you need in a house is an excellent place to start. Include everything from how many bathrooms you want, to the sizes of your bedrooms. Add pantries, walk-in robes and any extra rooms that may sound useful. From there, you have a solid base to start your design and can ensure you don’t forget anything.

Keep Future Proofing In Mind

The world is changing at an almost mind-blowing pace. In the space of a decade, technology has advanced so far that ten years ago seems as though a different time. For instance, ten years ago, in 2010, there wasn’t smart lighting or wifi-enabled appliances such as air conditioning. Our homes need to reflect this. Prospective buyers often overlook old houses as bringing them into the modern era is too much effort and cost. Be sure to create spaces that can be upgraded with little effort when the time comes.

In the same vein, if you are designing a house just for you and your cat, don’t plan to build a cosy little two-bedroom cottage just because that is all you need right now—plan for the future, and how your life may change. You may end up with a partner and children. Or you may want to sell and a two-bedroom home isn’t going to appeal to buyers if you’re in a family area where the standard home has 4 bedrooms. Design carefully so that even if you don’t build all the extra bits now, there is still space to do so when the time comes.

Study Your Block

Your plot of land where your house is going to be built will play a massive role in how it looks and functions. Paying attention to where the sun rises and sets and designing your floorplan around this can help with the energy efficiency of the home. For example, positioning living areas on the Eastern side of the house will ensure living areas are protected from the hot westerly sun in summer, but the winter sun will warm the space. Designing with this in mind helps to keep your home bright and cheerful, and cut down on the heating and cooling bills. 

Some blocks have beautiful natural features such as trees or hills that can be incorporated into your design. Spend some time sitting in your plot and imagining your home. Decide which (if any) natural features you want to keep, and picture how they would integrate into your design. If your plot has no natural features, take note of its neighbouring buildings and how you wish your home to interact with them. You wouldn’t want your bedroom window to face right into your neighbour’s bedroom, or their bathroom for that matter.

Map It Out

Creating a draft plan of your house is a great way to get your builder or architect on the same page as you. Using an app, or even a hand drawing it, you can create a mock-up if your land, and your desired layout. This can be done several times until you feel that you have it right. From there, you can take your draft plan to your architect or builder and have them draw it up professionally. Sloane Homes have been building custom and project homes in the Newcastle and Hunter Valley area for many years. We have a good grasp of which design works best and are always a good sounding board when you are designing your own home.

Choose The Right Home Builder

Building a home can be either a nightmare or a dream. Your chosen home builder will play a big part in this. One of the essential elements of how to choose a house design is picking the right person to bring that design to life. Homebuilders can be a dime a dozen in some places, but highly skilled builders are worth their weight in gold. A trusted home builder will not only create the roof over your head but will also be responsible for a good chunk of your money to do so. Choose one such as Sloane Homes that has a good history of building homes in your area, as well as good reviews. Take the time out to research them and their work both on the internet and in person if you can.

It’s Not Out Of Reach

Feeling overwhelmed when you begin to design and plan your home is normal. With a trusted builder such as Sloane Homes by your side, you have nothing to worry about, however. We have many years of experience in building homes in the Newcastle and Hunter Valley area and guarantee that we can help with yours. Contact us today to find out how you can begin your journey to your dream home.