Young Family Home: Building Essentials
Constructing an ideal home for your young and growing family is an amazing dream, but it’s also a very challenging and demanding one, as it’s not always easy to turn a vision into reality. You will inevitably run into obstacles and problems during the process, but it will be a unique journey that will give you the opportunity to create a sweet sanctuary for your family to grow into and make wonderful memories.
For any building project, it’s important to do thorough research and construct a good plan in order to have the desired end result. Here are six considerations you should bear in mind in your custom-building process.
Layout
The easier option is to just go with a standard layout, but if you want to have your dream family home, you need to go beyond the existing architecture. Go through several different floor plans and think about the most important feature for your family: storage, entertaining area, a large kitchen, a big family room or an open concept that brings those elements together.
Most young couples prefer an open floor plan, as it gives them great visibility of their children. In addition, most of them make a beginner’s mistake and stick with three bedrooms. But if you’re planning to have more kids in the future, that will prove to be insufficient. It would be smart to talk to your builder in this planning stage and add a fourth, or even fifth bedroom.
For families with small children, having all bedrooms on one floor is very convenient, as they often wake up during the night and ask for your attendance, so to make this easy, plan to have the bedrooms close to each other.
Possibility of extensions
It’s always great having options to choose from and leaving room for future extensions is something you’ll be immensely grateful for down the road if you decide to add an entertaining area, a deck or a patio, or even a game room/home cinema.
These additions are very popular as they offer the whole family a great space where they can spend time together having fun, getting messy and not worrying about cleaning it up on the spot.
Structurally and financially, this is a complex project, so it’s best you work closely with an experienced team of residential home builders who will lead you through the entire process, from the initial concept to completion.
Location
Real estate agents always emphasise the importance of a good location. Think about what location would be the best for your family and what lifestyle you’re going for. Maybe your dream of having a beach home with an ocean view is not possible right now, so you can opt for a more realistic option, such as a suburb area with family homes and good schools.
Safety
For all parents, the safety of their family comes first, so be sure you discuss all the safety issues with your builder. Firstly, research the area and neighbourhood to see what reputation it has and if streets and sidewalks are safe enough for your kids.
Design flexibility
Many young families consider the option of bringing their parents to live with them, so having certain flexibility is a great advantage. Think about incorporating in-law premises into the home design that can be occupied immediately or just for visits. It’ll be a great bonus in future if you decide to sell your home.
Value
Plan your budget well so you don’t lose control, but still have the possibility to invest into the space and value-adding features such as a contemporary kitchen and modern bathrooms. Even if this means adding a bit more to your mortgage payments, it will be worth it when you get the home of your dreams.
Building your new home is certainly a daunting challenge but well worth it in the end, when you get a dream home where your family can grow and be happy.