Building a new home is one of the most exciting projects there are. However, it’s important to think everything through. Poor planning, when paired with too small of a budget, can lead to disastrous mistakes, and cutting corners is not an option when building a new home. Before you jump into a full-scale homebuilding process, there are a couple of things you need to be cautious about in order to save yourself from the typical home-building pitfalls. Here’s a list of the seven most common mistakes made when building a home and what you can do to successfully avoid them, saving yourself both time and money.
A poorly planned design of the home
When building your new home, one of the most important things you can do is think in advance. Not taking the time to think about your long-term goals will result in the poorly planned design of your home. Therefore, think about what your long-term goals are. Are you planning on having children or expanding your family? How long do you plan on staying there? Will it be suitable to live in once you reach old age? Although these things seem so far from the present, they ought to be considered. After all, you’re designing the home for your future self.
Constructing the home without any building know-how
Constructing your home is a personal decision, and tackling the building on your own is acceptable if you’re experienced, have the know-how and the time to do it right. However, if you’re someone who has no clue how to build a home, hiring a professional will save you time and money. Or you can let the experts tackle only certain rooms. Hire it done – opt for reliable kitchen manufacturers to design your dream kitchen and rely on an experienced plumber to install plumbing. That way, you’ll know that everything is done properly and will last you for a long time.
Placing the rooms in areas not suitable for them
Where you decide to place certain rooms is a matter of personal choice and preference. However, there are some general rules you should stick to when deciding on your home’s floor plan. You certainly don’t want your bedroom to be next to central living areas where there’s a lot of noise and traffic. Rather, place your bedroom at the far end of the house to ensure some peace and quiet. On the other hand, it would be best to place your kitchen near the dining and living areas, and close to your garage or back entrance for smooth traffic flow.
Building rooms that won’t be utilized as much
When you’re designing the house of your dreams, you and your partner might have different ideas of what it is supposed to look like. While you might want a home that is small and practical, your partner might want to have rooms for specific purposes. Before you start building, think about whether you’re really going to utilize this additional room. In case you decide to build a spare room, make sure it is a multi-purpose room. A home office that can easily transition to a guest room is certainly going to be used more often than say, a sewing room.
Poorly planned storage spaces
Storage is basically the prime real estate of the home. Although not the most exciting part of designing a home, making sure there is enough storage space is a crucial part of building a house. While you’d probably much rather spend time picking the finishes for your countertops and focusing on smaller cabinetry details, the aesthetics and finishing touches should be near the bottom of your priority list. Plenty of storage can go a long way in improving the functionality of your home and can have a huge influence on your lifestyle and organization once the construction process is complete.
Insufficient sources of natural light
In order to design a living space that is bright and airy, you need to make sure that natural light is abundant. Make sure that your contractors understand that you want to incorporate as much natural light as possible. Poorly lit interiors won’t do anything good neither for the atmosphere nor for the overall aesthetics of your home. Sometimes it doesn’t really matter how much square footage you’re working with as long as you know how to make the most of it, and proper lighting can completely transform the space, making the room feel more spacious than it really is.
Painting the walls in bold colors
Last but not least, a common mistake that many homeowners make when building their new home is related to colors. Choosing bold colors for your home might seem like a good idea now when they’re en vogue, but in a couple of years, those same trendy hues might date your interiors, making them look old and passé. Therefore, it’s best to stick with classic and timeless shades. A neutral color palette will look great in five, maybe even ten years. If not, it’s still easier to paint over a white or beige wall than the one covered in bright red.
There you have it – seven common mistakes to avoid when building your new home. Keep them in mind so you can design a space that will suit all your needs and look great, too!