What Design Decisions Do I Make Before Construction Begins On My Custom Home?
March 23, 2022
You have decided to build a new home. Congratulations!
Next, you have scheduled an initial meeting with your builder to start the building process, and it’s time for you to analyze and assess the fixtures and features you and your family want and need to make your home functional and fun!
Of course, one of the reasons you have decided to build a custom home is the ability to personalize details big and small that reflect your family’s lifestyle, needs and preferences. With the seemingly endless array of features and finishes, you may feel overloaded with decisions. If only you had more time to process these decisions.
Here’s the thing: while your builder will insist that you lock-down most decisions before breaking ground, and while that’s certainly helpful, not every decision needs to be made upfront.
Exploring the hundreds of finish selections is one of the more fun and fulfilling parts of home-building, and it’s also time-consuming. For a custom home, there are hundreds of selections to make. But breathe a sigh of relief, my friend: you have time to thoughtfully explore the options in front of you before locking in your final answer.
At Paul Gray Homes, we get asked all kinds of questions, and one we get asked often is: “What design decisions do I need to make before building a custom home?”
Dive in as we explore the custom home-building process and the decisions you, the home buyer, will face along the way.
What Decisions Come First?
What’s your big idea?
Your builder will ask questions about your overall vision for your home. During this brainstorming phase, your builder will discuss with you architectural styles and what elements fit the neighborhood. This is also when you will build a preliminary idea of the floor plan that will fit you and your family’s lifestyle and needs.
If you have notable must-haves lined up on your wishlist, you are encouraged to share those at this time. It’s not that you won’t have another chance to share ideas and make selections. But if you have already identified elements that you absolutely cannot live without, sharing with your builder early gives you the best chance of guaranteeing them in the final plans.
What decisions follow your initial meeting?
For your home to be approved, you will have to identify the materials and color palette used on the home’s exterior. This is called the architectural design phase, and selections here are needed early to keep the construction process moving along.
During this phase, you will make material selections for your home’s exterior — stone, brick or stucco. You will also be asked to pick roofing material, gutters, exterior doors and windows, as well as the color palette.
And now, the fun part...
Now, the part of the process that is the most exciting, but also the most laborious and sometimes overwhelming — combing through the hundreds of finish selections.
Your custom builder will help guide your decision-making to make the process organized and smooth and will communicate with you what selections need to be made and when.
A comprehensive selections guide will be provided by your builder to help you choose with confidence. Your builder may also provide you with a list of vendors and showrooms as an added resource to help you take on the task of making the finish selections for your home.
Remember, everything in your custom home is your decision to make. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, lean on your builder. With their experience, they can help take your relatively vague idea and shape it into a viable, concrete option.
Ready To Take On Something Bigger?
Building a custom home is a complex project that requires thoughtful planning before and during. Through this process, you as the home buyer will have many design decisions that can easily make your head spin. But a trusted, experienced home builder can help break down the decision-making process into manageable, easy steps so you can create the home you want without breaking a sweat.
Paul Gray Homes provides invaluable guidance through the home- building process and works with you to create something impressive. Our experienced team can help you learn the home-building process and plan for the road ahead.
Have questions about building a home in Wichita? Call Paul Gray Homes at 316-978-9047!
