5 Things I Wish I Included in my Custom Home Design and Floor Plan (2022)
A custom-built home is a great way to ensure that your new home is top-of-the-line and built with you and your family’s needs in mind. Custom-built homes offer you the opportunity to choose materials, design elements, floor layout, and the aesthetic of your home.
It’s a great idea to hire a professional to assist you with this process because they will have many options that you might not think to consider. [The experienced designers at Creative Home Designers will be able to help you create your dream home!]
Since you are spending a lot of time, energy, and money on your custom build, everything must be done and designed correctly the first time. This will save you from future headaches and costs.
If I could go back in time, here are 5 things that I would include in my custom home design.
TWO SEPERATE MASTER CLOSETS
Fighting with my partner over closet space has been a long-standing issue. I thought when we upgraded our master bedroom suite to include a master closet that we would be free from this power struggle but I am still finding myself encroaching on my partner’s side of the closet. If I were to redesign our current home, I’d be sure to include two master closets. This simple upgrade would help me stay organized and improve my morning routine and daily flow. And it will improve my relationship with my significant other!
I still love that our master closet walks through to the laundry room. That’s one simple design element that I would highly suggest! Laundry day is a cinch, I’m able to toss my dirty laundry in the washing machine and when I’m done drying and folding, I can quickly hang and store my clothing.
SEPARATE LAUNDRY ROOM & MUDROOM
Speaking of laundry and utility rooms, another thing that I would be sure to consider in a future remodel is to make the laundry room and mudroom two different zones. When we built, I thought building a laundry room that doubles as a mudroom would be a wonderful space saver. And it is, but our laundry room and mudroom combo is an eyesore and I wish that I’d designated separate spaces for each of these functions.
Having a laundry room with pocket doors and lots of counter space, cabinet space, and hanging space would be the ideal solution. Having a designated place in our floorplan for the mudroom would make life easier, as it would consolidate foot traffic mess into one area in my home.
I would use easy-clean mats or rugs in this space and incorporate built-in a built-in footlocker and mud bench. The laundry room would still be within arm's reach, so my partner could disrobe, deposit his laundry into the bin, and jump straight into the master shower after a long day at work or the gym.
SEPARATE SHOWER AND TUB
Another upgrade that I’d choose to incorporate in a future remodel would be to include a walk-in shower and a standalone tub. A standalone tub for soaking makes a show-stopping centerpiece for a master bathroom. Making it the first thing that a visitor would see on a tour of my master bedroom suite would be a real dream!
These tubs can be customized or sourced to compliment the overall aesthetic of your home’s design and can go a long way to elevate your master bathroom. A walk-in shower would still be important to me in my master bedroom suite because sometimes you just need a quick shower! I would, however, opt for a different material for the shower walls instead of hard-to-clean glass, such as tile or molded stone.
SLOPED OR CUSTOM CEILINGS
We have wonderful barrel ceilings in our entryway. Our living room and dining room have gorgeous vaulted ceilings. If there is one thing that I would change, I would include sloped or custom ceilings in most of the rooms in our home.
Bedrooms with standard 9” ceilings tend to look squat or small, even in rooms with larger square footage. Choosing sloped ceilings that follow the roofline would create infinitely more interesting spaces that appear roomier and less stuffy.
Our Jamestown floor plan includes a loft above the 2-Car Garage.
We can customize most floor plans to include this feature.
BONUS AREA ABOVE THE GARAGE
Our garage is large enough to include a loft or bonus area above the parking zone. I often stare up there and think, if only there were a loft space up there, I’d have a great place to store my holiday decorations. Using every square foot of space is important when you have many things to store. Our holiday décor and camping gear remains lumped in the corner of our two-car garage.
If I could change one thing about our garage, I’d be sure to incorporate a bonus loft. This is one of those design elements that can be incorporated into the design of your home and built out later when there is more time or a looser budget.
READY TO START PLANNING AND DESIGNING YOUR CUSTOM HOME?
The professionals at Creative Home Designers are ready to help you bring your dream home to life. We can customize a floor plan and home design to meet your unique needs. We help you by maximizing the efficiency, flow, and design of your home within your lot size—and we’ll make it look great too.
Call us today for a consultation. We’ll begin by discussing your vision for your custom home and then we’ll get to work creating a design and plan just for you. We can even offer a 3D rendering of your home design to help you envision your future home. Then, due to our extensive Oklahoma network, we can connect you with trusted builders and providers who will see you through to the finish line.