From pairing countertops with cabinets to assessing the land’s zoning, your custom home build requires advanced planning and your active participation.
Designing your custom home build is exciting. Instead of adjusting to the layout of an existing home, you’re tailoring the layout and features of your own custom home to you and your family’s needs. However, nothing is pre-planned and your design decisions will be made entirely from scratch. Designing your own custom home entails a myriad of steps and decisions to be made along the way, and educating yourself, assembling the right team and consulting with the pros early in the process are key to a smooth and swift custom design process.
Looking for a team to design and build your dream home? Click here to learn how Regal Construction & Remodeling can help.
Now, let’s get to work.
Know Your Budget
Knowing your budget is essential to kickstarting the project. How much can you realistically spend? Your budget impacts the decisions you’ll make throughout designing your custom home build.
When setting your budget, basic fees to consider include the land, local fees and taxes, construction fees, design and engineering fees and the cost of decorating and furnishing your home. It is also important to set a portion of your budget aside in the event of unexpected costs. That way you will be prepared for any surprises that may arise during the construction process.
Know Your Timeframe
Perhaps there’s a baby on the way. Maybe your lease is ending, or your current home is sold. Set the time frame of your custom home build by prioritizing the essential dates in which your custom home build needs to be completed. Keep in mind the seasons in your area. Rain or snow won’t bring major hitches, but can certainly impact your timeframe. When setting your timeframe, seasonal weather should always be taken into consideration.
Know Your Land: Talk to a Professional
The land for your custom home defines the structural and aesthetic components of your design. To ensure your design goals are compatible with the land you’re interested in, consider consulting an architect or contractor.
Having a professional review the property allows you to confirm the structural and aesthetic options at your disposal. They’ll evaluate variables such as zoning, storm easements, topography, wetlands, soil quality, septic connections and energy code.
Zoning, for example, can affect your home’s required distance from the street, your home’s height, and whether you can incorporate an in-law suite in your custom home design.
Establishing what you can and can’t do with the property spares you from hitches later on – like realizing the land you’ve purchased can’t accommodate a prominent design feature in your vision. We are full-service custom home builders with ample experience in zoning laws, easements and restrictions — check out our Design & Build page to see if we’re the right fit for you.
Know Your Design: Hire an Architect
When developing the ideas for your custom home build, review your vision with an architect. Architects are professionally trained to decipher what’s possible given your budget, land and timeframe. They can weave your ideas into a functional plan for your custom home. For the following design components, consider consulting with an architect to ensure what can and can’t be accomplished.
- Size – Determine the size of your custom home build. The height and/or square footage depends on a variety of factors, such as limitations from the land’s zoning, neighborhood ordinances, or the size and layout of the property.
- Layout – Design the layout of your home. Once you’ve established the rooms and size of your custom home build, arrange how everything flows together. Consider how your layout distributes natural lighting. Position your kitchen to the east, for example, to splash your countertops with golden morning sun and brighten your kitchen.
- Function – Consider the function of your design. Minimize noise near the sleeping and office areas by providing ample space between these rooms and the communal and entertaining spaces. Optimize the most stunning features of your property’s topography. If your land features a stream that cuts through, for example, consider arranging the bedrooms nearby to capture the faint audible sounds of trickling water as you fall asleep.
To cultivate your imagination, refer to examples like the ones on our Project page. You can also draw from Pinterest, Houseplans.com, Dream Home Source and Houzz, to name just a few.
Know Your Style: Match the Architect to Your Flair
To best capture the style of your custom home, hire a team who specializes in that style. This is important. Knowing your theme and/or architectural style early in the process allows you to find the perfect match between your vision and the architect.
You’ll want to familiarize yourself with the elements of the style you’re drawn to. Experiment with varying accents, materials and colour palettes. Mix and match samples of cabinets, floorings, countertops and finishings to craft the perfect kitchen and bathroom design.
Do you envision tall, expansive ceilings? How many flights of stairs, if any? Would you like ample wall space to display a collage of abstract art? Or perhaps room to install a bold, silvery print of wallpaper?
How many hallways do you want? Will your roof be flat, hipped, dutch, asymmetric gable or multiple gables? What about light fixtures – will you use ceiling-mounts, pendants, recessed fixtures or chandeliers?
Don’t forget about natural lighting. Skylights, bay windows and wide window sills allow for plenty of natural light to illuminate your space.
At Regal Construction & Remodeling, our team of design and construction experts will work with you to understand your vision, personal preferences and the various factors that go into building your custom home
Assemble Your Design-Build Team
Assemble your team early on in the design process. They will help draw up the plans, direct your vision and transform your ideas into an actual custom home. Your team will guide you in determining what is and isn’t possible with your land, budget, and timeframe.
Hire a certified, bonded general contractor. Your contractor will be responsible for bringing your design to life through the actual construction process; they’re at the site while you’re not, leading the build. They also obtain building permits, coordinate necessary inspections and handle all purchasing of materials. Make sure this is someone you can trust, and with whom you communicate well.
Find a general contractor through research and referrals. Ask friends and family for recommendations or go online to find a local, reputable design-build contractor. Regal Construction and Remodeling has over a decade of industry experience and has established a reputation for building some of the finest homes in Los Angeles. Check out some of their reviews on Yelp.
The bigger the dream,
The More Important The Team!
With Regal Construction & Remodeling, it only takes a few minutes to start building your dream home! Give us a call today!
Design Your Custom Home with Regal Construction & Remodeling
Designing your custom home is an exciting process, but it’s also a big undertaking that requires numerous steps and decisions to be made along the way.
Don’t be intimidated! With research and the right team to guide you throughout the process, designing your custom home build — as well as resulting in your own beautiful dream home — is a rewarding process you can enjoy.
For info on how Regal Construction & Remodeling can help with your custom home, contact us at (818) 214-7223 or email us at info@regalrenovation.com. You can also fill out our form here for a free consultation.
Share:
Related Posts
Plan Your Home Remodeling to Get the Most out of Your Budget
Home renovation is probably the biggest investment you’ll make in your quality of life, so it’s important to get the most out of it. Our
Home Addition Ideas for Home Expansion
Expertly built room additions that fit seamlessly with your home can make your house look even better. Our team of design and remodeling experts can
Bathroom Remodeling Made Easy
Do you ever return to the table in a restaurant and fight the urge to comment on how swanky the bathrooms are? That’s because when
