If you would like to design your own house, here are the basic steps that you can expect to go through. Click on the links to learn more about each step.
1. Find the Right Builder to Make Your Custom Home a Reality
2. Choose the Perfect Location for Your Home
3. Design Your Own House: Choose the Style, Size, and Layout that You Want
4. Set Your Budget and Stick to It
If you are looking to build a custom home in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain, or Clearview area, contact L. Patten & Sons.
Want to design your own house? Follow these steps
Here’s How to Design Your Own House
1. Find the Right Builder to Make Your Custom Home a Reality
If you have decided to design your own house, you will want to make sure that you choose the right builder to make your vision come to life. A custom home is probably one of the, if not the largest investments you will make in your lifetime, so do your homework and choose a builder with a good reputation and one that you can trust to do the job right.
Ask Friends and Family Members for Recommendations:
Ask people that you know and trust who they would recommend building your custom home. A personal reference is one of the most reliable references as you already have a relationship with the person and you can feel confident that they will recommend someone who is going to do a good job for you.
Check Out Online and Other References:
If you don't know anyone who has used a builder in the area where you want to build, you can check online references or ask the builders that you are considering for references from recent clients that you can contact.
Meet the Builder:
It is a good idea to meet with the builder that you are considering using before you make your final decision, to see if they are someone that you can work with. When you design your own house, you will be spending a lot of time with your builder, so you will want to choose one that you are comfortable working with.
Choose a builder with a good reputation
2. Choose the Perfect Location for Your Home
If you don't have a lot already, here are some things to consider as you make your choice of location.
City vs Country:
You need to think about whether you want your home to be in or close to an urban area or if you would rather be living in the country.
Amenities:
If you have children then you may want to choose a location that is close to good schools. You should also consider whether you want to be close to a hospital, shopping centres, gyms, restaurants, or parks.
Size:
Choose a lot that is the appropriate size for the house that you are building. If you don't like gardening, you may want a smaller lot. If you have pets or children, then you may want a larger space for them to play outside.
A good builder will be happy to consult with you while you search for the perfect property and help you evaluate the land suitability if you have a specific design in mind.
When you design your house, you need to decide where you want it to be built
3. Design Your Own House: Choose the Style, Size, and Layout that You Want
Style:
There are many different styles to choose from when you design your own house. The most common styles include traditional, modern, and contemporary.
Traditional:
Traditional homes usually have a formal dining and living room as well as striking features like large stone fireplaces and front porches. They take their design inspiration from historical design.
A traditional home is inspired by historical design
Modern homes have clean lines and large open floorplans. They are quite distinctive and minimalistic in their design. You will notice that there will be lots of extra space around the furniture and architecture in a modern home.
Modern homes have clean lines and lots of open spaces
Contemporary:
Contemporary homes are quite similar to modern homes in their simplicity and layout. They do tend to be more trendy and fashionable, however, taking inspiration from what is in style when they are designed.
Contemporary homes tend to be more trendy
Size:
When you design your own house, you need to decide how large or small you want it to be. The size and number of rooms you want will help you determine the size you need. For example, how many bedrooms do you want? do you want to add on a granny flat? do you want a large kitchen? etc.
Layout:
You will also need to decide on the perfect layout when you design your own home. Here are some things to think about:
Do you want to have everything all on one level or would you like to have multiple storeys?
Do you want your laundry room on the main level or would you prefer it upstairs?
Where would you like your master bedroom located?
Would you like to have decks or patios to increase your outdoor space?
How large of a garage do you want and do you want it to be attached or separate from your home?
When you design your own house, you need to decide on how many levels you want
4. Set Your Budget
You will need to hire a designer or architect to help you design your own house and complete your drawings. If you don't know an architect that you can use, ask your builder to recommend one for you.
Once your designer has finished the final drawings for your new home, then your builder will price your home as drawn. This way you will know the full cost of your build before construction begins.
A good builder will let you make changes along the way, however, remember that making changes may increase your final price.
Making changes along the way can increase your cost
5. Build Your New Home
During the building process, your builder should help you make the selections necessary for all of the internal and external home materials, colours, and design elements. A good builder will be open to your ideas, but they will also give you helpful advice so you can make the best choices.
You will have regular meetings with your builder throughout construction so you can deal with any issues that come up along the way.
The total time that it will take to complete your new home will depend on the size and complexity of your design.
Your builder should help you make the selections necessary for all of the internal and external home materials, colours, and design elements
6. Take Possession and Enjoy!
When the big day arrives and you finally take possession of your beautiful new custom home, your builder should take care of any small items that are outstanding and look after them immediately.
A trusted builder will also keep open communication with you long after you have moved into your new home.
A reliable builder will keep in touch with you after you have moved in
Looking for a Reliable Builder? Contact L. Patten & Sons
If you would like to design your own house in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain or Clearview area, contact L. Patten & Sons. At L. Patten & Sons, we bring over 60 years of custom home building experience to every project we undertake. We take pride in building custom homes that are as beautiful to look at as they are comfortable to live in.
Our goal is to help you realize your dreams. Quality craftsmanship, attention to detail, and complete customer satisfaction are what sets L. Patten and Sons apart in the custom home building community. Take a look for yourself at our gallery of some of the custom homes that we have built.
Our homeowners can rest assured that their new home will be a source of pride and satisfaction for many years to come! For the best customized home Ontario has to offer, trust L. Patten & Sons. Contact us today to get started on your dream home.
““Great process from start to finish. Very experienced and informative work force. We appreciated the attention to detail and all our requests were listened to and acted upon. An excellent quality build carried out by excellent trades. We are thrilled with our dream home. Thanks L Patten & Sons (Jerry, David, Jamie etc). Cheers. “”