If you are custom building a home with us, you want it to be custom, exactly made for you. It can be challenging to think through every little space and where it should be. Gerard Construction has ideas to guide you and tips to choose the right floor plan for your custom home.
Thinking About Space
Gerard Construction encourages each of our homeowners to think through the space when considering a floor plan. Imagine every aspect of your day to day, from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep. Walk through an imaginary day, considering getting ready, doing chores, making meals, and relaxing with all members of your household. By taking the time to think through how the home can serve you and your day, you will make a better choice about a floor plan that works for you.
When to Plan for
There are multiple stages you need to think about when choosing the right floor plan for your home. You should be considering your immediate needs, but keep in mind your needs in the next 2-5 years and your needs in the next decade or so. Unless you plan on building many homes with us, which we would love to do, you want to plan for your own future. Are you planning on kids in the near future or are you approaching a need for an empty nest? Are you in between generations where college age kids are still coming home regularly and your elderly parents may need a landing spot of their own? Do you want kids, but maybe down the line and you aren’t really sure how many? Is your job one where you may be traveling a great deal and you really need a sanctuary of a home in between flights? By thinking through these scenarios, you can make a decision about a floorplan that won’t frustrate you in the future.
Creating Function
On that note, you want the space to be functional now and later, too. If you are going to have kids in the near future, do you want a nursery near the master bedroom with plans to move a kid to a different part of the house as they get older? Do you want a playroom for your children? With elderly parents, do you need a secondary bedroom downstairs? Consider minute aspects of functionality, like how will you enter the home, where will groceries and other goods be stored, where is the best space for your laundry facilities, the list could go on and on. Some of these choices may be deal breakers for you.
Extra Storage
Americans do have a lot of stuff, but we make use of a lot of that stuff too. While a move to a new home probably warrants a decent purge of broken, outdated, or unnecessary items, you will still have plenty of your belongings you are bringing to your new space. Consider ahead of time where you want these things stored, with most used items being the most accessible. By thinking through every room of your home and the best place to store the everyday needs, you will make your home more organized, more calm, and even easier to clean. It helps to be thoughtful about long term storage as well, from under stair closets, extra bedroom storage, garage space, and attic accessibility.
Multi-Use
If you are beginning a new stage of life in a new home, we would guess the plan would be to stay for a while. What spaces could you look at as multi-use for multiple stages in your life? Could a nursery today be a game room tomorrow? Could a playroom for kids turn into a study for working then transitioning to an extra bedroom for out of town guests? How else can you use a single room for multiple needs in this current stage? By adding a sleeper sofa or daybed to a study or game room, you can house guests for a short time. Murphy beds can add extra storage and a place to sleep without taking up any extra room. A formal dining room could also be an entertaining space with the right decor and furniture. The possibilities are endless if you think through different ideas.
Take time today to make an exhaustive list of what you need and imagine your day in your new home with Gerard Construction. When you are ready for the next step, to put pen to paper and map out that plan, we will be here to guide you in every detail. We are ready to make your dream home a reality, contact us today.