If you are planning to build a new custom house, and you are looking for the best custom home design tips and ideas that’ll help you to plan and design a beautiful home in budget, then I can help you get it right. We have worked on several custom house design projects and we interact with hundreds of customers like you. We have helped them with their custom home designs and we can help you get it right as well.

What is custom home design?

A custom home is a unique house which is designed for a particular client according to their requirements, plot size, lifestyle and budget. A custom home design is different from a ready to move house because it offers plenty of control to the home owner. Designing a custom home gives you the opportunity to design the layout, number of rooms, floors, features etc as per your requirements and specifications.

The custom house plans and designs are created by a professional architect or a custom home builder as per the input, space requirements and budget of the client. Naturally, you don’t get such control when you buy a ready to move property that was designed by the builder or a previous home owner as per their needs and requirements.

Best custom home design tips worth knowing

The whole idea of designing a custom house is to design it as per your requirements, priorities and budget. But, designing and building a custom home is no easy task, because it’s a long term process that involves multiple stakeholders and contractors. You will get multiple ideas and inputs from different contractors. But, you should stay focused on your priorities and stay focused on features, amenities and areas that are important for you, and your family lifestyle.

Here’re a few of the best custom home design tips and hacks that’ll help you create beautiful custom home design plans for your new home.

Start with the basic

We have been designing custom house floor plans and elevation designs since over a decade now. I can tell you with authority that the best way to end up with a fully optimized and well designed house floor plan is to start with the basics.

This is your dream home. Hence, it must be designed as per your priorities, and space requirements. You don’t have to be an architect to draw a simple house floor plan with all the amenities and features that’s important for you and your family.

Moreover, you are not supposed to create a final house floor plan on your own, but the idea is to bring your vision on paper. Draw the layout of the plot and visualize how you want to use the space and just create multiple floor plan ideas. Try and accommodate all your requirements on the paper and see if you liked the division of space and overall floor plan idea.

Brainstorming with multiple floor plan layouts will not just bring clarity, but it’ll also help your architect understand your priorities and vision for your dream home.

It’s absolutely important to hire an architect to finally draft the building plans, elevation and structural drawings. Architects do not charge a huge service fees, especially for smaller homes and buildings. But, a little bit of home work prior to meeting and consulting an architect will make things easier for both of you.

Think long term

The main idea behind designing a custom house plan is to ensure that your dream home has all the features and amenities you need today and might need in future. So, when planning your custom home design, don’t just think about the current space requirements, but think of the future requirements as well.

For instance, if you have aging parents who may stay with you in a few years from now, then you should create a room for them. If you have kids or plan to have kids, then they require a separate bedroom room. Similarly, if you have frequent visitors, then you should think of a guest room. You may have a car or may like to buy one in the future, so your custom house design must have a provision for a car parking space. Similarly, you may need a flexible space that can be used to setup a home office or can be used as a library or as a store room.

All I am trying to say is your custom home design should include your future space requirements. It does not cost much to keep provision for amenities and features you may require in a few years from now. However, if you don’t look at your future space requirements and amenities while drawing your custom home plan, it may be difficult to accommodate those requirements at a later stage.

Even though you plan to build one floor currently, there is no reason why you would not design a ground plus one or two floor building. Planning has to be with end in mind, especially when you can build the second or third floor when needed in the future.

So when designing a custom home, you should always think long term.

Choose facing wisely

Since you are exploring custom house plan design ideas, you most likely own a plot to build your house. If you don’t already have a plot, then it’s the right time to search a suitable plot as per the house size you are planning to build.

However as every plot has some unique features and properties such as open space, park, main road, pond, greeneries etc, you should consider these features when you are designing the house floor plan. For instance, if there is an open space in the north, then it would be wise for you to keep the bedroom on the north side to enjoy the open space. Similarly, you may like to expose the living room towards the north side to get extra light and ventilation in the entire living area and hall.

While choosing the right position for doors and windows in your custom house plan design, you should consider already available features of the plot. Ideally, the doors, windows, balconies, open terrace etc should be placed in the direction that offers natural light and ventilation.

Check out functionality

Now that you have finalized the key features and amenities you want in your custom house design, the next step is to figure out the layout of the floor. However, while choosing the placement of different spaces like bedroom, kitchen, temple, study room etc you should always consider the lifestyle of your family.

For example, to avoid noise and to get more privacy, you may like to place bedrooms away from the living and drawing hall. Similarly, if you have a big family and like to gather in your drawing room, then your living and drawing space should be a little bigger.

The idea is to make the floor plan much more efficient and functional.

However, there is no one fit all rule, so choose a layout that works well for you.

Consider your priorities

The whole idea of a custom house design is to ensure you get all the features and amenities you want in your home. But, if you try to incorporate too many features and amenities, then the cost of construction can easily go up by a good percentage.

So, ideally you should list out all the features and amenities you want in your custom house design, then sort it out as per your priorities and of course the budget. For instance, it would be nice to use Italian marble on the floors, but it’ll also cost nearly double than a good quality floor tile.

Similarly, if you always wanted to have an open terrace, then you should go for it. However, if you are building the house on a small plot, and you need one extra room, then it becomes crucial to take the call. What’s more important, an open terrace space or an extra study room?

I hope you get the idea?

Check construction budget

Now you have a house floor plan design for your new custom house, it’s time to look at the financials. The simple rate of construction comes at around Rs. 1300 -1700 per square feet. But that’s not enough, especially when you are building a duplex or a triplex house.

However, you can calculate very accurate construction estimate with a bill of quantity. As you already have detailed measurements and the total build up area, you can easily calculate the approx construction cost.

The building contractor or the architect can provide the bill of quantity for your new custom home construction project. Once you have the bill of quantities, you can easily make the overall construction budget and start constructing.

And if you calculate the BOQ correctly and stick to it, it can even help reduce home construction cost to a good extent.

Stay in budget

There is always a possibility of exceeding the budget during the construction. However, you should try and stick with the budget you have already made. Crossing the budget by 5-10% is okay and natural because a custom home is built once in a lifetime. However, you should not get tempted and get carried away while sourcing materials and fittings for your new home construction. You should rather stick to the custom house design and plans. Or else, you may end up spending a lot more than you had thought of initially.

Conclusion

Building a new custom house can be overwhelming for anyone. There is so much to plan, so many things to look at, and so many decisions to be made. It really requires proper planning and knowledge. I have already shared a few of the custom house design tips that’ll help you big time. Here are the custom house design tips and ideas we have discussed today:

• You should start with the basic planning
• Always think long term space requirements
• Choose the facing for the house wisely
• Give priorities to the functionality
• Always be mindful of your priorities
• Make  detailed construction budget
• Try and stay in budget

If you stay focused and follow the above custom house design tips and ideas then you should not have any issues in designing and building a beautiful house in your budget.

What else do you think one should keep in mind while designing and building a custom house?

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