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Building a Custom Home: Elements To Consider That Will Surprise You

Posted March 29, 2022

Have you ever wondered what goes into building a custom home? There is more than you might think. From architects, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and civil authorities — there are many moving parts. At Amsted, we take care of all of this so you can relax and see your vision come to life. 

Interested in learning about some key considerations before building your custom home? Below is a discussion of some important elements to consider during the planning stage of this process:

Benefits of a Custom Home:

Before discussing the tips you need to know before creating your custom home, we thought it would be worthwhile to mention the benefits of a custom home. After all, the first step when embarking on the custom home journey is figuring out why you should choose to build a custom home rather than renovating your existing place. Below are five key reasons why you should consider investing in a custom home:

  • You have more control over the location of your home
  • You’ll get to determine the size and layout of your home
  • Your home will fit your family’s lifestyle perfectly 
  • You get to choose the materials for your home 
  • You will feel proud knowing you were involved in your home’s creation

Look to the Future

No matter what stage of life you are in, it is always recommended to think about your future. Perhaps you and your partner just tied the knot, and are excited to start thinking about the possibility of building a custom home. While right now, you may not be thinking about kids, storage or safety. However, these are all things which could become important down the road. If you believe that one day you’d like to have children, then you certainly want your custom home to be child-friendly. In this instance having a glass fireplace in the center of your living room may not be ideal. Or maybe it would be best to opt for wood stair railing rather than glass ones with sharp edges when your kiddos are running about? 

Another element to consider is the increasingly popular trend of aging in place. You may be wondering, what does this even mean? Aging in place essentially reflects many seniors who are deciding to live in their home for the rest of their lives, rather than moving into a retirement or senior residence. While it may be challenging trying to imagine your life as a senior, after all who knows what the future holds for you as you age. Despite this, it is best to prepare for various scenarios. For example, if in the future you developed a chronic illness which limited your mobility, then it would be best to have larger doorways to allow for walker or wheelchair access. Plus, having four flights of stairs to get to your bedroom would not be ideal in your golden years. These are all important considerations at the early stages of building your custom home.

Don’t Forget Storage

You may not anticipate that you’ll require a lot of storage in your custom home. But your future self will thank you time and time again for this important element. There is nothing worse than living in your new home for a few months and regretting not including more storage solutions. Now you have boxes of cereals and condiments strewn across your kitchen counters. Your kid’s hockey equipment is laying against the wall in your mudroom, making the room smell quite funky. This is not the way you envisioned your new life. 

To overcome this potential issue, always err on the side of caution. It is almost impossible to have too many storage solutions. As a general tip, the three main areas of your home which usually require plenty of storage are your kitchen, bedroom and mudroom. From installing a pantry to a mudroom bench, there are plenty of ways you can sneak storage options into every room.

When in Doubt, Choose Neutrals

One fun element when creating your custom home is considering what kind of decor style you’d like. No matter if you are a minimalist, art deco enthusiast or shabby chic fan, you’ll have to make many decisions for the colours of your home. From your walls to kitchen cabinets, there will be many instances where you are flipping through countless paint swatches trying to figure out what paint colours best match your aesthetic. 

A piece of advice from homeowners who have gone through the custom home journey is that neutral paint colours are the way to go. You are less likely to grow tired of a white or beige wall in comparison to a teal green or bright yellow wall. Save yourself the time and hassle of having to repaint your walls or cabinets after a few years.

Connecting Electricity and Utilities

Connecting what? Chances are you may not have realized that the land you are building on probably doesn’t have electricity. If you are building on a totally empty, and more remote, piece of land then there is a likelihood that the electrical company has had no prior need to provide service to that area. Although you don’t want to have to live like Little House on the Prairie, so having electricity and utilities is a must. Unfortunately, apart from the cost of having electric service run to your custom home, there are some additional considerations people face. 

Firstly, it is important to figure out the distance from the nearest power pole to your custom home’s location. If it’s possible, the closer your home is to the nearest power pole the better. Since less wiring and trenching will be required to give your home power.

Secondly, you need to evaluate whether there are trees around your home that may get in the way of the electrical lines. If the location of your custom home is more rural, then this could present a greater challenge to getting electricity to your home. This may be required to cut some trees down, which adds to your budget.

Finally, once you get power to your home, you want to ensure that you have enough wiring to power all of your appliances. So, we always recommend confirming with your electrician and builder that there is enough wiring to keep all your appliances going. Who wants to rewire their new home, anyways?

Custom Homes are Amsted’s Specialty

At Amsted, custom homes are our speciality. We are passionate about helping clients turn their dreams into a reality. We take care of all the moving parts so you can relax and see your vision come to life. Once your custom home is on its way, we provide you with a dedicated Project Manager. Together with our team of carpentry professionals, we work together to create a custom home perfect for you and your family.  Book an in-home consultation to discuss your custom home today!