Building Your Dream Home

How does the new build process work and when do I need an interior designer?

Most home owners start their new build by selecting a general contractor to oversee the entire process. An architect is usually part of the mix as well. But having an interior designer on your team from the pre-construction phase can be a smart way to achieve a cohesively designed home.

There are a million little decisions to be made when designing and building. The architect will look at the building as a whole and its structural integrity. The contractor will drive the project and make sure everything happens on time and on budget. An interior designer is trained to make sure the floor plan is functional for your individual needs, that all of the materials work together, and to think ahead to how the end product incorporates furniture and décor.

You can certainly choose materials yourself, or select your own standard floor plan. Some designers offer hourly packages for those who only need help in certain areas. But if you don’t have the time or confidence to choose every piece of tile, cabinetry, paint colors, fixtures and lighting yourself, or if you want a custom floor plan - then it’s a good idea to talk to an interior designer early on.

What are the main challenges in building a home? How do I avoid change orders?

Unless you have unlimited time, money and space – which not many of us do - building a home is always a series of trade-offs. It’s helpful to think about your top priorities before you start the design process, and decide on your absolute must-haves vs nice-to-haves. Often, practicalities such as site orientation and building codes will mean you have to choose which elements are the most important to you.

If you have a strong team of contractor, designer and architect working on your project, ideally pre-construction planning will resolve any issues ahead of time. But it’ll be a lot less stressful if you accept that some changes are unavoidable during the new build process. You can still achieve your dream home with a little flexibility.

Where is it ok to cut corners during the process?

Wanting a high-quality, luxurious home doesn’t mean you have to spend big bucks on every single thing. Think about the areas that get less use – such as guest rooms – and choose materials accordingly. Perhaps you go with marble in the master bathroom, but with ceramic tile in guest baths. There are lots of great porcelain and ceramic lookalikes for natural stones such as slate, limestone and travertine.

I recently worked on a multi-million dollar residential project that used Home Depot cabinets in the garage. Those beautiful rift white oak custom cabinets are perfect in a showpiece kitchen – in the garage, not so much. Likewise, think about where you spend the most time and what makes you happy in your home, and put your budget towards those areas.

One area where you really don’t want to cut corners is installation. A simpler material well installed will always look better than an expensive material that was badly installed. It’s so important to work with builders who use quality subcontractors, especially for things like cabinetry and tile.

How do I know what is a trend and what will stand the test of time?

This is a great question to ask yourself when building your dream home. Some trends are set to stay the course since they offer both beauty and practicality – use of organic materials like wood will never go out of style. But some trends will look dated in ten years’ time and those are the items you want to be able to easily switch out.

Think about what design elements are critical to the style of your home. If you’re building a log home, a natural stone fireplace will probably never look out of place. But if your dream home is a mountain modern style, consider replacing that heavy stone with a slimmer concrete or sheet metal fireplace surround.

There are certainly some trends that many design experts agree are on their way out. The classic farmhouse style with lots of clutter, distressed furniture, shiplap and faux vintage pieces is starting to look dated as people move towards a modern farmhouse look instead. If you really love a big barn door, by all means put it in your new build – but make sure the doorway can be retrofitted for swing or pocket doors later on.

We all love neutrals, but recently design is trending towards bold yet serene colors like sage greens, dusty blues and earth tones. If you’re not ready for blue or green kitchen cabinets just yet, you can still play it safe by using a natural wood tone or neutral for your cabinets, and adding bolder colors in areas where they can be easily changed – such as paint and backsplashes.

This article was originally published in the 2022 Fall Issue of 406 Woman Magazine.