There are many factors to consider when building a custom home. Your needs and your lifestyle should help prioritize and influence your decision to select a floor plan that works for your family. As a premier southeastern Wisconsin custom home builder, Colby Construction specializes in new construction and design of custom lake homes. We collaborate with your architect and designer to bring you the custom home of your dreams.
When creating your custom lake home floor plan, there are questions you need to consider.
Why are you building? – This is an important question to ask yourself. Maybe you lack space and need more room, or your family could be growing or downsizing. Perhaps you’ve always dreamt of lake living, and the time is finally here. Knowing why you are building can help put your needs into perspective.
What are your needs and lifestyle? This can include square footage, storage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, a mudroom, garage, dedicated workspace, or anything that are nonnegotiable requirements needed for you to live comfortably in your new home.
When you build a new home, you want it to reflect how you live. You want your new home to make it easy, comfortable, and convenient to do the things you enjoy. That can impact the style and size of the kitchen you want. The kind of cooking you do may influence the type of appliances you want. How you use your home to entertain can influence how space is set up in your home.
For instance, if you enjoy casual entertaining with people hanging out in the kitchen and dining areas, you may want to choose a very open floor plan. If you prefer quiet dinner parties with intimate conversations, you might choose a plan that has a separate, enclosed dining room. The point is you should create a plan that fits your lifestyle.
What are your wants? – Your wants can include paint color, flooring, double ovens, walk-in closets, a four-car garage, a fireplace in your living room or bedroom, or a front porch or rear deck. These features in a floor plan may not be necessary but could enhance your quality of life. Some of your wants may even be needs depending on your lifestyle.
What is your current and future lifestyle? We can help with an array of different floorplans. Consider how you plan on using the space and how you would like to experience the space. The last thing you want to do is to build a new home that does not fit your lifestyle. At the same time, you should keep your long-term needs in mind. Maybe you’re planning a family in a couple of years or aging and will need single-story living in the future. Select something that you can not only live in comfortably but also grow into so that you don’t run out of room and space. How will your needs change? Your need for space isn’t the only thing that can change. Depending on how long you plan to stay in your home, your personal needs may change.
How much space do you need? How big does your home need to be? Not everyone needs a huge home. But don’t underestimate your need for space. It’s a common experience for people to move into a new home and think they’ll never run out of space—only to discover just a few years later that they’re feeling crowded. That can happen if your family grows (you may have additional children, or your existing children have gotten bigger and want their own space). You may find yourself caring for an older parent. It’s much easier and less expensive to expand into existing space than it is to add space later.
What is your true budget? If you don’t consider the cost of your new home, you can easily find yourself in trouble. By the way, it’s not just spending too much money that causes problems. If you spend less than you should to get what you really want, you’ll find yourself dissatisfied fairly quickly. Consider what features are an absolute must and fit those into your budget.
Did you find the perfect location? Where you choose to live really does matter, particularly if you are choosing a lake property. Even the “perfect” floor plan won’t make you feel at home if you’re not in the right location. Are you looking for a place that’s more remote and allows you to “get away from it all”? Will you have easy access to the things you want and need on a regular basis? And don’t forget about having access to the utilities you need to live comfortably. Colby Construction can help you find the perfect lot to build your luxury lake home on and can tear down and help with the existing property.
There is a lot you can do to create your own custom home and custom floor plan. But before you get into finishes and color schemes and décor, make sure you have a design that fits your lifestyle and will meet your needs for years to come.
