Essential Questions to Ask When Designing Your Dream Home

Planning Your Lot & Home, Design Tips

We have discussed some mistakes to avoid when building your dream home, but what about when it comes to designing it? Here are a few design options you will have to think about when you are designing your dream home.

Lighting

When you’re designing your dream home, lighting plays a big part in the overall ambience. Whether your rooms are well lit, lighting can be essential to design. If you have lower ceilings, pot lights are an excellent option to avoid your room feeling cluttered by light fixtures. If you have a cathedral ceiling, a low hanging fixture is an attractive design option.

Counters

Based on your budget, many counter options may work for you. Make sure you take into consideration the upkeep counters require when making your decision.

If you have a family, quartz is an excellent option as it is stain-resistant. If you’re looking to never repurchase another countertop for your home, granite is long-lasting. Do you have a lower budget for things like countertops? Laminate is one of the most popular countertop options as it mimics marble but at a way more economical price.

Flooring

Are you and your large family moving in? Is it only yourself and your pet? What is your budget for flooring? These and more are all critical questions that come into play when choosing the perfect flooring for your home.

If you’re a fan of a clean look throughout, hardwood is an excellent choice. It’s a timeless look and often adds value to your home. If you have a family with young kids or active pets, hardwood may not be best as it dents and scratches easier than other flooring options.

Ceramic tile can be an excellent option for families with children and pets as it can withstand high impact and foot traffic. If your pets or children are messy (whose aren’t?), there’s no need to worry about tricky cleanup – ceramic flooring makes it a breeze.

Looking for a solid floor on the main floor and a more inviting flooring for bedrooms? Carpet is an obvious option, especially with little ones around. The only catch is that you may want to avoid drinks in carpeted areas as they do stain easily and require upkeep.

Are you on a budget when it comes to flooring? Laminate or vinyl are great options as they are both easy to maintain and can mimic the look of real wood or specialty tile.

Ceilings

Ceilings make a significant difference to a room, so based on the build of your home and what look you want to achieve, different ceiling styles may work.

If you’re looking for a cost-effective option, you can start simple with a California knockdown ceiling. This is seen in many homes and provides a nicer ceiling option than the outdated popcorn ceiling. If you’re eyeing a vaulted ceiling, you can look into options like adding simple pot lights to keep it clean or adding reclaimed lumber beams to add to your rustic style.

From flat to wood ceilings and regular to vaulted, you can find which option best suits your style and space – even finding the right cornice moulding to any details around ceiling light fixtures.

Cabinets

There are many options to choose from regarding cabinets – depending on what style of kitchen you are going for. Regarding outer cabinet looks, you can select from painted door to thermofoil styles and everything in between. Once you choose your colouring and finish of your cabinets, what style are you going to go with?

Open shelves are becoming more popular in the kitchen by adding pops of colour to the room, as well as display any cookbooks or any other valuable items that don’t deserve to be hidden behind a door. Another similar trend is glass inserts to display your dishware, but without having to worry about any overhead hazards for your little ones.

Lastly, choosing your hardware can personalize your kitchen. If you’re looking for a clean style, brushed nickel is a well-suited choice. Going for a more traditional kitchen? Antique English finish or Antique Copper would both help bring that theme together.

Pulling Everything Together

With a new home, there are many decisions, but designing is half the fun. Find the combinations that suit your style and budget best, all while focusing on the flow of your homes. If you are interested in all of the different home design combinations, check out our design options that may work in your new home.