If you're building a custom home, it might seem silly to have a reminder like this one. You had a say in all parts of planning your home. Of course you'll be happy with it!
But it's actually pretty easy to find yourself dissatisfied with a custom home, if you don't let the building process end sometime. Once you get started thinking about all the amazing things you could do in a custom home, it's hard to stop, even when the house is finished!
There are things you can do to prevent some of that dissatisfaction, but some of it is just perspective. Here's what I've found works, from my own experience and working with clients.
Plan for your current life and your future life.
Planning the home design around your current life as opposed to your future life can understandably create some issues. I've had that happen to me—so if you've experienced it, you're not alone!
My wife and I designed a house when we had a toddler and were expecting another baby. We put what would eventually be the guest room near the master bedroom, so the baby could be there until he moved upstairs.
But we didn't account for the line of sight between the rooms. You could sit in the master bedroom and look into the guest room when the doors were open. That was great when our son was little, but it became a bit of a problem when he was grown and we had visitors!
Sometimes, you can't plan for things like that. But if you expect your family to be changing while you're still in that home, it might be a good idea to talk with your builder about how to incorporate flexibility for that into your home plan.
What do you really want in your house?
Think through what you want—everything you could possibly want in your home—even if it's outside of your budget. And choose a builder that you trust enough to be honest with about your budget and what you want in your home.
There are a lot of things that are really hard to add late in the building process or after the home is built. If there's something that's important to you that you plan to add later, talk with your builder about laying the foundation for it during the building process. It'll be cheaper, and you can finish it when you're ready.
That might literally mean laying foundation! Or it could mean roughing in electrical for a hot tub that you plan on installing later. Want a whole home vacuum? That's expensive and difficult to add late in the game, but if you build the pipe system into the house initially, it makes it a lot easier and less pricey to add the mechanical part later.
Preparing during the build for things you'll add later can help you be happy with your house long-term and stick within your budget.
After you've planned for the future as well as you can and worked with a builder to create your home, let it be. You may think of things that you'd wish you'd done, or keep creating a list of ideal home features, but that's a great way to be dissatisfied with a home you designed specifically for your family.
Nobody's home is going to fit your family quite like yours does. And that's a satisfying thought.
