Building your own custom home in the Fort Worth area can come with a lot of fun perks. You get to decide the floor plan, pick out the paint colors, and enjoy that new home smell. But it also comes with its challenges—nailing all the myriad of decisions so you won’t have regrets later. We hope this blog educates you on some of the most common pitfalls to avoid when designing your home.
Common Custom Home Building Mistakes to Avoid
Choosing the Wrong Location
Pick your lot early from your preferred custom builder’s Fort Worth area communities so you are ensured to get the best location for your family’s needs. Most people focus on location in terms of whether the corresponding school districts are excellent, commute time to work, and easy access to things like shopping, and green spaces. But you might want to consider the type of lot you’re purchasing. Sure, maybe you’ll get a steal on that inside lot compared to the corner one, but have you considered the views from your home with neighbors on each side? Do you want to sip your coffee over your kitchen sink while staring at your neighbor’s wall? Thinking through the location of the property you purchase and how your future home will be situated on the lot will have ramifications down the road if not thought through properly with a wide-view perspective.
Rushing Through the Floor Plan
Taking your time to think through an ideal floor plan for your lifestyle and future needs is essential to avoid regrets. In fact, many buyers (35%) regret some aspect of their floor plan—so with careful planning, you can avoid that percentage. Contemplating how you see your family actually living in your house—the entertaining you foresee happening, the number of bedrooms (and bathrooms!) you’ll need for a growing family, and the extra space you may desire in both the interior and exterior living spaces of your home are easier to design with your builder than to retrofit later.
Neglecting Natural Light and Room Orientation
One of the common things most new homeowners neglect is thinking through the orientation of their rooms, and the type of natural light afforded by the direction facing each room. Let’s think through two extreme examples. Say you’re a plant lover, and you envision your new eat-in kitchen brimming with houseplants at every window. You might want to avoid a northern-facing room because they are typically the darkest rooms. On the flip side, a west-oriented back porch and patio might become way too hot in the Texas summer afternoon and evenings without proper shade due to the direct sunlight streaming in. Thinking through all of these directional challenges is key to getting the most out of your new space.
Failing to Plan Your Outlets
Out of all the decisions you will have to make, did you ever consider this one tiny detail: where to put the outlets? In a recent survey, 39% of respondents wished they had more or differently placed electrical outlets. We recommend making a list of every single possible outlet you foresee yourself needing in every room of the house.
Living areas — Where do you want your Christmas tree and any interior seasonal lighting? Are there special considerations for your mantel for items that need electricity? What about if you plan on having lamps in the middle of your living area? These are all factors that need careful attention.
Laundry/Mud Room — Do you plan on charging your robotic vacuum in this room? If so, planning a charging station for this essential equipment is a must. And if you plan on crafting in your oversized laundry room, planning outlets for all of your gear should be thought carefully over.
Bedrooms — Will your master suite have a separate area or extension for lounging, reading or watching TV? If so, planning the location of outlets for lamps, TVs and all your other gadgets is important to the overall aesthetic of your room. You don’t want cords to compete with your bedroom decor.
Not Building that Bonus Room
If your children are small, the idea of a bonus room might not be on the top of your list when all you can think about is decorating a nursery. These fun rooms which can be used for a variety of purposes go by all sorts of names depending on your lifestyle—playroom, media room, man cave, craft area, yoga room/workout space, and even a guest room when needed. The bonus of adding a bonus room during your design? It’s also much more cost-effective to incorporate into your new design than adding an addition later.
No Outdoor Living Space
We live in Texas—where mostly mild winters abound. Why not extend your living space outside so you can enjoy relaxing all year ‘round? If you have the budget for it, go ahead and plan for a larger covered patio space now versus later. By planning out the space you actually need, you can have ample room for outdoor rugs, conversation sets, and dining pieces to help you entertain and get all of your guests out of the house.
Choosing the Wrong Custom Home Builder
Sadly, not everyone has a favorable experience with the custom home builder they choose. In the same mentioned survey, 32% of homeowners wouldn’t refer their builder to their friends or family. By picking a reliable and honest home builder who has years of design-build experience, you can save yourself many sleepless nights and headaches down the road.
Build with Couto Homes for No Regrets
The Couto Standard is different from most home builders. Custom homes are our family’s legacy; that means we don’t cut corners or rush through projects. Since 1984, we’ve built our company on values of honesty, integrity, quality, and dedication. Even as our list of homeowners has steadily grown, we haven’t compromised our craft, and we won’t ever do so.