With so many custom home features swirling online and collecting in your head, it can seem chaotic to find the best ideas. Look no further than Weaver Custom Homes’ Top 5 list of must haves when building a new home! We’ve drawn up a list of convenient and cool things to include when building a house. Start with these ideas and pull in your personality to really make the design your own.
Maintenance-free and Durable Exterior Features
It’s easy to overlook the exterior when there are what feels like millions of detailed decisions to make about the interior design. But what’s the inside work worth if you don’t invest the proper time and attention to the very first details people will see when they pull in the driveway? A must-have for every new build is durable (and well-designed) exteriors.
Convenient Spaces
Walk-in Closet
Is there any soul on the planet that doesn’t need a bigger closet? The storage capacity of a walk-in closet is something many of us not only want – we need it! Make your build work for you and include a walk-in closet in your master and other bedrooms if you can. We’ve crafted some high-end closets the size of bedrooms where our clients requested personalized storage for jewelry, shoes, bags, makeup and other assets that are special to them. Storage in the walk-in closet saves space from the bathroom and other areas, while also making access convenient and organized.
Dedicated Laundry Room
Laundry is a never-ending cycle, but when you incorporate a dedicated laundry room into your build, it’s not nearly as much of a chore. Why combine the laundry area with a mudroom that’s also a walkway in from the garage when you can spread out and give it the space it demands? Because it’s a custom floor plan, you choose the size of the room and where it belongs – upstairs at the bedroom level, next to the kitchen, tucked away in the basement – wherever you decide it will serve you best.
Home Office
The rise of remote work following the pandemic led professionals everywhere to remodel homes and basements just to find personal desk space. According to Pew Research, 60% of people with jobs that can be done from home are still teleworking in 2022 (even if their workplace is back open).
When you’re planning a build, you can think about potential needs like this to help avoid major add-ons or updates in the future. Speaking of the future, one day when you go to sell the home, that office will no doubt add value. Even for retired homeowners, choosing to include a home office gives them a private space to pay bills or store mail and other important documents. It’s a hands-down must-have for your custom home.
Mudroom
Mudrooms give us a transitional space near the garage to store shoes, coats, bookbags and even the dog’s leash. Smart mudroom design with shelves, cubbies and even lockers helps limit clutter in nearby living spaces, and undoubtedly keeps the kiddos more organized with everyday items assigned to the same hook or holding space. If you don’t have kids but maybe you have furbabies, cater the mudroom to their dirty feet with a washing station, towel hooks and more.
Kitchen Must-Haves
Larger Cabinets
Tall cabinets make a room feel bigger, so consider the size and how it plays with the entirety of the room. Layering the cabinet heights adds extra detail and depth, too. We also love deep drawers, which isn’t necessarily something everyone considers. A thorough builder will understand your preferences and include them into the kitchen design.
Walk-in Pantry
Take the sophistication level up even higher in a custom home with a walk-in pantry. Storage, square footage, and spice racks – what’s not to love? This recent trend in custom home building is what HGTV dreams are made of. Like walk-in closets, the additional storage in a walk-in pantry frees up kitchen cabinet space with closer access to the home chefs. Most of all, they’re just cool!
Maximized Basement Space
Gone are the days of unfinished basements void of everything except laundry hook-ups in a distant, cold corner. Couples and families planning custom builds are making the most of the basement with multiple areas or even separate rooms – a guest bedroom and bathroom, workout space, craft room, game room, man cave with full kitchen, etc. Just because it’s a lower level doesn’t mean you need to lower your imagination about what the space can accommodate.
Accessible Home Features
Plenty of custom-build clients want to incorporate single-story living into a home they’ll enter at retirement age. Having a bedroom on the main level, along with a full bathroom, makes mobility easier as they slow down. The same can be said for recovering from major surgery or healing a broken bone – these accessible custom home features on the main level make life easier (even if it’s temporary). Others who are permanently in a wheelchair or need a walker will appreciate your inclusion of wider doorways into the home’s design. These allow for wheelchairs or walkers to get around more easily, while also making the space feel bigger.
