When planning a new home, it’s easy to focus first on the finishes you can see, such as cabinetry, flooring, tiles and tapware. But before getting into those details, there are some bigger decisions worth working through.
How rooms connect, where you need privacy, how much storage you actually use and where you allocate your budget will have a much greater impact on everyday life in the home.
At Sense Homes, these are some of the things we encourage clients to think about early in the design process.
1. Think about how you use your home each day
Start with your current routine rather than a list of rooms you think your new home should have.
Think about what happens when everyone gets home in the afternoon. Where do bags, shoes and school gear end up? Does someone regularly work from home? Do you cook most nights? Do friends and family visit regularly? Do children need somewhere separate to play?
These details can influence everything from the size of the pantry to the position of a study, laundry or second living area.
It can also help to think about what doesn’t work in your current home. If the kitchen always feels crowded, storage ends up spilling into other rooms or there’s nowhere quiet to take a phone call, those frustrations are useful information when planning the new layout.
A custom home design gives you the opportunity to address these things rather than simply fitting your household into an existing floor plan.
2. Decide how much separation you want between spaces
Open-plan living can work well, but more open space isn’t necessarily better.
A kitchen, dining and living area in one large space can make it easier for everyone to spend time together and can create a stronger connection to outdoor areas. The trade-off is that cooking noise, television, conversations and general household activities are all happening within the same zone.
Consider when people in your household are likely to want privacy or quiet. A second living area, separate study, children’s retreat or even the positioning of bedrooms away from the main living space can make a significant difference.
You don’t necessarily need to choose between a completely open or completely separated home either – you can also combine the two approaches. A separate living room, a study away from the main living area or doors that can close off busier spaces can give you more flexibility.
3. Set your priorities before allocating the budget
We know that a budget can rarely accommodate everything on the wish list, so decide early which features you would be most reluctant to compromise on.
For one household, that might be a larger kitchen and walk-in pantry. For another, it could be an additional bedroom, higher ceilings, more natural light or a larger outdoor entertaining area.
It can help to divide your wish list into three groups: things you need, things you strongly want and things you’d include if the budget allows.
Also consider which features would be difficult or expensive to change later. Increasing the size of a room, changing the position of a staircase or adding larger windows is generally much harder after construction than upgrading a light fitting or changing a benchtop finish in the future.
Establishing those priorities early gives your designer and builder clearer direction about where the available budget should go. You can see some examples of different approaches in our portfolio.
4. Consider how your needs could change
You don’t need to predict exactly what life will look like in 10 or 20 years, but it is worth considering the changes that are reasonably likely.
A spare bedroom might need to double as a home office. A playroom may eventually become a second living area. Older children may want more separation from the main bedroom. You may also want to stay in the home long term and make it easier to navigate as you get older.
This doesn’t mean adding rooms purely because they might be useful one day. Instead, look for opportunities to make existing spaces more flexible.
Room dimensions, storage, door widths, bathroom layouts and the location of bedrooms can all affect how easily a home adapts without requiring significant renovation later.
Long-term planning is particularly important with a knock down rebuild, where you have an opportunity to reconsider how the entire site and home work together.
5. Plan the home around the site, not just the floor plan
A floor plan shouldn’t be considered separate from your block.
Orientation can affect how much natural light different rooms receive, how warm they become during the day and how comfortable outdoor areas are at different times of year.
Consider where morning and afternoon sun will fall, where breezes are likely to come from and how neighbouring properties may affect your privacy. The slope of the block, existing trees, views and the position of the backyard can also influence where living areas and windows are best placed.
For example, large windows can bring plenty of light into a living room, but poorly positioned glazing can also introduce unwanted afternoon heat. An alfresco area may look generous on a floor plan, but its orientation, shade and connection to the kitchen will influence how often you actually use it.
These decisions are much easier to address during design than after the home has been built.
Start with the decisions that are difficult to change later
Before choosing tiles or comparing tapware, spend some time thinking about how you want your home itself to work. Consider your daily routine, where you need separation, which features deserve more of the budget, how your needs could change and how the design responds to your block.
At Sense Homes, we work through these decisions with our clients as part of developing a custom home that suits their site, priorities and budget.
If you’re planning to build on the Central Coast, get in touch with Sense Homes to discuss your plans.