Designing and Building a Custom Home: Expectations v. Reality
Most people starting a custom home project have little or no experience with design and construction. We live and work in buildings. We know what we like and don’t like. And it is still intimidating to figure out how to transform your ideas into a building that lives up to your aspirations.
You’ve probably heard stories from friends and colleagues and watched projects in your neighborhood. This might leave you wondering what to expect. Here are some common expectations we’ve encountered that don’t align with the reality of a well-run custom home project.
“I need to know exactly what I want before I get started.”
You don’t need to have all of the answers to get your project started. In fact, it's probably better if you don’t! Start by asking yourself some questions about the big picture. A successful project aligns with your values, priorities, and goals. Share the big picture with your team and invite them to help you meet your goals.
“I don’t know how much it will cost and construction always cost more than expected.”
Designing and building a custom home is a project, not a product. It is unfamiliar to consider investing time, energy, and money into something when we don’t get to kick the tires and take it for a test drive first. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t control the costs. Working together, your architect and builder can help align what you want to build and what you want to spend. Ask your team what costs to plan for and invite them to help you meet your goals. Controlling costs is a matter of setting clear and realistic goals, updating the budget at project milestones, and making course corrections along the way. Unexpected costs will come up—so be sure to include a ‘contingency’ in your budget to help you manage them.
“Architects and builders have their own agendas.”
A custom home project takes a team and each member should earn your trust with sound advice on how to achieve your objectives and a willingness to speak up about the challenges they see. Expect them to have experience that is relevant to your project while being open and creative about how to meet your needs. Look for people that are good advisers that can help you map a path forward and guide you on your journey. Every project encounters obstacles; they’ll be a lot easier to overcome if everyone starts on the same page and communicates well.
“Time is money, so going faster will cost less.”
We’ve all seen the project in the neighborhood that sits idle for weeks at a time and it’s easy to see how inefficient that can be. It’s harder to picture how a project that’s bustling with people every day could be inefficient, but it can be. There are many decisions, tasks, and people involved in the design and construction of a custom home project. An efficient project will proceed in an orderly sequence that gets information, decisions, and resources to the team when they need them. Ask your team for guidance on your project schedule and discuss the risks and costs of going faster if accelerating the schedule is a high priority.
“Building a custom home will be a stressful and unpleasant experience.”
Building a home can be a fulfilling adventure if getting there is half the fun. The design and construction process should be more than a means to an end. It can be a once-in-a-life chance to express your creativity and shape how you live. Yes, there will be some hard work and difficult decisions. With sound guidance from a trusted team, it can also be rewarding and fun.
Feel free to give us a call if you’d like to learn more about how to get started.