What makes a custom home truly custom? Often people think of luxury features. But a custom home is more than just luxury. Some people think of high-end appliances or top-of-the-line finishes. Those are nice things, but they don’t necessarily make a home a custom home. Here’s your guide to building truly custom in the Fingerlakes region.
Customize What’s Important For You and Your Lifestyle
A custom home is really about comfort, convenience, and design that are customized for the way your family lives. Your family isn’t like every other family in the neighborhood. Your home doesn’t have to be like every other home in the neighborhood, either. There are numerous ways you can customize your Fingerlakes region home, but here are some of the key areas you might want to tackle first. Some homeowners find it helpful to look over existing floor plans to get an idea of the flow they want in their homes. We offer a wide variety of floor plans that are ideal for that purpose. You can customize these plans, or you can simply use them as a starting point to create a completely custom plan.
Floor Plans
Every great custom home begins with a great floor plan. A floor plan helps you organize all the various parts of your home in a way that makes the most sense for you. That includes the size of your home (how many square feet you’ll have); the arrangement of the rooms (do you want sleeping quarters upstairs for peace and quiet or are you after single-level living); and it get’s down to the specific design of individual rooms. Here’s a helpful, short video that can help you pick the right floor plan for your home.
Once you have your general plan in mind, you can begin to focus on specific rooms or areas within your home. Let’s take a look at some of the most important rooms to consider.
Kitchen
Here’s a picture of a kitchen in a home we recently built. You’ll notice it’s very open and provides a lot of natural light—and lots of space for entertaining, cooking, and even casual family meals at the island. Is that the right design and style for you? That depends on your needs and tastes. And that’s the beauty of a custom home.
With a custom home, you don’t have to settle for the same thing you’ll find in every other home. You’ll have the ability to create a kitchen that fits your lifestyle and personality. So what is your kitchen personality? Here’s a great post that shows you how to determine your kitchen personality and match your kitchen to your persona! Whether you're a gourmet cook or like to host casual parties, you can create what you want.
Bathroom
Your guests may never see your master bathroom, but it’s a very special—and important place. When you build a custom home, you can add the features that are most important to you. That might be an oversized walk-in shower. Or it could include dual sinks to make getting ready for your day easier and more comfortable. You might even want to include a nice soaking tub for “de-stressing” at the end of the day. It’s up to you! Here’s an article that talks about the advantage of showers or tubs in the bathroom. But you might want both! With a custom plan, you can design your bathroom the way you want—including things such as cabinets, flooring, and even storage.
Family Room
Next to your kitchen, your family room may be one of the most important social rooms for your family and your guests. The family room you see in this custom home is open to the kitchen and the dining room. Open floor plans remain extremely popular (and here’s an article that looks at some of the reasons why that’s still true). In this particular family room, the customization even extends to the ceiling. Not only is the woodwork on the ceiling striking, but it also helps define and set apart the family room—something that’s really important in homes with an open floor plan.
Master Bedroom
The master bedroom in your home is a place of retreat and privacy. It's a very personal room. When building a custom home you have the ability to have this room create an atmosphere that's calm, relaxing, and inviting. You can build in elements that are both visually and physically comfortable and relaxing. That can include anything from windows that let in a lot of natural light, to flooring, or a reading space, or even a space for a television that tucks away when it's not in use. You’ll even want to consider where to locate your master bedroom to create the kind of room you want. Here’s a look at some pros and cons of different options.
Outdoor Living
Sometimes the space just outside your walls is just as important as the space inside your walls. We’ve observed a trend over the past few years that has homeowners taking advantage of outdoor space as an extension of their indoor living space. Here’s an article that explores that a bit more in depth. When you build a custom home, you can customize your deck as well. You don’t have to settle for a simple rectangle where you can set up a few chairs. You might choose to put a roof over your deck (or part of it as seen in this custom home we built). You might want to build an outdoor kitchen with gas range, refrigerator, and dining space. Or you might want to build a deck that allows you to soak in a hot tub whenever you want.
Those are just a few of the ways you can create a custom home that meets your wants, needs, and desires. Other options might include a media room for watching movies, sports, or for gaming. Perhaps you want to build in a fully functional home office. Maybe a dedicated craft room or a home gym is what you want. Or you might want a garage that has space for a workshop. All of these things are what makes a custom home unique. You can build your home around your needs, your interests, and your lifestyle.
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