Building a home offers limitless opportunities for customization when it comes to floor plans, finishes, styles, and material selections. However, building your first home can feel like a daunting task, especially when you are unfamiliar with the process. You will have to consider house plans that make sense for your family and lifestyle, finishes that work within your budget, and design choices that you can live with for years to come. Our architects, based in Austin, Texas, have the necessary tips for building your first home and important things to know before starting the build process.

New Build during framing phase of construction

Before You Build Your First House – Find the Right Lot

Construction can’t begin until you find the right piece of property to build your dream home. The lot will set the stage for your home’s design and affect the mood, floor plans, and even future electrical costs. Don’t overlook these two property buying tips, as the site is one of the most important factors in building your first house.

Take Time Shopping for the Perfect Lot

Before you start building your first home, take the time to shop for the perfect lot. Most homeowners know to look in locations that work with their commute, desired school district, and proximity to family and friends. However, it is also essential to pay attention to site orientation. Site orientation refers to the direction the home faces on the property, which can affect the view, natural light, and even heating and cooling costs. As a rule of thumb, north-facing homes will get the benefits of natural light without the intense heat that comes with western and southern positionings.

Get a Site Survey

Once you’ve located the perfect piece of property to build your home, get a site survey before you purchase. A site survey will reveal hidden building obstacles on the lot, like easements and drainage patterns. While a site survey is an extra task and expense, it can save you time, money, and hassle down the road. The last thing you want to do is buy land with an easement down the middle, making it impossible to build your dream home.

Architectural site plan developed from a survey

Step One to Building a House – Plan Your Design

The key to planning and designing your dream home is visualization. Creating a cohesive design that functions and will look beautiful for the life of your new house can be difficult. Here are three tips to help you start the design process for your new home build.

Create Exterior and Interior Mood Boards

Mood boards are an excellent way to collect inspiration, discover your home design style, communicate with your architect, and formulate a vision for your new dream house. You can create digital inspiration boards or good old fashioned collages from magazine clippings. When creating digital boards, people tend to rely on Pinterest and Houzz. While Pinterest offers lots of content to browse, boards tend to get messy and cluttered with recipe Pins and other off-topic interests. With Houzz, you can refine your inspiration images more efficiently and even collaborate directly with your architect on Ideabooks.

Define Your Architectural Style

Through your mood boards, you can begin to define your architectural style. Look for common themes. Are you gravitating towards light woods and coastal features or clean lines and modern flair? While you may not know all the design terms out there, your architect will be able to help you translate your collection of images and define your style. From there, you’ll be better able to make material selections that work together to form a cohesive look.

Make a List of Your Must-Haves

During the design process, you will be presented with a lot of options. It can be very easy to get sidetracked and deviate from your original plan and practical needs. Before you start planning and building your first home, make a list of must-have items. Focus on practical things, like the number of bedrooms, work-from-home office spaces, and storage solutions. Also include wish list items, like large windows for natural light, outdoor living spaces, and marble floors. While you might not be able to budget for all of your must-haves and wish list items, it is good to have a list to look back on as you change selections through the home build process. Try to stay practical and accountable. While it may be tempting to cut the home office so you can get wood floors, it may not be the best choice for your home life.

Nameless Road kitchen remodel, custom cabinetry / new appliances & hardware

Things You Wish You Knew Before Building a Home

Building a house is no easy task. You will be faced with some difficult design decisions and a few other challenges along the way. Here are the top four things you need to know before building your first home.

Design Fatigue is Real

The home design and building process can be stressful, especially for couples trying to balance a list of conflicting must-haves. Some days, you may feel burned out. After all, your weekends and evenings will be filled with site visits, drives to different showrooms, and picking out paint colors. Remember to carve out time to break from the chaos of building your new home.

Budget for the Unexpected

Even in new home construction, there will be a few surprises through the build process. Make sure to budget for unforeseen obstacles, unexpected mishaps, and last-minute splurges on finishing fixtures.

Plan for the Future

When building your first home, make sure to plan for both your current lifestyle and your future. This will include choosing durable and quality materials and making sure you have space in the home to grow. Consider adding extra rooms for kids and planning for additional storage. If you intend to make this house your forever home, ask your designer about aging in place. You may not want to navigate the staircase of a two-story home in your retirement years.

Enlist the Help of the Professionals

Don’t go into a new home build without hiring the right professionals for the job. An experienced group of architects, like our team at DK Studio here in Austin, can help you refine your design style, plan practical solutions for your needs, and save you money in the long run. Ensure your home is designed and built right the first time and that it will work for your family for years to come.

Tips for Building Your First House