Over the years, builders, designers and architects observe patterns develop as they work with families in designing and building custom homes. These patterns combined with the feedback we receive from these families, helps give us insight into the “dos” and “don’ts” of designing a custom home.
The builder and design professionals are a tremendous resource in guiding families through this process and helping them learn from those who have gone before them. This series will focus on some of the most common missteps or misconceptions families have when designing and building their custom home.
Our fourth HDM (Home Design Mistake) we wish to discuss is “Overcompensation”.
The Common Mistakes
When designing a custom home it can be tempting to try to fix everything that is wrong with a family’s current home. However in the process of trying to fix these short comings, we often see folks overcompensate by undertaking an assortment of changes that often duplicate the sought after remedy.
This is akin to wearing 5 jackets when the weather gets cold instead of one;
Or buying a large diesel box truck when you are unable to get your luggage into your 2 seat sports car;
Or eating 10 chocolate bars when you get the craving for chocolate.
Wait! Ignore the last one, there is NEVER anything wrong with eating too much chocolate.
The Home Is Bigger Than You Think
Often families fail to appreciate that as they design their new homes, the very nature of its design will eliminate many of their current home’s shortcomings. Common examples are;
By making your bedroom closets larger you can move some clutter out of the bedrooms and into the closet.
By adding a closet under the stairs you can get the Christmas decorations out of the master bedroom closet freeing up space for your clothes.
By creating a large walk in pantry with additional shelves up high you are able to free up counter and cabinet space in the kitchen.
By creating more furniture walls you are able to get decorative furniture out of bedrooms and hallways which in turn gives you more room in those spaces.
However, what we often see is families under taking the most common remedies as noted above and then continually adding rooms, square footage, cabinets, etc…. in an attempt to address a problem that may already fixed.
The Hidden Costs Of Over Compensation
Some may say, what is the harm in having extra space for future use?
The short answer is not much. If you are within your budget then it is just a bit more house to clean. However, we do come across families who are pushing the envelope and in that case over compensation can cost you not only in your construction budget, but also in your cost of ownership and in furnishing your home.
The Budget
Over the years we repeatedly see families push the envelope in the size of their homes in the pursuit of the perfect space for all their possessions. Including possessions they have, what they owe but don’t want and possessions they might buy but are not sure.
We have seen families spend tens of thousands of dollars to make a room larger to accommodate furniture they wished they would get rid of. This is true, we had a family tell us how much they disliked some furniture but felt obligated to keep it so we added a whole room to the house to set it up. I am certain that extra space cost 20 times what that furniture was worth.
Would you purchase a $100,000 18 wheeler to haul around empty boxes with you everywhere you go even though you did not need them?
We see families build rooms for furniture they are not sure they will purchase (pool tables, foosball tables, weight equipment, etc….).
By adding these spaces we see families squeeze their budgets as to not have left to spend later in the process. Once your floor plan is done, you have committed costs to the foundation, walls, insulation, roof, doors, flooring, etc… leaving less for the fine touches everyone likes to add as they make their selections.
Just as you don’t spend all your money on the first day of your vacation, you should not spend your entire budget on the structure and floor plan of your home.
Cost Of Ownership
Cost of ownership is another hidden factor many families do not consider.
Every additional square foot of home you build will cost you in interest, taxes, insurance, utilities, furnishings and cleaning costs.
Although at the time you move into a home the costs may seem negligible. As the years come and go those costs of ownership can increase and begin to wear on a family’s budget.
Property taxes are often assessed on the size of your home and it is difficult to convince a taxing authority to value your home for less if the size is similar to other larger homes in your neighborhood.
Property insurance is also based upon size and they will often require you insure a property based upon a formula they have for replacement costs which accounts for home size.
Utilities and cleaning costs will also go up incrementally with the size of a home.
We do we see families who wish to downsize after only being in their new home a few years as the hidden costs associated with ownership start to wear on their lifestyles.
More Stuff
Another lesser issue we see with families who build homes larger than what they may have needed is the accumulation of stuff. With larger rooms/spaces, we see a tendency of folks to accumulate items they would otherwise purge from the home.
We also see an urge to buy furniture, knick knacks, art, etc… to fill these rooms/spaces. Which, goes to proof the old adage no matter how much space a family builds, they will fill it?
You Will Have More Space Than You Think
We see families who come out of 2,000 sqft homes with few closets into 4,000 sqft homes with an abundance of closets stress out over their lack of storage. Often they are referring to their “current” situation not the house.
Remember your closets will be bigger which will allow you to take some of the items that are in the rooms and put them away.
Remember you will have more cabinets so you can get stuff off the counter and out of your furniture and put it away.
Remember your pantry is bigger now so the items you used to keep in the cabinets can now be placed in the pantry freeing up room in your cabinets for items you have on the counters.
Remember the newer floor plans are designed to allow for more flexible flow and furniture placement.
Build What You Need
A proactive builder will offer you guidance in the design process to help maximize your budget. With years of experience designing and building hundreds of homes, the new home construction professional is well aware of what works for most families.
We are consistently getting feedback from our families on how their design decisions performed for them in their day to day lives. Let us help your family with the culmination of experience from all of these families who have gone before you.
Now please don’t get me wrong. We want you to design the home your family needs and wants. We only want to help guide you in the process so you do it for the right reasons and do not spend your family’s precious resources redundantly attempting to fix an already fixed problem.
Thank You
Architects and builders have participated in the creation of hundreds of homes. Let their experience help your family avoid overcompensating in the design of your new home..
If you have questions on how a professional builder can help your family design and build your new home, please feel free to call us at 817-748-2669, email us at mike@garabedianproperties.com or visit www.garabedianproperties.com.
We are a full service firm serving the Dallas/Fort Worth area. We offer professional contracting services for custom homes, fine estates and premium remodeling. Our remodeling division offers remodeling, kitchen and bath updates, room additions, insurance repairs and roof replacement.
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