10 Oct Great Features to Add to Your Home Design

When designing your new dream home, there are so many details to keep in mind.  Generally speaking, people immediately go to the big-ticket (pools, master suites, open floor plans, etc.) items on their list and create a blueprint around those.  While you’re in the midst of drawing up plans, we want to remind you to think about some of the finer details.  Among those finer details, we are going to focus on Storage and Technology.

Nathan Burress
Design Consultant

Home Storage

Storage space can be easily overlooked.  Short of building clever, modern furniture with built in storage (much like the designs you’d see in tiny houses), we want to help you design the house you envision without having to make last minute compromises.  So, when designing a new house, many people forget to give consideration to closet space, especially on the first floor.  It’s not the most appealing aspect of a design, but it’s important that you incorporate storage for cleaning supplies, a vacuum cleaner, coats for guests, etc.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, upstairs storage is heavily desired.  Raise your hand if you want a walk-in closet in your bedroom – is that everybody?  These are undoubtedly a top feature to build into your design, but make sure you do it right.  The last thing you want to do is sell yourself short on space so by the time you have your closet door is opened up and you are inside the room, you actually are left with less storage than a conventional closet would have offered.

Other ways to add storage space is through building entrance way shelving or stairway showcase.  You can often find wasted space on walls and in hallways that can easily be re-purposed.  Also, you could look to adding storage outside of the house by extending your garage.  This can be done either by having a 3-car garage for a 2-car home or even just by adding 10-12 feet on to the back end of the garage.

In-Home Technology

Smart homes are on the rise.  Everything from integrated home heating or sound systems to building tablets right into walls and islands can be done with the right planning.  Whatever your imagination is driving toward, the biggest factor to determine is whether the systems and/or products are wired or wireless.  If they’re wireless, then there won’t be too much additional design planning to consider.  If they’re wired, then you’ll need to be working with your electrician to make sure you have the proper runs installed.  We also recommend that any systems you want to incorporate operate on standard networks and cables rather than proprietary ones.  That just makes things more compatible and causes fewer issues.

Aside from that, you’ll really just want to pre-determine where and what you’ll be installing so that the design looks clean and smooth once the systems and products are added into your home.