A Guide to Customizing your Home

Posted on Jun 12, 2015

Building a custom home is an exciting time in any homebuyer’s life. It can also be nerve-wracking. An inexperienced homeowner may be asking themselves: what color do you paint the walls? How is the outside going to look? Will you have a pool? Do you think you want one-story or two?

When customizing your home, much of the decision will be based on personal preference or size and location of the lot where the home will be built. To help you get started, here are a few things you may want to consider in your new humble abode.

Stairs

Probably the most common influence on whether or not to select a single-story or two-story house is the stairs. Elderly Americans worry about being able to traverse the stairs comfortably, without any aches and pains. Younger people look ahead to a day when that trip might become harder. Moving into a house with two stories might also be more difficult because of the need to get furniture up the stairs, which can sometimes be the challenge of the century.

Footprint

Two-story houses can offer far more floor space on a smaller foundation. In a single-story home, every room has to be laid out on the foundation. The more bedrooms a house has, the larger the foundation must be, which will increase the footprint of the lot

Ceilings

Houses built on a single level often allow for much higher ceilings than their two-story counterparts. Because the height of the construction limits how high a ceiling can be on either level, two-story houses typically have lower ceilings than one-story homes. Higher ceilings are great because they can help make a house feel more open and spacious. Did you know they can also help with heating and cooling, too?

Floor plan

Two-story houses create a natural distinction between two areas of the home. Generally, the bedrooms are upstairs while the more public spaces occupy the level below. This separation of public and private spaces is useful when hosting guests, as it will dissuade people from wandering into private areas. On the other hand, in one-story houses the bedrooms are often integrated into the overall floor plan, leaving the separation of public and private less apparent.

For information on real estate in Southwest Florida, contact Kim at (239)-214-1039.