Congratulations! You have made the decision on building a custom home – a home based on your wants and needs from the get-go. Once you select the model or style you desire, it should come to no surprise that you will be faced with many customizable options – and as exciting as the process can be, it can also be a little overwhelming as well.

As an award winning custom home builder, who has created more than 500 new homes for individuals and families in Volusia County, we understand that your home should feel, well…like yours. And it is especially important to us that you enjoy your home to its fullest potential and long term. So, when you make some of the optionable and customized decisions, you are going to want to make sure they suit your needs over your wants – as your wants may wear off, whereas your needs won’t.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed? Don’t stress. Our team has put together this quick guide to help you when it comes to selecting some of the main options custom home builders may give you during your home building process.

Get Started

Start a list. A list will help you organize your thoughts and help relieve any stress. To get in the right state of mind, first think of what is important to you in a home. Look at what you most use and enjoy in your current home and also what you wished you had in your current home that would have made day-to-day or regular activities more convenient. From here, the following key factors are great launch-off points

1. Concept : Open or Defined

Do you prefer an open concept, or like to have rooms defined with walls and have the option to close doors? Typically, if you like to entertain, an open concept is ideal. Open concepts allow you to perform host-oriented tasks, while keeping an eye on guests – and it also helps with flow of traffic.

Closed concepts are great if you are someone who works from home – whether you have clients in, or need to close off rooms to keep things quieter and stay focused.

 2. The Layout

Picture your lifestyle and what your typical weeks and weekends look like. Start with the basics: eating and sleeping.

Do you often have house guests that stay overnight? Some prefer to have guest rooms further away from the master bedroom for privacy. Also consider the bedroom-to-bathroom ratio and what is important to you with shared areas such as these.

Do you cook a lot? Where do you eat most meals? Who is at these meals? Basically, think about if additional space is needed in an area, and if distance matters from where you are preparing your meals, to where you will be enjoying them. Maybe you enjoy cooking and eating in the kitchen, or prefer a dining room vs kitchen atmosphere. Or perhaps you have an outside table you love to dine at. These are convenient needs you will be thankful you considered before moving in.

3. Electrical & Fixtures

One wouldn’t think this would need to take much planning, but being able to voice where your electrical outlets and switches are, is nice and convenient – or perhaps you need additional electrical needs.

The best way to decide this is by taking a look at your small appliances and items that need electrical outlets. Do you cook a lot and use gadgets such as food processors, blenders, etc? Do you have an office space that needs to occupy a desktop computer, printer, fax machine, additional lighting and room for charging stations? Or perhaps shared bathrooms could use extra outlets for razors, electrical toothbrushes, flat irons and more.

A great rule of thumb is, that if something is stored out in the open, then you will want outlets located near these items. Also consider floor outlets for open concept rooms, to avoid floating cords on a floor.

4. Space & Storage

Do you need additional room for storage? Florida homes are not typically built with basements or large attic spaces – so you may want to consider additional closet and storage areas in the home. If you do not need additional storage areas, then maybe you could increase your room sizes.

We hope that by utilizing this guide, it will help alleviate any stress you may have with your custom home decisions. However, it is important to keep communications high with your builder and vice versa.

Award Winning Volusia County Homes

The right home builder is a partner – someone who is responsive to your needs and questions, and someone who communicates honestly and has the integrity to honor commitments. We here at Gallery Homes stand behind this. If you are interested in building a custom home in Volusia County, contact our team of professionals online, or call one of our design offices at: Deland (386) 873-7474 or  Ormond (386) 944-9407