The Ultimate Guide to Finding Your Dream Home Design

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Whether you’ve just begun looking at different home designs and floor plans or you’ve sifted through a bunch of builders’ websites trying to find the best new home design for your block of land and still can’t decide, we’ve got you.

Today I’m going to provide some insight into exactly how to think about this question but first, what is the best new home design to choose?

The best new home design to choose is always going to be a design that includes all of the different variables that are independently important to you and the way you live your life. I recommend creating a checklist of the most essential features you need in your home before trying to choose a floor plan. This approach significantly increases the likelihood of building a home that encompasses all your necessary elements.

If this is your first time building a new home or you’re just not sure what’s important to you, that’s fine. We’ll go over this a little deeper below and offer some ideas that you might like to consider when trying to choose the right new home design.

The Variables You Should Consider When Looking For The Best Home Design

There’s actually quite a few factors that you should be thinking about before you go and fall in love with a builder’s standard home design.

It’s easy to fall in love with an open-plan home design without actually having thought about what you really need that floor plan to offer you. Some of the variables that you might like to think about are as follows:

• How many people will live in the home now & in 5 years?
• How many bedrooms do you need?
• How many bathrooms do you need?
• How many living areas do you need?
• How many parking spaces do you need?
• Would you like a home office?
• Would you like a home gym?
• Would you like a mudroom?
• Would you like a bar?
• Would you like a scullery/butler’s pantry?
• How much internal storage do you need?
• Do you need a large backyard?

If you’re still feeling a little uncertain and worried about the process that occurs when planning a new home you may just be a great fit for our HomeVision program. The HomeVision program was designed with the understanding that there are many people out there who would love to build a new home but just don’t know how to go about it and feel it’s too risky.

You can get started with our HomeVision program for free and it will guide you through the entire planning stages of your new home right through to sourcing a quote for your new home design from the most suitable builder in your area.

Our goal here is to bring everything needed to plan a great home under one roof, making it easier for you to get a home that’s better than you could have ever imagined.

The variables mentioned above are really just scratching the surface, let’s dig a little deeper to get you really thinking about how each of these can impact the liveability of your home over the course of your life.

How Many People Will Live In The Home Now & In 5 Years?

Another way to phrase this question might be ‘Could your new home accommodate if you and your partner have triplets?’

Sure, that’s pretty unlikely, but now is the perfect time to be asking yourself a variety of ‘what if’ questions to help future-proof yourself and ensure you choose the ultimate home design.

Just a couple might look something like the following but ultimately your life is personal to you so you need to take some time to think this over:

• What if a family member got sick and needed somewhere to stay?
• What if you begin struggling to make repayments on the home and want to rent out one of the rooms?
• What if you decide to work from home permanently and need a dedicated office space?
• What if you develop a new hobby that requires additional space, like a workshop or studio?
• What if you decide to adopt a pet or two and need somewhere within the home for them to sleep?

If you can bake a bit of a buffer into your new home design so that you aren’t always utilising it to its full potential, you’ll then be better positioned to accommodate the unknown if it does occur at some point in the future.

How Many Bedrooms Do You Need?

Reflecting on the need for flexibility, as mentioned earlier, it’s important to consider how many bedrooms your home should have. Currently, you might have a clear idea of who’s living with you, but life is unpredictable. Consider the possibility of changes in your living situation. For instance, if you find yourself moving sooner than expected, could your home adapt to being a rental property?

It’s interesting to note that in some cases, 5-bedroom homes can yield significantly higher rental returns compared to 3 or 4-bedroom properties. With the trend of shrinking land and home sizes, spacious homes are likely to be in greater demand in the future. Therefore, if it’s within your budget and space constraints, planning for an extra bedroom could be a wise decision.

How Many Bathrooms & Ensuites Do You Need?

My personal rule of thumb when considering if a floor plan is right for me is that all homes need a minimum of one bathroom and one ensuite. In all cases, the master bedroom should have its own ensuite, no ifs or buts. For every two bedrooms, there should be an additional bathroom/ensuite to service the occupants of those rooms. For example:

• 3-bedroom home design: 1 Bathroom & 1 Ensuite
• 4-bedroom home design: 2 Bathrooms & 1 Ensuite
• 5-bedroom home design: 2 Bathrooms & 1 Ensuite
• 6-bedroom home design: 3 Bathrooms & 1 Ensuite
• 7-bedroom home design: 3 Bathrooms & 1 Ensuite

Alternatively, some of these additional bedrooms could have their own ensuite, or share one with the nearest bedroom. This can be achieved by positioning an ensuite between two bedrooms, with the wet area accessible from both rooms. When someone is using the wet area, they would lock both doors.

Building a home with fewer bathrooms than the numbers mentioned above can become problematic if all rooms in your new home are occupied.

How Many Living Areas Do You Need?

Here I’m specifically speaking about areas of the home where you like to relax, let’s exclude the dining room in this instance as we’ll consider the Dining room as its own requirement.

A living area might be a Lounge room, a Living room, a home theatre or media, a kids retreat or a parents retreat. Personally, I think as a minimum all homes should have at least two of the rooms mentioned above. If you can achieve this you’ll have managed to create a home where the occupants will feel as though they have more space to relax without others up in their grill.

If your block of land and finances permit, a home with all five of the living areas mentioned above is somewhat of a great achievement. Having the ability for all occupants of the home to retreat to a separate area that isn’t their individual bedrooms helps to create a feeling of abundance and freedom which is something we should all be so lucky to feel at some point in our lives.

How Many Parking Spaces Do You Need?

Ample undercover parking is, in my view, a significant asset for any property. The ability to shield our vehicles from elements like hail storms can greatly reduce stress levels, so it’s worth considering how to incorporate enough undercover parking into your new home design.

In Queensland, it’s quite common for homeowners to extend their home’s roofline over the driveway, reaching out to the front boundary to create additional undercover parking spaces. But why stop there?

Consider the potential of having not just a standard two-car garage but perhaps two double garages side by side with a huge internal floor area for all of your cars and maybe even your workbenches if that’s your kind of thing.

You could also have a custom length garage door, capable of accommodating 3-4 cars entering the garage at one time. Or, you might opt for a garage design that’s not only two cars wide but also two cars deep, providing a spacious shelter for up to four vehicles. This approach doesn’t just add practical value; it could also significantly enhance your property’s functionality & appeal to large families or car enthusiasts.

Would You Like A Home Office?

Ever find yourself needing to work from home or having to join video calls for meetings?

As we move into the modern age, a home office has become almost a necessity. With virtually everyone owning a home PC and many having a printer, it’s clear that the home office is more than just a trend. If you don’t have a printer yet, it’s likely only a matter of time before you do. Instead of relying on the office printer or paying for prints at OfficeWorks, imagine having your own well-equipped home office with a personal printer.

Additionally, the inclusion of a home office is an attractive feature for potential buyers. In this era where work-from-home (WFH) arrangements are increasingly common, a home that’s future-proofed with a dedicated office space is more appealing and relevant than ever. This isn’t just about convenience; it’s about adapting your living space to fit the evolving needs of the modern workforce and potentially enhancing the resale value of your home in the process.

Would You Like A Home Gym?

Love it or hate it we all need to put in the work to keep ourselves living optimally and healthy.

What better way to remind you to get your butt moving than to have your own dedicated gym space in your new home. It doesn’t have to be a full gym, even just enough room for let’s say a squat rack, some dumbbells and somewhere to stretch can go a long way to helping you keep in shape.

I don’t know where you are with your personal fitness goals but including a home gym into your new home floor plans could be the beginning of a new era, the decision that turned your whole life around or it could be just the thing you need to reach that level of consistency with the gym that you’ve forever been chasing.

Just because none of the home designs you’ve looked at so far don’t have a home gym included doesn’t mean it can’t be done, many builders can modify their standard plans to account for whatever you like so why not add a point of difference to your new home with an 18-degree celsius dedicated gym room with ducted airconditioning!

Would You Like A Mudroom?

While not the most common addition in Australian homes, A mudroom is still quite a handy feature for your new home design to include. I’d make a bet that over the coming five to ten years they become a whole lot more popular within Australia with many builders ensuring their off-the-shelf floor plans have one included as standard.

It’s a great way to add some additional storage to your home, somewhere to store your shoes, coats and umbrellas ready for when you need them. A mudroom will also help to prevent people from tracking mud and dirt throughout the home as you can now encourage everyone to take their shoes off here.

The example shown below displays just how easy and cost-effective a mudroom can be built. This room really only has open melamine shelving installed and some robe hooks, similar to how a bedroom robe is constructed. However, if you’d like something a little more fancy, have a scroll through the Mud Rooms Pinterest board I created to help you find some cool inspiration for your new home or these ideas to help you find inspo for your whole home.

The best part is that you can really get creative and add some additional flare to your home, and due to mudrooms not being overly common in Australia, you’ll have certainly added a talking piece for your guests to admire.

If you’ve stumbled across a mud room that you love and want to include in your new home, take this opportunity to save the image to our IdeaDrop tool. It’s a home inspiration app available for you to store your best ideas and inspiration ready for the day you sit with a builder so you can easily show them what you want to be included in your new home. Learn more about IdeaDrop here and get started with a free account.

Would You Like A Bar?

Your guests have just arrived, they’ve taken their shoes and jackets off in your stunning mudroom, and now they’re heading straight to the bar to indulge in a delightful beverage from your exquisitely lit showcase bar.

You get to choose the optimal location, where’s it going to go?

Is it located in the open, adjacent to the Alfresco area, easily accessible and welcoming for everyone? Or perhaps it’s discreetly tucked away in your parents’ retreat, offering a more private and intimate setting. You might even consider placing it in the heart of your home, the living room, where it can become a central hub for social gatherings. Another option could be near the dining area, perfect for post-dinner drinks and conversation.

The perks of building your own home are that you get to decide not only where it goes but everything! Hence why it’s so important to have a plan of attack and be thorough with the planning of your new home.

Adding a well-designed bar to your home, for just a few thousand dollars more on your building contract (selections depending), can significantly enhance its overall charm. Not only will you get to enjoy this elegant addition, but it could also prove beneficial if you ever decide to sell your home in the future.

Remember to include the LED lighting to help set the perfect atmosphere.

Would You Like A Scullery or Butler’s Pantry?

Sick of seeing clutter in the Kitchen?

All those dirty plates, cups and bowls sitting about waiting to be put in the dishwasher… yuk!

Maybe what you need (apart from tidy kids) is a separate tucked-away kitchen (aka a Scullery).

Typically, these will have additional cabinetry along with another sink, oven and dishwasher which is perfect for keeping the main Kitchen clean and presentable at all times.

Alternatively, if that sounds a little too expensive to have a full second kitchen, you could have a closed-off butler’s pantry with another sink and the dishwasher stored away in there.

If you’re not quite sure what you need or want in your new home, our article on the benefits of creating a vision for your new home might be up your alley.

How Much Internal Storage Do You Need?

Let’s be honest for a second, if you were to walk into your Garage right now what are you going to see stacked up against the walls right next to where you and your passengers hop out of your car?

Yep, just as I thought.

It’s really just cluttering up your Garage right?

Making the area feel a little dirty and burdensome.

So why not make a note to add a store room straight off of your Garage to house all of this stuff neatly so you can keep your Garage looking nice and clean?

A nicely presented Garage goes a long way, it’s going to be the first thing you look at when you hop in your car in the morning and the last thing you see when you arrive home in the evening so why not take the time to ensure your new home has ample amounts of storage to cater for everything you have laying around and all the other stuff you’ll collect over the coming years!

Do You Need A Large Backyard?

The reason I bring this one up is because it can be a bit of a trade-off between the size of your home and the size of your yard. Choosing a home design wisely can help you maximise the size of your backyard if you plan accordingly.

As I have two dogs myself, it’s important for me to consider the areas they have access to and to ensure they’re not only protected from the weather but also within a secure area that will keep them safe. My little dachshund loves to do a perimeter check and has been known to find the broken fence pailing allowing her to escape!

If you’ve got kids you might also want to consider where they’ll be able to play. If your backyard is going to be quite small, do you really want them playing out the front where you then have the risk of passing vehicles that you’ll have to consider?

Hopefully, you’ve been able to find a block of land that caters perfectly to not only your dream home but also the activities you and your family like to do within it. If you’re still on the hunt for a block of land to build your new home, I’ve prepared a helping hand to guide you on this journey to find the perfect block of land.

Final Thoughts on Finding Your Dream Home Design

The best home design for you isn’t going to be one you find on any old builder’s website.

It’s going to be the floor plan that you’ve taken the time to tweak, make modifications to, and put your own spin on it.

This is how you get a home design that’s truly tailored to your personal way of life.

This is how you create a space you truly love.

This is just a small snippet of the types of questions you should be asking yourself if you’re considering building a new home.

If you liked the information you found on this page and would like to create a comprehensive vision for your dream home come on over and check out our HomeVision program.

It’s designed to help you figure out exactly what you need from a new home and how to tailor it to your lifestyle and individual tastes.

It’s free to get started, so come check it out.

**Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is based on publicly available information. While we strive to ensure the accuracy of this content, Foresight Home Planning Pty Ltd does not guarantee the completeness or reliability of the information. This article is intended for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Foresight Home Planning does not accept liability for any loss, expenses or damage incurred as a result of reliance on the information contained herein. Readers are advised to conduct their own research and seek professional advice before making any decisions related to property purchases, contracts with builders or investments.

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