5 things to consider adding in a new home build
Chances are, if you are reading this, that you are currently in the process of building a new home or planning to…but even if not, and you are but only in search of inspiration for the future, I hope this will give you some things to think about when putting together and planning your new home.
Disclaimer: although general, these ideas are accumulated from my personal home build and style. We all have different things we deem as important and certain styles we would prefer to incorporate into our home, that being said…feel free to take anything learned from today’s blog and alter or adjust it to the way you want your dream home to come to life! Happy reading 🙂
- Costco door! When I first saw this idea on Instagram, I couldn’t help but amaze over its functionality. So what even is a Costco door and why is it called this? The Costco door is a mini door built into the wall of your garage into your pantry/kitchen. (Now this is completely dependable on the layout of your home- if you already have a normal door that leads straight into the kitchen, or if your kitchen wall doesn’t back into the garage, this wouldn’t be all too useful.) Anyhow, imagine you arrive home, your trunk is filled with your grocery haul, but instead of having to run through the house with your heavy grocery bags to get into the kitchen, you open your mini door from the garage and slide all your bags straight into the pantry. After having to lug my bags up a flight of stairs for the past 5 years yet too, this little door turned out to be such a relief- I use it all the time!
- 2. Hide kitchen from front door…if possible. Depending on how far along you are in your planning and building, this might or might not apply. While we were yet browsing the internet for layout plans, we fell in love with the house that we now have. We did however change the layout of the interior (this is another hack to play around with) because it just did not quite meet our needs and wishes. One of those was making sure that the kitchen is not the first room you see upon entry. Although kitchens are often a big focal point and showpiece to a home, they are, however, used alot! And as being someone who is in the kitchen for big portions of the day, I know that it is not in pristine condition 24/7. And that’s normal. Apart from that reason, I simply am one to not feel so comfortable about being seen in the kitchen from the front door during any hours of the day. So if this is something you agree with and its still early on in your planning, consider rearranging the layout to meet the standards you aim for.
- 3. Double sink in ensuite. I actually always thought this was a given until I started researching it when we were designing our ensuite. This is actually a topic many are torn over. I’ve seen many blogs and articles in which people decide to sacrifice a sink for more counter space. My husband and I also talked about this and we came to the conclusion that two sinks simply is what would work best for us…and we were right. In our previous home, we somehow always ended up needing the sink at the same time and one of us would end up resorting to the bathtub to brush their teeth. (Total exposition here) Apart from that, we also don’t prefer to store all/many items on the counter and rather store in the vanity drawers for a neater and more cleaned-up look. So if you are also in the thick of searching for vanities, I would vote for double sink over more counter space but again, go for what works best for you.
- Tip #4…don’t shy away from adding wooden beams in your home! Upon first research, I realized how expensive and laborious they are to install…until we simply made our own. At a local lumberyard, we picked out white pine boards and for under $400 and ended up with just under 60 feet of faux wood beams! The difference wood accents makes in a home is incredible and it goes with just about all styles- wood can be fitted, stained, shaped or chiseled to any design that suits your home.
- Tip # 5 is for our chefs. A spice Kitchen! Also known as a “Scullery”.When cooking, many amazing aromas float around the house, including the warm, cozy smell of bread baking in the oven and soup simmering on the stove. But we also have other scents that come from the kitchen that are not particularly summoned to all corners of your home. My husband and I are both quite particular about scents in our home and it just made sense (no pun intended) to build a little room (really does not have to be big! Ours is 5’10×6’0) with its own stove for cooking all the stronger smells that we don’t prefer outside of the kitchen. This is also a big help when hosting and needing more oven space or even just a space where you can hide the mess of preparation if you know you won’t have much time to clean before guests arrive. I included an image from the layout of our main kitchen, spice kitchen and pantry for a better visual.
