Whether you’re moving to Calgary for the first time or growing your family, you may be searching for a new home. Finding a home that meets the needs of every family member can be difficult—especially when considering both present and future needs. That’s where a custom family house design comes in.
When choosing a custom home over an existing home, you’re getting a house made specifically for your family, designed with your lifestyle, preferences, and current and future needs in mind. Choosing a custom home means picking and choosing which features you’d like included, not compromising on a house designed for someone else in a previous decade.
But what’s the first step when approaching the ideal family house design for you? Stay tuned as we walk you through what to consider.
Why Custom Home Design?
If you’re browsing for family-friendly home design on the web, you’ll likely be inundated with stock floor plans. Sure, these plans were designed with families in mind, but not your family. They meet certain family needs but not precisely your family’s needs.
With a custom approach, your family’s unique needs will be at the forefront of the design. And that can be incredibly valuable and advantageous.
Designing the Perfect Family House for You
Finding the perfect family house design isn’t about stumbling upon a pre-existing floor plan. It’s about working closely with an experienced residential designer to discover what’s important to you and your family. It’s about discussing your hopes and dreams for your house now and in the future.
When working with our team, we aim to help you uncover all of this and more, encouraging you to get specific about your style preferences, daily routines, and future goals.
What else should you consider during the beginning stages of family house design?
- Location & Community: If you don’t already have a lot picked out, have a few ideas in mind before your initial meetings with a home designer.
- Present Needs: Such as rooms for kids, private bathrooms for parents, and outdoor areas for play.
- Future Goals: Consider plans like aging in your home or selling it.
- Style Preferences: Have you ever come across an exterior home style that stopped you in your tracks? Find a picture and show it to your designer.
- Budget: Your home building budget will greatly impact your home’s design. Learn more about setting your budget before meeting your designer. We suggest having your builder, or one we’re happy to suggest, be a part of the design process.
Want an idea of what your home design will cost? Check out our Cost of Home Design blog, or contact us.
Family-Friendly Home Features to Consider
When working with our team, Discovery is the initial stage of your family house design. It’s an important time when we gather as much information from you as possible to help us better understand your vision.
Before we complete the initial sketch of your new home, we’ll discuss your desire for different home features and their size (as allowed by your lot.) Some ideas we may discuss include:
Designing Around a Shared Interest
Consulting the entire family is often a good idea when it comes to shared spaces. The goal is to create a room where you can spend time together but also one that supports individual interests.
Ask Your Family: What activities does our family share? What individual interests do our family members have?
Function Over Fashion
We’ll always recommend making decisions based on unique needs over what’s in trend. Doing so ensures you’ll get a family house design that fits your unique family—not someone else’s you saw on a home improvement show.
Ask Your Family: What activities do we do most often at home? What features or rooms are necessary for our daily routines?
Ageing-Up Kids’ Spaces
If you plan to stay in your new home for a while, your kids will grow from children to young adults. This means that though designing a room for the age your child is now makes sense, in a few years, they may outgrow it. It’s a good idea to consider this and how their needs may change.
Ask Your Family: What kinds of features will our kids need in 5, 10, or 15 years?
Built-In Storage
Built-in storage isn’t a given in older homes, leaving you to purchase shelving and entertainment units that fit your aesthetic and space. But what if your home had built-in storage that matched your preferred aesthetic and maximized your available space?
From kitchen pantries to built-in bookshelves and toy shelves, designing storage areas can help simplify daily routines, including cooking and toy cleanup.
Ask Your Family: How much stuff do we have? Do we want to hide it or showcase it?
Future-Proofing
If you have children, they’ll grow up in the house you’re designing now. Your parents may also need to move back in. Preparing for the future is one of the best ways to get a home design that fits your lifestyle over the years.
Consider flexible room designs, such as playrooms for kids that can be repurposed as rec rooms when they get older.
Ask Your Family: What do we think we’ll be doing in 5—or 50—years? How do we feel about aging in place? Do we want to consider selling the house in the future?
The Family House You’ve Been Dreaming Of
Looking to build a custom home in Calgary for your family? Ellergodt Design has been designing for families for 21+ years.
A family house design should be completely personal to your family, and when working with our experienced team, we’ll make that dream a reality. We take the time to get to know our clients and ensure the homes we design reflect what makes them so unique.
If you’d like to see what your family’s custom home could look like, contact us today.