During our young lives, many of us dream of one day buying a plot of land and building our own dream house. If you are finally getting to a point in your life where you can afford to do this — it can be an exciting prospect for all. We’ve highlighted the essential steps in building your dream home for the first time and how you can make the most of your project.
By Team Savant
Image: Anatolii Nesterov
Hire An Architect
The first thing you will need when looking to build a home for your family is a design for it. A plot of land can be easily found on housing market websites and once you have this, you can begin to draw up plans for the house you have always wanted. Be aware to give yourself a good amount of outdoor space as well as inside as this will benefit you in the long run.
List the Features You Need
When building your dream house there will likely be a certain number of features you want to bring to the space. It is important before you start the project that you list all of the features you cannot live without and ones which have to be part of the design. You can then hand this over to your architect and they can work their magic and create a stunning space for you. Some features you might want are:
Large bedrooms plus a spare
An office
A walk-in wardrobe
En-suite bathroom
Family Bathroom
Downstairs toilet
Open living area
Dining room
Spacious kitchen
Utility room
Movie room / snug
Big garden
Outdoor pool
Survey the Land
When it comes to building your home it is crucial that you take the time to survey the land before beginning. Land is different in different locations and has different properties. You need to ensure that your land is free or toxic chemicals or gases which might be released during building work. You can use 3D laser scanning and hire a team to come and survey your land to ensure it is good to go for the building project.
Lay the Foundations
The foundation of your home is a job which needs to be done perfectly — because it will determine the stability of your home. It is important when planning to lay foundations that you choose a warm and dry couple of days to give concrete chance to dry completely unhindered. Once you have the foundation in place the fun part can begin.
Create a Skeleton
Now that the foundation is down, it is to me for you to build the walls and the roof of your property. This skeleton process will take some time and you can use either wooden or metal bars to complete your work. Once the roof is on and you have the bare bones of your walls and perimeter, you can start considering where the electric and gas work will go before you plaster it up.
Add Electrics and Gas
Installing electric and gas work should be done by qualified professionals and this should be the next job on your list before you start to fit plasterboard and plaster the walls and ceilings. Make sure that when you come to install electric sockets that you install enough for the devices you use in the house. There is nothing worse than not having enough plug socket free when you need one.
Install Fixtures and Fittings
Once you have plastered the walls and got them looking clean and fresh, it’s time for fixtures. Fixtures and fittings are the next thing on your list and you will want to get these installed and ready to go as soon as you can. This includes things such as light fittings, curtain rails, and alarms, to make sure that you have them ready to go by the time you are plastering and decorating your walls.
Paint the Walls
Once you have the important things in place, you can begin to paint your home. Always start with the ceiling and work your way down to paint the walls a beautiful colour. Consider choosing a white for every wall but one so that you have a bright feature wall and still retain lots of light in the space. Choosing the colour scheme for your house has to be one of the most fun steps in the process so have some fun with this and play around with different palettes.
Lay the Floors
Once the ceiling and walls are painted you can consider laying your floors. Flooring is the last step which will really tie a room together and make it feel like a home. Choosing the flooring for various rooms in your house might be a challenge but there are lots of brilliant choices to play around with:
Carpet
Laminate
Wooden panel
Vinyl tiles
Ceramic tiles
Polished concrete
Marble
Decorate the Space
Now that you have everything in place, it is time to bring in your furniture and start to decorate your home to your liking. This is easily the most fun part of a project and here is where everything finally ties together and you can feel as if you have the perfect home for yourself and your family. Make sure though that when bringing furniture into your house that you still leave plenty of free space where you can either enjoy space or add things throughout the years as you see them.
Add Final Touches
The small touches are really what transform a model house into a family home. This is the point where you can start to add photographs of your family around the house, add ornaments that you love, and hang artwork on the wall. You can also add small touches such as candles and plants to your shelves and perhaps even some fairy lights on an upright headboard for a touch of magic. Have fun with this part because this is what you’ve been working towards and it will feel amazing when you finally manage to get it how you want it!