The Second-Most-Common Fear I Hear About Homebuilding

Stressed about getting your home’s design wrong? Here’s how to get it right.

I hear a lot of worries from clients building their forever homes. The most common is, “How on earth am I going to afford this?” (I share tips for that here.) The second-most-common fear:

“What if I get the design wrong?”

It’s a legitimate concern. After you’ve decided to invest in your forever home, you want to be sure it will truly fit your life.

How can you know that you’re going to get it right?

Start with your goals

Before you even begin designing your house, it’s important to understand exactly what you want your new home (or renovated home) to accomplish.  

Doing this work upfront gives you clarity throughout the whole design process.  And when you lay out your goals and your vision, it becomes a beacon that guides you through the design process and ultimately gives you confidence during construction that you’ve gotten the design right.  

But you have to keep checking your design to make sure you’re staying aligned with your goals and values!  This leads to the next tip…

Don’t rush the design

Believe me, I know the eagerness of starting construction and getting into a new home. 

But don’t let the eagerness rush you through the design process.  This is where you get to flesh out all of your ideas and get crystal clear on what you want to build and why you want to build it. 

After you’ve taken the time to understand what you want from your home, you need to make sure the design is aligning with those goals.  

• Working with an architect? Ask them to show how each iteration still supports your goals.
• Using a stock plan or designing it yourself? Schedule periodic “goal checks” and adjust as needed.

These check-ins take time and may mean revising drawings. That’s a good thing. 

Remember: changing a line on paper is far cheaper than moving a wall during construction (or, worse, after move-in).

Question everything

Be the person that looks at all angles before making a decision.  This is how you’ll know you’re making the right choice.  

For example, if you’ve decided to move the primary bedroom next to the living room, and now your primary bedroom door is directly off of the living room wall, think through how that’ll make you feel when you’re living there.

Work through all of the possible scenarios. Then make your decision.

Don’t design for trends or looks

If you get stuck on wanting your home or your kitchen to look a certain way (based on an image you saw or a current design trend) you’ll possibly be compromising the functionality of your home.  

There are a lot of pretty architectural photos and design trends out there that are a disaster for comfort, functionality, and the durability of your home.  If you aren’t sure if a design trend will hurt your home or not, I have a blog post with tips for figuring it out. 

Have it reviewed

If you want extra assurance, a third-party architect design review can provide clear, actionable feedback.

Many architects and designers offer this service.  First, you’ll want to find one that fits your needs.  At Balanced Architecture, we specialize in healthy and sustainable home design reviews that produce comfortable, durable, and functional homes.  

In every review, we look at:

• How the design is meeting the client’s goals and vision (we do a deep dive at the beginning of the review to ensure we understand each client’s individual needs)
• How the house is located on the property to make sure it’s taking advantage of the sun, breezes, and other opportunities for passive design strategies
• Floor plan functionality to make sure the layout is going to make your daily routines as stress-free as possible
• Opportunities to reduce inefficiencies in the floor plan (cutting out wasted space)
• Mechanical equipment to ensure there are space and pathways for balanced ventilation and right-sized equipment within the building envelope (this is not a mechanical design review)
• Optimizing natural heating and cooling strategies through window and roof design 
• Constructability factors to ensure the house isn’t unnecessarily complicated to build
• Durability factors to ensure the house will last for a long time without the need for a ton of maintenance
• Material choices that align with healthy and sustainable design

Some architects call this a “floor plan review,” but make sure yours goes beyond the plan. A comprehensive review should consider the building form, window placement and sizing, roof design, and the layout. That’s how you get a home that’s functional, well lit, comfortable, energy-efficient, and built to last.

Final thoughts:

If you’re worried about getting the design wrong, remember:

• Get clear on why you’re building and what you need from your home.
• Take your time during design and keep checking decisions against your goals.
• Question every major move in the context of daily life.
• For peace of mind, have an expert (who understands your priorities) review the design.