There is no place like home- Building a House
Owning a home is everyone’s dream. Most part of that dream is building a house according to their needs and desires. At its core, a home is only a dwelling. Building materials get combined on a patch of land to form a foundation, roof and walls to make it a house. A house as just a dwelling is nothing special, but the idea of home has a hold on our minds and a special place in our hearts. It’s the notion of home that is truly what we dream of. After all:
HOME IS WHERE YOUR HEART IS
Building a home is an experience. Just by knowing and understanding upfront that you will go through the emotional stages of building a home will help you get through it. You are not alone. Feeling the full spectrum of emotions is totally normal. Each stage of the build process can bring on a new sentiment that wasn’t there before. Taking control of all the decisions that go into building a home and choosing options that meet the needs of the household and facilitate comfortable, easy living make a house a home. Every detail, every decision made during the building process help foster a sense of belonging felt by a homeowner for their home
Remember all the little details you get to choose when building a home? Remember that spark of joy when everything comes together just right? A newly constructed home gives you exactly that.
Understanding the emotional stages of the home building, journey can go a long way. What you can expect and ways you can tame the emotional overload to keep a positive outlook while expecting a rewarding experience.
Here’s a look at what you can expect
Mixture of Excitement and Anxiety
When preparing to build, feelings of anticipation and excitement of having a brand-new home based on one’s own ideas are often at the forefront. However, pondering home locations, browsing floor plans and dreaming of finishing touches can be quickly overshadowed by feeling overwhelmed and uncertain of where to begin. The possibilities of what you can create generate a lot of excitement, but all of the unknowns and work ahead can cause anxiety to creep in as well. Choosing a designer can also be stressful since it sets the tone for the entire build.
Tame the anxiety by giving yourself ample time in the planning phase to make decisions and select a designer. You’ll feel more confident moving forward if you aren’t rushed. Establish trust with the designer. Be honest with him or her about wants and desires so the designer can be in a good position to help. We designers want our clients to be upfront with us so we can best meet their needs. Choose a designer with whom you feel a personal connection, someone with whom you “click” and will want to work closely.
Realization
When people are planning their dream home, they may not necessarily be realistic about the costs. Often what they want is more than their budget will allow, especially when customizing. Once these realizations set in, clients often say: “Wow all this is perhaps more than I want to spend”. When touring a model, there are many upgrades that you may not realize are not included in that base cost.
So, look closely at the blueprints and ask questions. Don’t ever assume that something is included. Remember the base plan is just that – basic. Be forthcoming with the designer about budget. “Good designer will come up with numbers and solutions in or under budget. Once budget numbers are set, designer generally works with clients to learn where their homebuilding priorities lie and advice accordingly.
Indecisiveness
No matter how much time you take, there are going to be moments of indecisiveness. The number of decisions that need to be made and the endless options can feel overwhelming. And sometimes a decision will need to be made promptly, which may cause you to question if you made the right call. Such lack of surety creates an undesirable and unwanted predicament among the family members. This indecisiveness often causes the family members to start blaming each other for any small wrong decision. This is wrong! The family needs to understand that in such critical moment’s one must never start the blame game rather it is vital to stay cool and calm in order to get things done and finalized.
At the end of the day, it’s all about trusting yourself and your design team. If you’re unsure about something, ask your designer for advice. The last thing you want to do is make a decision without fully understanding how it impacts the budget, function and/or feel of your home. When you tour a model home keep in mind that there could be a lot of upgrades inside and out you that fall in love with. Ask which features are upgrades so you can decide if it’s something worth including.
Frustration
At some point it happens to everyone. Things don’t go exactly according to plan or go slower than expected, and feelings of frustration bubble to the surface. Due to the highly involved and often complicated home designing process, feelings of frustration can be present throughout the entire journey. However, these feelings tend to be strongest once building plans are finalized and a contract has to be signed. Frustration can also stem from fear of signing stacks of forms while making such a large financial commitment. Additionally, clients may feel they have forgotten an important detail.
Be realistic about the amount of time the entire home designing process will take. Ask upfront questions home building takes an amazing amount of patience. Try to remember that no design goes perfectly. You’re bound to run into hang ups, but don’t let it get the best of you. Rest assured the designer wants to see consistent and efficient progress as much as the client.
Elation and Pride
On the day you move into your new home the feeling of elation is palpable. After months or even years of planning this day, it’s finally arrived, and the hard work is behind you. As you walk through the rooms, that you helped design, you’ll probably feel a sense of overwhelming pride that’s well deserved.
Conclusion
Though home building can be a daunting process, knowing what emotions one might experience along the way can help ease bumps in the road, leading to the truly rewarding experience it should be. So, now is the time that the right attitude goes a long way. It isn’t about blame; it is about getting the home done per your desires. There are still a lot of work ahead – unpacking boxes, hanging window treatments, tending to the yard, etc. The time spent on getting those details done correctly, in the beginning, will pay off now. Work through it; get your home completed because there is nothing like moving into a new home. It is your dream. It is an extension of you and what you wanted. You selected the items in the home and the plan itself. Now you get to live in. Enjoy it. You get to love your new home. Once you settle in, there is nothing like living in your new home! Keep on reading more stuff from us.
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