Building a shelter over his head has been one of the prime desires of the human kind ever since he appeared on the face of this earth. It not only signifies sustainable protection and security, but in modern times it symbolizes status and investment ability. The power of money ultimately decides the way we live and our home is a reflection of how much we can spend. So instead of rented apartments which is also a comfortable dwelling option, we want to build our own custom home, building which obviously require more planning, more organization and of course more money.
Building a custom home has taken a new trend in the past decade with people becoming more aware and concerned about pollution and the deteriorating environment. Gone are the days when people only dreamt of ‘green’ homes but stayed away from building them fearing higher costs. With a plethora of cheap ‘green’ choices in building materials and plans, custom home building can be a reality. The whole idea of custom home building would depend on your choice of materials and budget. For instance, if you are keen on protecting the environment, you could use green materials for flooring which is nothing but recycled material. This means that you are not touching virgin material and using something which lasts long, easy to maintain, safe for use and gives you a chance to comply with the recycling regulations as stipulated by the government. You are not contributing to landfills and this should give you a sense of pride for contributing some thing to the society. Bamboo flooring is an idea of this category which is in contrast to conventional flooring.
The biggest advantage of custom home building is that it allows you to be creative and at the same time use every bit of space available. You are designing a home which is both stylish at the same time functional. In case you are not building a home from scratch and buying a home which you can customize later, you can find it more affordable and involves less hassle. Be prepared however, that such homes are usually built by using ‘builder’s grade’ material to save on cost and increase the profitability of the builder as well as the real estate agent. This means that the fixtures like cabinets, etc would not last for very long and you will have to spend some extra money later to remodel the home. Even when you decide to buy a plot and build your custom home from a housing development society, you still might be limited in your choice of design and expanse. You will be however free to choose the floor layout, size of the rooms etc. You also have the choice of selecting the flooring patterns, door and window sizes and designs, siding material and color and more. In short, every fixture and feature in the house is custom made exclusively as per your choice and preference.
On the other hand a full custom home where you have the right to make the exterior as well as the interior as per your choice might cost you at least 2 to 3 times more per square feet area than a semi-custom house. One economically feasible option you have while custom home building is to build your home in phases. As and when there is money or mortgage is possible, you could go on adding a floor, extend the garage or build a room at the attic. As mentioned earlier, lifestyle can be changed; dreams can be fulfilled provided you have the budget to do so and the will to stand by your goals.
