There are many design elements that can be added to your home at a later date, but some things should be incorporated during the planning stages. Here we present two such items – one is an almost impossible change after the fact, and one will simply save you time, money, and unnecessary headache.
Basement Design
Slightly less than one-half of the homes built in the U.S. are built on basements. If your new home will sit atop a basement foundation, before you build, do your best to determine future uses for your basement. For example, you’re probably going to want taller basement walls in order to have a ceiling height that is at least 8-feet. You’ll know where to rough in plumbing for a bathroom, where to optimally locate structural poles, and where a small kitchen or bar might be situated. You will also want to make sure you don’t finish off too much of that lower level at the expense of much needed storage!
Happy Feet
Happy FeetIf your feet are warm, chances are you’ll feel warm all over. But the converse is also true. And few things at home are more dreaded than climbing out of a warm bed or after bathing and stepping onto cold floors! Concrete, stone, tile, and even wood floors can be quite cold to bare feet. Radiant floor heating, in which either warming electrical wires or recirculating hot water lines are installed under the flooring, creates a wonderful, warm floor. Importantly, the decision to spend money for warm floors must be made prior to construction!
Read more home design tips on our Design Resources page.