Designing your custom home is an exciting process. So much potential! Of course, once you’re settled, you’ll want to enjoy your new home (and all of Middle Tennessee) for many years. Figuring the future into your building plan is fundamental to getting the most from your custom home.

Custom Home

The Near Future

Planning for the immediate and near future is relatively easy. Will your family grow with children or other relatives, or will it shrink when older children start to leave the nest? You may need one or two additional bedrooms in the near future, or perhaps one or two fewer.

Your plans to entertain (or not entertain) are another point to consider. Will you host large family meals for the holidays?  Plan your kitchen and dining area floorplans with those annual celebrations in mind. Do you enjoy backyard cookouts or overnight guests? Let your designer know your wishes.

Ahead a Few More Years

Thinking a bit further into the future requires more thought. If your plan is to sell the home in ten years or so, you’ll want to include features that increase salability.

Settling in for the long haul? Feel free to go heavier on the personal touches—things only you can fully appreciate. Sunrooms or home theaters, for instance, are not highly sought-after features for homebuyers, but may give you years of enjoyment.

Think about the life-changing milestones you’re likely to experience while in your custom home. Will you retire there? How might your needs change if you do? Perhaps you’ve always wanted to start your own business. Discuss options with your designer if you think you’ll need a workshop or a home office later on.

What stages of life are your family members in? It may be that you have children who will be grown around the same time you anticipate your parents needing some assistance. Perhaps you have teens who would enjoy the privacy of an in-law suite you’ve built in anticipation of caring for aging parents or grandparents.

Plan for Flexibility

The one constant in life is change, and as the often paraphrased saying of Robert Burns goes, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” By including some versatile spaces that could evolve over time, you can be more comfortable at home no matter what the future holds.

Ready for Your Own Custom Home in Middle Tennessee?

Carbine & Associates specializes in creating one-of-a-kind, beautiful homes in Middle Tennessee. We’d love to hear what you’re looking for, so please call us at 615-661-9995 or contact us online and let us make your dream home a reality.