For many people, the idea of designing their home can seem like a distant dream. Any architect will tell you that designing a home from scratch comes with a lot of costs that you might not even be able to budget for. Of course, it is entirely possible to design your dream home on a budget – if you’re willing to make a few sacrifices along the way.
In this article, we are going to give you some tips on how you can design your dream home on a tight budget. We’ll talk you through everything from setting the budget to getting the right flooring. Once we have gone through these tips, you should be able to come up with the perfect design that lasts a long time and doesn’t cost you too much. Keep reading if you are thinking about building a home for yourself or for someone else in the near future.
Setting The Budget
The first thing that you need to do when thinking about designing your dream home is to set the budget. You’ll need to know exactly how much cash you can afford to spend on the entire project, and this will usually be a mix of loans and your own savings. Sit down with everyone involved in the project and work out how much you have to spend.
Once you know how much you have, you can work out a plan on how much you can afford on each individual detail in the house. Remember that some things will cost a lot more than others and if you don’t budget for this then you are going to come across some problems.
It is important that you remember that it is impossible to budget for every single thing in the project. There are always unexpected costs, and this can often be completely unavoidable. Set your budget, add a little spare cash in for the unexpected costs and you should be able to stick to your budget.
Cheaper Locations
Once you know how much you have to spend, you’ll need to find the right space to build your home on. It is a good idea to look for some of the cheaper locations and those that are outside of the city. You might have a dream location for your home, but this is not always going to be possible if it is outside of your budget.
Consider sacrificing your dream location for a nicer and well-built home as this is often something which many people have to do. Take a look online at some of the best locations to live in near where you currently are and make sure that they are affordable. You’ll still need to consider things like nearby schools, your job and the cost of living there. Choose a cheaper location and you should be able to find the perfect place to start building your home within your budget.
Small Is Chic
For many people, having a really large home with an open plan kitchen and a back garden perfect for entertaining is the dream. If you are on a tight budget, then you might struggle to build a home in the size that you have always dreamed of. The good news is that small is actually quite chic and building a small home can still be impressive. Many people live in smaller homes and enjoy it once their kids have grown up and the rooms are emptier than they were before.
The size of the land that your purchase is going to determine the size of your home, but your budget will also play a part in this. Make sure that you are choosing a size that is suitable for your family and don’t overspend on a large home if you don’t need all of that extra space. Remember that small is chic and you’ll still enjoy living in this dream home that you have built yourself.
Open Floor Plans
One of the biggest problems for people who are designing their dream home is trying to find the cash to spend on all of the individual rooms that are needed. One of the best ways to combat this and make sure that you are sticking to your budget is to try and build a home with open floor plans.
Think about having an open kitchen and living room as the fewer walls you have, the less money you’ll have to spend on materials. Not only will you spend less money on the actual building process, but you’ll also have a really trendy design in your home. Open plan homes are very on trend and you will love being able to move around freely in your home.
Try One Floor
Not every home needs to be multi-storey and you will find that if you are willing to make the sacrifice and only design a one-storey home then you’ll save yourself a lot of cash. Many people live in apartments and flats around the country and it can actually be a much better idea if you want to prepare for the future.
When you are older, you might need to downsize to a smaller home when you cannot access the stairs as well as you could in the past. Preparing for this right now by only building a one-storey home can save you a lot of cash in the building project.
Spend On Important Things
Our next tip for those who want to design their dream home on a budget is to make sure that you are spending money on the important things. If you are going to go to the trouble of building your own home, then you are going to want to make sure that it is how you want it to be. Don’t be afraid to splurge a little on some of the more important things in your design.
You might really want to have a large dining room for your entire family or possibly even an extra bathroom to make sure that everyone is comfortable in your home. If you really want something, then you can splurge a little on it and make sure that you are compromising on other things.
Getting The Right Flooring
One of the most important things that you’ll need to budget for in your dream home is the flooring. While it can be expensive to add wooden flooring to your entire home, you need to make sure that you are choosing an option that is going to be durable and last a long time.
A good way to keep your flooring within your budget is to consider adding some laminate flooring. You’ll love the laminate flooring as it will be easier to clean, and it is relatively cost-effective. On top of this, it should be installed in no time at all and you can even do it yourself if you have some experience in DIY. If you are interested in adding some laminate flooring to your home, then you should check out this site for some great options: https://www.woodfloorwarehouse.co.uk/laminate-flooring.html
Shop Around
Still struggling to keep to your budget for your new home design? Our next tip is to make sure that you are shopping around as much as possible. You will find that shopping around can help you to compare prices and make sure that you are getting the best possible price. Take a look online, in-store and ask around your local area for the best deals.
If you are buying materials in bulk, then you might be able to get a better price for them if you negotiate. Never just agree on the first price that you get for a product. Do your research, shop around and you should be able to stay within your budget.
Think Recycled Furniture
One of the biggest costs for your new home will be on the furniture as you will need to make sure that every single room has everything that you need. This is probably something that you have already budgeted for but to make sure that you stay within this, you should think about investing in some recycled or pre-loved furniture.
You might want to have brand new sofas and beds in your brand new home, but this is not very cost-effective. There are plenty of second-hand furniture shops that you can visit and pick up some important pieces of furniture. This will save you a lot of cash in the long run and you’ll find that a lot of the items that you pick up will be in a relatively good condition.
Buy What You Need
It can be easy to get distracted by all of the things that you want when you are designing your home. Perhaps you think that you need a dishwasher and many other kitchen appliances but is this entirely true? To make sure that you are staying within your budget, you should think about what you actually need in your home. The electrical products that you are buying will be very expensive and if you are investing in things that you only want and don’t need then you’ll end up going over budget.
Write a list of your must-have items – include things like a fridge, a washing machine and a freezer. Once you have done this, you can invest in these items and worry about the others once you have saved up a lot more cash. In a few months, once you have caught up you can purchase that coffee machine that you have always dreamed of.
DIY
One of the best ways to make sure that you are within your home design budget is to try your hand at some DIY. You’ll end up paying a lot of money that you don’t need to spend when you have people come over to build your items and paint your walls. The more DIY that you can do in this project, the more money you’ll save.
If you haven’t done too much DIY in the past, then you can easily pick up skills online. Practice a little while your home is getting built and once it is time to start painting and laying floors, you should be able to save yourself some cash by doing it yourself.
Get Everyone Involved
If DIY isn’t your thing then it might be a good idea to get your whole family involved in the process of building your dream home. You could turn it into a fun task for your kids or even ask your friends to come along and help you out.
If you know some local tradespeople in the area, then you might be able to save yourself some of your budget. Ask them to help you out and they might do it for a lower rate. Try to get as many people involved in this project as possible and it will be completed a lot quicker within the budget that you set initially.
Get Started Today
If you are thinking about designing your dream home but don’t quite have a big enough budget, then you should think about taking on board all of the tips that we have given you in this article. You’ll need to know exactly how much you have to spend on this project as well as budgeting for all of the unexpected costs that you might encounter during the design process.
Make sure to think about building a smaller home than you might have originally planned in a location that is cheaper to buy land on. If you are willing to make some sacrifices, then you should be able to build your dream home and not have to worry about spending a lot of cash that you cannot afford to spend.
Follow all of the advice that we have given you and you should be able to live in your dream home in the near future. It’s time to make your dream into a reality!
