Designing a custom dream home for a client is a mix of style, construction, technology, and preference. It is certainly not easy to do, but when you ask the right questions and have the know-how, designing becomes less challenging.
The process is also very exciting and rewarding, since you are designing a home where memories will be made for decades. This makes getting the design right important for you as a designer, your business, and your client.
From client needs and preferences to schematics design, we compiled a list of must do house design tips and tricks you can use to get the best design created. Let’s dive in!
1. Understand the needs of your client to streamline the process
When you’re ready to begin designing, you’ll need to have a client consultation to really get a scope of what they need and want. You may have preliminary notes, but taking it a step further to capture what your client really wants can go a long way once you begin designing. It can also cut back on potential back-and-forth with clients.
You can ask a few of these questions in the consult:
- What areas of your current home do you like?
- What rooms are absolutely important to you?
- Are there things about your current home you dislike?
- What is missing that you need or want?
- What room is the most used in your current home?
Also knowing the living habits of your client can help the design process too. For instance, if the client has a lot of parties or events at their current home, they may like to have a large gathering area to host events in their future home. Knowing little nuances like that can be very helpful.
2. Integrate smart home technology in your design
The digital era we live in has brought a number of innovative tech devices into the home. There are a lot of different smart home devices, which means you’ll need to design with them in mind. This process can be made easy with advanced schematic design technology.For instance, your client may want Google Nest Hub, Ecobee SmartThermostat, Nest Hello, and August Smart Lock Pro integrated into the home’s design. Since all these IOT tech devices are a bit different, you may need to layer your designs and connect the devices that are compatible as well.
3. Match style with your client’s home building budget
You can probably think of the most beautiful home with all the technology and room a client could ever want or need. However, a home design like that can be pretty pricey. Not everyone is ready to build a million dollar dream home, so as a designer, you must adapt your design to the client’s budget.
This can be difficult, because sometimes your client doesn’t necessarily know how much things cost. For instance, running underground heating to heat floors seems like a great energy efficient feature, but it can eat up a lot of budget. Even the simplest of designs can be costly, so be transparent and match budget with what your client wants to make everyone happy.
4. Communicate effectively with the builder on the home build
This is an important one, because transforming your design into an actual standing structure is the main aim. Your client may have a builder in mind, so you will inevitably need to work with that builder for a successful home build. The good news is that keeping those lines of communication open with the builder is easy with these questions:
- What will be the flow of communication (meetings, phone, text)?
- How often will you and the builder communicate (daily, weekly, bi-weekly)?
- Are you one the same page with the builder?
- What is the timeline for different aspects of the project?
- How will issues be dealt with?
5. Trust in the process and always provide solutions, not more problems
Building a house for a client is no easy task. There will be problems, miscommunication, and builder guidelines that need to be followed. This can be frustrating at times, but trust the process you developed with the client and builder. Always take feedback with a positive attitude, and always create solutions, not more problems. This will help the project move forward in a powerful way with as little friction as possible.
Wrapping up . . .
If you’re designing a home for a new client, you know how important it is for your career to get it right. People talk, and having a few good clients on your side will help your business grow. From managing expectations and budget to adding technology to your design, there are plenty of design tips and tricks to employ. What tips do you have for other home designers? We want to hear from you.
