When you think about designing your dream home and all of the unique features and elements you want to include, the fun part of building begins!  What design elements do you want to incorporate into your dream home?  The internet, social media, magazines and idea books can provide a wealth of ideas to consider, but it can also be a little overwhelming.  In this article, we provide a few suggestions for organizing your design ideas for a custom home, luxury estate, or family homestead!

Design Selections

In the past, we would suggest that clients create a folder and throw in all the ideas, pictures and photos they wanted to discuss as part of the design. Today, it’s much easier to pin, tag, and save these ideas to your phone, laptop or Pinterest board.  Websites like Houzz and Wayfair are great places to start too!  Here are a few ways to simplify and organize the ideas you’re collecting!

Start an electronic file where you can keep all of your ideas and preferences. Separate ideas and photos into categories that correlate to the design selection process.  Consider the various elements you want incorporated into the home, by organizing them into main categories:

• Cabinets / Countertops
• Appliances
• Plumbing fixtures
• Exterior (Roof, Siding, Brick, Stone, Windows)
• Exterior Doors
• Stairs
• Fireplace
• Tile
• Interior Doors
• Baseboards, casings, other details
• Paint and stain
• Light fixtures
• Floor coverings
• Hardware (door and cabinet)

Be sure to download the free Checklist for Design Preferences to organize your design ideas for your custom home.  If you are building an estate or luxury home design, the list may be even more extensive.  This checklist will help you define your design preferences and must-haves for each area. This is a great way to organize your thoughts and ideas to review with your architect and builder.   This will also allow you and them to get a sense of your style and also help ensure your tastes are aligned with your budget. We also find that introducing an interior designer, during the design phase, can be of tremendous value during this part of the process.

Client Concierge

Our client concierge helps clients plan appointments to showrooms, select finishes and fixtures, and helps your selection process stay aligned with your budget.

Interior Designer

An interior designer can be invaluable to helping you add all the finishing touches to your custom home.  Many clients utilize an interior designer throughout the construction process and find this can help implement considerations for existing furniture, select new furniture and accessories, and ensure that you have the structural elements to showcase any artwork or treasured pieces.

By organizing your design ideas, your custom home building experience will be a smoother process from start to finish.  If you need more ideas, be sure to download our free book,  “Designing & Building Your Custom Dream Home: How to Create an Experience You’ll Love to Remember.”  You can also download many of the checklists referenced in the book from our website.

If you want to create a truly enjoyable, memorable custom home building experience, contact Mueller Homes today to begin the process!