Building a custom home means you have control over every detail. You can design each corner to suit your lifestyle perfectly.
However, when your custom design-builder asks if you have any must-haves when building your new custom home, does your mind go blank? It’s easy to get overwhelmed with choices and get fatigued by decision after decision.
To help you decide on the best ideas for your custom home build, we’ve compiled a list of must-haves that we love adding to our clients’ homes. These options are functional touches that elevate your space and make your custom build feel like it was made just for you.
Kitchen Must-Haves
Under Cabinet Lighting
Under-cabinet lighting is a subtle upgrade that most people don’t realize they can’t live without until they have it. It makes your space lighter and brighter, makes cooking and cleaning easier with more visibility, and prevents you from adding clutter to your countertops with task lighting. While a small decorative lamp may add an elegant touch, under-cabinet lighting eases eye strain while looking at cookbooks, helps you gauge your onions’ caramelization levels, and allows you to swipe up every last crumb.
Garage-Grocery Access
Make unloading your groceries a breeze by adding a small, fire-proofed door between your garage and your kitchen or pantry. Depending on your home’s layout, this door can open directly into the kitchen, butler’s pantry, or include a small lift if the garage is on a lower floor.
Butler’s Pantry
Butler’s pantries are making a comeback in custom homes for a good reason — they are a pure utilitarian upgrade. These spaces range from small areas that have storage and a prep space to fully plumbed areas with sinks, refrigeration, and countertops. If you love entertaining, butler’s pantries are a godsend — prep for your guests and simply close the door, hiding the mess. They also multiply your usable space while leaving your kitchen serene and uncluttered.
Bathroom Must-Haves
Hidden Drawer Outlets
Outlets in bathrooms are useful, but can lead to your space being cluttered, especially if they are higher up on the walls. Many personal appliances and tools that are stored in the bathroom require outlets — think beard trimmers, flatirons and curling wands, electric toothbrushes, and hairdryers. With all those tools, a countertop can quickly become cluttered. Hidden drawer outlets make plugging these appliances in easy, and can allow you to easily store everything when you are done. You can even opt for outlets with shutoff timers to ensure your safety when storing hot tools!
Rainfall Shower
A rainfall shower makes every day feel like a little luxury. These showers have a head mounted on the ceiling that offers a relaxing, serene shower experience. These showerheads are ideal for walk-in oversized showers to make your bathroom into a serene escape.
Heated Floors & Towel Racks
Radiant heating in floors is an excellent upgrade that is not only luxurious for you, but adds resale value and creates a true spa-like environment. Radiant underfloor heating can be easily installed during the build process and helps your home stay energy efficient. Paired with heated towel racks, your bathroom will become your favorite room in the house.
Accessible First Floor Bathroom
Ensuite bathrooms are necessary, but an accessible first-floor full bathroom is a true must-have. It adds an option when you are entertaining, so guests don’t have to traipse through your home. Adding a shower to it makes it easy for those staying overnight to have a private place to wash up, and adds options for aging in the place down the road.
Living Room Must-Haves
Custom Built-In Shelves
Very few elements can upgrade a living room like built-in shelving and cabinetry. It looks polished and adds character to your home in addition to adding storage or a place to show off your personality. In addition, it offers a great way to house your TV or media center.
Dedicated TV Outlet
TVs are a mainstay in the living room — why not add a dedicated outlet exactly where you’ll need one? TV wires are unsightly and can create a trap for dust. Better yet, work with your builder to run the TV wires through the wall safely and hide them altogether.
Automated Window Treatments
Window treatments add texture and flexibility to your space, but automated window treatments in your living room can be set to adjust at specific times of day — ensure your space is sun-drenched during the day but have the shades rolled down for privacy at night. And with the touch of a button, you can make your room dark for movie night.
Bedroom Must-Haves
Adjacent Walk-In Closets
Closet space in bedrooms is a make-or-break element for most homeowners. And rather than having one large closet, have one for each of you. These adjacent closets mean you can each have your own space, whether you love to have every color-coded and organized, or you tend to live out of laundry baskets. Clutter can stay contained within your closets without making your primary suite look and feel busy.
Personal Fireplace
A personal fireplace in the bedroom may seem like something only seen in older homes, but it instantly adds charm and character to your home. Plus, it helps heat your space, and it adds a cozy ambiance to your private retreat.
Private Balcony or Patio
A private terrace in your bedroom gives a resort feel to your home. You can add a sitting area to enjoy the weather, keep a serene and private garden, or add a relaxing hammock or lounge to ensure you get use of your indoor outdoor space.
Rooms to Consider
Dedicated Mudroom
A mudroom is an absolute necessity — it adds storage, contains muddy kids or pets, and creates a secondary entrance for your home. A mudroom often seems like an afterthought, but designed well, it can be a central place for seasonal storage, outdoor supplies, and even upgrades like a dog-wash station or a powder room for quick washing up.
Dedicated Laundry Room
Some homeowners eschew a dedicated laundry room as a waste of space and would rather place those appliances in the basement or a closet. But a spacious laundry room can be a workhorse in your house. With countertops for folding, built-in drying racks and hanging stations, and storage for cleaning supplies, a laundry room is an undercover indicator of luxury.
Home Gym
Another room that’s often combined with other spaces, the home gym is definitely something to add to your custom build. When you have control over the design, you can make space for it. Add a no-frills extension of your garage for lifting weights, or create a serene yoga studio with floor-to-ceiling windows.
Top-Shelf Extras
Home Speakers
A whole-home audio system can elevate your home, especially for entertaining. When designing a custom house, you can add speakers in strategic locations and built-in electrical or Bluetooth so you can easily have seamless audio throughout your home.
Personal Wine Cellar
Whether a connoisseur or just an occasional fan of a good bottle of red, a wine cellar can be added creatively without taking up much space. A nook of unused space can easily become a charming and upscale addition to your luxury home. If wine isn’t your thing, consider a barrel room for whiskey instead!
En Suite Laundry On Upper Floors
While a dedicated laundry room is a necessity, an auxiliary laundry room on the second floor of your home makes laundry day a breeze. You can incorporate a small washer and dryer into a generous walk-in closet, or add a jack-and-jill style laundry room between your primary suite and the kids’ room for efficiency and ease.
Electrical Vehicle Charging Station
The point of a custom build is that you can plan for every convenience — including electrical car charging stations. Add one to your garage for your own car to make “fueling” up quick and easy.
Get In Touch With A Top-Rated Longview, TX Custom Home Builder Today
BORT design offers expertise for highly customized and technical home builds. If you can dream it, we can build it. Your custom home build should be personalized and capture your lifestyle requirements and ideals in every room.
To learn more about our approach to custom home design, get in touch for a consultation.
