Having your luxury dream house built is for most people, is a once in a lifetime event. This is due to the complexities, uncertainties, lack of time and the financial risk associated with this endeavor.
Building a luxury dream house in Houston is seen as reaching the pinnacle of success by most people’s standards and requires substantial financial resources.
Building a luxury dream house in Houston is a long and very rewarding process that requires an enormous commitment of the owner’s resources and time. To lessen this burden, the owner is well advised to surround themselves with experienced high-level professionals as trusted advisers to guide them through the dream house design and construction journey.
If you are one of the select distinctive people that is impassioned by the idea of building and designing a dream house, you have come to the right place to learn about the most critical factors that separate dream houses from the common home purchase process.
So, you ask, what are the most essential requirements of designing and building your new Houston dream house?
Learn about the most important factors that affect the success of Houston luxury dream house construction
Dream House Site
Locating and purchasing a home site is one of the most important early steps for a number of reasons including limited lot inventories in Houston, restrictive deed covenants and finding the right property that will compliment your home design.
Due to the lack of available lot inventory in Houston, it would be in the owner’s interest to find and purchase a house site as the first step in the home building process.
Locating and selecting a home site in Houston can take some time. It requires finding a Houston neighborhood that would compliment the style and architectural home design that would be the best setting for your luxury dream house.
Identifying the neighborhood is important because each neighborhood in Houston has its own deed restrictions that act as zoning & building restrictions defining construction limitations such as setbacks, maximum building heights, architectural styles and sizes of homes allowed.
The home design must comply with the deed restrictions and receive an approval from the architectural review committee before the building plans are submitted for permit with City of Houston permitting.
Other important considerations for selecting a home site are understanding that the lot elevation is high enough to avoid drainage and flooding issues and that the resale neighborhood home values will support the sale of your property in the future.
Unique Lifestyle / Unique Home Design
The most important element of the new luxury dream house construction journey is the design. The design should be a reflection of the land (lot), the surrounding environment and the owner’s lifestyle.
The building site is the canvas on which you are painting this reflective art. How does your homes footprint fit on the lot, is the property effected by road & foot traffic, what is the homes solar facing direction and does the land provide you the views you require, are all relevant questions.
The environment includes the immediate neighborhood and the surrounding amenities. This is important because most HOA’s will require the architectural approval of your design.
So, if you are seeking a modern sleek home design shrouded in glass and the neighborhood streetscape is Traditional Colonial and Early American home designs, you may get your design approved after much insistence in your dealings with the HOA, but this could likely cause you economic issues when it is time to sell.
The uniqueness of your luxury home design does not mean that your house should be obscurely different for the sake of being different, but rather uniquely represents you and your family’s lifestyle.
The design should address the passions in your life like; how you use the kitchen, what you desire in your personal private area and the comforts you enjoy in your spare time interest.
Great design often starts with taking chances and ignoring traditionally accepted custom home design ideas.
Quality Craftsmanship and Materials
Selecting quality over quantity is essential when planning your luxury dream house. This begins with the structure and consistently flows through the finer home finish appointments.
The structure should be built above the minimum standards of the ICC (International Code Compliance). The minimum compliance codes allow for structural standards for traditional loads and variances that can be problematic with expensive finish products.
That is to say that allowable structural load deflections in the structure can lead to unsightly cracks and movement in stone products and can result in unwanted noise and vibrations in floor systems and stairways.
Minimal energy standards can lead to higher utilities and product deterioration by harmful UV sunlight.
If the structure is soundly built the craftsmanship of master journeymen will sustain the test of time.
Tightly fitted carpentry miters and exquisite seal treatments in paint & stains will remain in its intended state.
Designing a superior structural integrity will provide assurances that your homes overall health will be stainable and avoid future nuisance maintenance expenses and issues of attempting to match products during repair.
The finer appointments that separate luxury homes are the select materials and products that define the unique distinction and personality of your home.
These products are also important in providing intrinsic and perceived value. You are better off reducing the size of the home versus downsizing the product selections to conform to budget restraints.
If you are going to invest your time and money in a luxury home, your comfort and satisfaction should not be compromised at the expense of a larger home for the sake of a larger home.
Trusted Advisor
A general contractor (builder) is a professional in the construction of various buildings with experience in a variety of different construction methods and means.
Much like a medical doctor or an attorney a general contractor is the ongoing practice of direct experience and continued education.
There are licensing requirements and certifications processes that distinguish and designate one general contractor from another as there is with legal and medical professionals.
It is essential that you understand your builders experience and educational background before you hire one.
More importantly, much like other personal professionals it is essential that there is a solid personal working fit between you and your builder.
Depending on what phase of design you engage the general contractor, you are likely to spend anywhere between 18 months to 36 months engaged in the business of building your new home. If you make a poor personal decision about your builder, it can be a painful and long lasting experience.
A good luxury home builder is looking for the same thing as their clients are looking for in the construction experience, a good working relationship.
The best of the best builders are more than good general contractors they are trusted advisers through the entire design and construction process.
Much like your attorney, they firmly believe it is their responsibility to prepare you through providing education and information about the construction process, while guiding you through the formulation of your performance expectations.
These elements establish the foundation for clients to be able follow the design and building process closely and stay involved as a working partner in the entire process, while reducing the natural stress and anxiety brought on by not understanding what or why something is happening.
Efficient Use of Design Space
The essence of good architectural planning is the balance of form and function in interior design. The final essential requirement for you as the owner is to make sure your architect or designer efficiently designs the living space to avoid wasted or a poorly flowing floor plan.
In most cases, what you lose in actual space can be made up in volume by raising ceiling heights and expanding exterior glass usage.
The use of open space makes a home feel larger, while inviting multiple points of interest to focus the eye and furnishes more flexibility in decorating.
There are many more important factors to consider when building your luxury home, but these are very relevant priorities that you should not loose site of during the home design and construction process.
Addressing these requirements alone can make the difference in a successful and joyful experience over a potentially disastrous occurrence.
Cost of Luxury Home Building
The cost of luxury home building is a reflection of the size, home design, materials, labor and products that are used in the construction of the house.
The size and shape of the structure is the most determining factor. What I mean is that the total square footage, ceiling heights and roof structure drive the higher cost of luxury home building.
The second factor that has just as much impact is the architectural design. Rectangular shapes are the most cost effective to build. So, when the architect introduces uncommon geometric shapes like radiuses walls, arches and layers of framing that require detailed millwork, these types of details increase the need of labor and materials.
Another factor that adds to the cost of building a luxury home is an increase of under roof structure to air conditioning space. What this means is that by reducing the air-conditioned space and leaving the roof size the same will not reduce the total cost proportionately.
The cost of luxury home building may not be affordable to most people but these costs are controllable if they are taken into consideration early in the design and planning stage.
Conclusion
Luxury dream house building is an exciting experience that requires the owner’s attention throughout the entire process.
For the most rewarding results the owner needs to allow enough time to hire a trusted adviser early in the process and be mindful about the home site and architectural design being in sync.
Building your dream house is not for everyone, but for those that want the best in life, construction of a one-of-a-kind home will me memorable and add to your quality of life.
