Choosing the Right Design for Your New Construction Home

Choosing to build your house from scratch means having the opportunity to create the home of your dreams and the chance to create something totally unique to you and your lifestyle. With that tremendous benefit, however, comes the added burden of myriad different details and decisions. Chief among them is the design of your new construction home. The considerations are nearly endless, and the process can begin to feel overwhelming before you’ve even started. To help lighten the load, we’ve scoured the internet in search of design experts and asked them to contribute their best tips for choosing the right design for your new construction home. Whether you’re in Houston or Newport, read on to discover design insights from the best of the best!

Whether it’s an addition or a remodel, we like to think of the project as more of a convergence, a fusion of the yard space and the principle structure versus just an add-on. Many additions are often constructed without taking into account the complete vision for the house and its site as a whole. In our approach, we want to think of the entire property and its interior space as a comprehensive, cohesive project, utilizing the space so as to merge, flow, and connect with all the combined elements.

We focus on connecting the house to its available yard, often updating and installing floor-to-ceiling windows permitting the optimum amount of natural light to the interior and direct access to the backyard space for a better connection to nature and ease of access so it becomes more usable space.

• Meet with different architects. It’s important to like the portfolio of work by the architect but also make sure you like him/her. You will be spending a lot of time with your architect, so a good relationship is key.

• Check the portfolio of the architects you are thinking about interviewing. Do all the projects look the same, or do they look like they adapt their style to the needs of their client?
  Every good project has a good story or narrative. Try to think of the one thing that is most important to you, whether that be indoor/outdoor living, visibility from one space to another, sustainability etc.
• In order to get the best design results, it helps to choose a few pictures of projects you like. These can be abstract concepts such as light/air/openness, to specific features like front doors or stairs.
• Try to bring in the contractor during the design phase. Their experience is invaluable and it’s too late to make changes at the end of the design process. It’s recommended to show the design to some contractors at the end of Schematic Design or Design Development to get an opinion of probable cost.

Steven Perce, bldg.collective: Creating a home begins with tapping into ideas and memories collected over a lifetime and we urge clients to go beyond the simplest resources for inspiration and influence. Inspiration can come from anywhere- travel, childhood experiences, books or artwork. Try to remember that this is your home and a unique, well-designed home can inspire not only yourself but the community around it as well.

Christine Boles, Beausoleil Architecte: As the climate crisis intensifies, we all need to do all we can to build sustainably and use clean electric power generated on-site. Look for good solar exposure especially towards the south and west. Additionally, did you know that most homes lose 7-10 times the ENTIRE volume of air in the house every hour through small leaks at windows, electrical outlets, etc.? Ask your architect about new construction methods for air sealing.

Cyndi Zaino, Hogan Architects + Development: Lighting is the most fundamental consideration when designing a custom home. Designing a building around solar orientation introduces many opportunities to utilize sunlight to create a vibrant and comfortable home. Considerations such as the placing and sizing of windows or doors, and connecting interior and exterior spaces can fill a room with natural light that leads to positive health effects — it also has favorable thermal impacts on the building, helping reduce energy consumption. For example, integrating landscaping elements such as a vine trellis or green wall provides dappled light as well as creates a thermal barrier to harsh sunlight. Facade systems that are designed with solar orientation in mind can shield direct light and heat during certain parts of the day and provide soft, reflected light to fill a space.

Aric Gitomer, Aric Gitomer Architect: Are you looking to build a new home? Is this your first home? There is a big difference in someone creating their first home for their current
situation and whatever the future may hold such as a growing family, in-laws sharing your home, etc. versus a seasoned homeowner looking to downsize or upsize. Every future homeowner has a unique set of criteria to address in regard to their personal circumstances.

The key to a successful residential design is observation. Analyze your needs current and future and determine a hierarchy of must-haves, would be nice to have, but not necessary. Once you have accomplished this epic task the communication with your architect is also essential to a successful outcome. The architect you select should be an excellent listener and interpreter as well as a negotiator between spouses at times. It is their job to create your vision by taking all the bits and pieces you feed them and realizing them into the design of your home.

Schwarz Lewis Design Group Inc.: Garage location and sun orientation are the two things that we look at first. Locating garages on the north or east side of the house will maximize light exposure and help create a sunlit healthy home.

Michael McLychok, Principal, Director of Design, Tropical Architecture Group: Since we specialize in Tropical Architecture, the most important thing for new homeowners to know is that designing for humid tropical climates is very different than for dryer climates. Considerations in material selections that won’t mold, warp, peel off, or in general be high in maintenance are one of the first areas that make a difference in maintaining a tropical home and it’s longevity. Another consideration is designing for good airflow. The way in which the home is designed should be open to the tradewinds to help keep the home naturally cool as well as for that a pool, BBQ, and firepit are positioned properly. Roof structures and lengths of eaves can also keep the sun off your home so that you don’t have to constantly use air conditioning. Another typical mistake that people make is selecting appliances that aren’t serviced on their island.
What we encourage is for someone wanting to design a home in the tropics, to work with an architecture firm that knows what works and what doesn’t work for tropical climates.

Daniel Schmeling, Architect and President, Carbon Architects, LLC: Spend at least 30% of your time in the programming stage of design. The more specific you can be about what you want/need (the problem you are asking your architect to solve), the more focused your architect can be during the design phase. Programming is problem finding, design is problem-solving.

Elizabeth Peterson, Ames-Peterson International Architecture & Interiors: Our philosophy has always centered around having our clients work closely with their architect and project management team from day one so clients feel included in every step of the design process. This means regular design review meetings discussing plans together so we can best translate our client’s fantasy into reality. Gone are the days of having one initial meeting with your architect and having your home mysteriously designed behind closed doors only to be underwhelmed with the result. This more efficient and collaborative design process empowers our clients while we guide them through the often complicated design and permitting process.

Joyce Owens, FAIA RIBA, Architecture Joyce Owens: When commissioning a custom home it is imperative to address the needs and budget of the client, the climate and the site. A good architect will specifically consider all of these issues, resulting in a project that is designed and tailored for the client and, more cost-effective, less hassle, and lower maintenance costs.

Originally published on Redfin