The Benefits of a Personalized Home

Last updated on August 8th, 2024

There are many benefits of a personalized home, one of the most notable being flexibility. While building your home, there are a plethora of design options to consider: the floor plan, architectural style, appliances and so forth. Everything from the foundation to the finishing touches will reflect your choices. That’s why it’s crucial to have a general idea of what you want before contacting a builder. By doing so, you can guarantee that the builder is aware of your wishes and able to assist you to their best capabilities. It is essential to research potential builders as well. Picking one that has a proven track record and a great sense of communication is instrumental to the overall success of your design process.

With so many decisions to make, it’s beneficial to examine some initial features regarding personalization. From there, you can begin to create a home that both conveys your unique style and meets the needs of your family. Here are some of the aspects you’ll want to consider:

The Floor Plan

Layout

You may favor an open floor plan where the living, dining, and kitchen areas all flow together. Or perhaps you prefer a more traditional Colonial-style plan, with separate rooms and hallways. The style you choose should be compatible with your family’s lifestyle. Does everyone like to be together in the kitchen? Do you like to entertain and have guests get involved in food preparation? These might be reasons for an open floor plan. If you prefer more formal entertaining, or if you don’t care to have people watch you pull the roast out of the oven, you may opt for a different style layout?

Spaces For Your Lifestyle

You should think beyond just bedrooms and bathrooms here. The benefit of a personalized home is that it offers the opportunity to create rooms built entirely around your lifestyle. Work from home? A home office is a perfect space for productivity and handling important business. Love hosting guests? An entertainment space guarantees that your friends and family have a great time when visiting. Want to stay fit? A home gym allows you to workout on your own terms within your busy schedule. Whether you live a formal or informal lifestyle, you can create a home that reflects your specific wants and needs.

Room Decor

Once you’ve decided on the spaces, it’s time to think about the size and setup of each room. For example, you may want a very large bedroom suite with walk-in closets and a primary bath with a separate tub and shower stall. A second primary suite at the other end of the house might be ideal for visiting relatives or friends. When designing, your creativity is your only parameters. Thankfully, Toll Brothers offers an amazing variety of home designs to choose from — so you’ll certainly be able to find the one that meets your needs and preferences.

Toll Brothers’ Design Your Own Home website allows you to explore and play “what if?” with hundreds of our home design and options.

More Details

Exterior Look

Once you have an idea of the kind of home you want, you can start to decide on the exterior look of your new home. Exteriors come in dozens of architectural styles, from New England Cape Cod to Traditional with brick and stone. Browse through home decorating and builder magazines and websites, and make a list of what you like and what you don’t. This way, you’ll become familiar with what’s available and your decisions will be easier. In Toll Brothers communities nationwide, home buyers can often choose from dozens of exterior designs so that the streetscape of your community is varied and distinctive.

Ceilings

Ceiling height is another consideration. Higher ceilings convey a feeling of spaciousness. You can achieve a certain amount of drama by using vaulted ceilings. You’ve likely seen pictures in home decorating magazines of “tray” ceilings, where there is more than one horizontal area at different levels. If you like that particular look, you’d look for this option in your new home. Crown moldings throughout the home are also a finishing detail that enhances any dwelling and might be perfect in your dream home.

Basement

Do you want or need a basement? A basement provides room for extra storage and can function as a family room or entertaining space if finished. Ultimately, the decision may depend on the area where you live and whether a basement is even feasible.

Finishing Touches

Surfaces and Materials

Other features you might want to consider include various choices of flooring, from easy to maintain to ultra dramatic. Kitchen countertops and bathroom vanities are available in various surfaces and materials – and each come with their own set of pros and cons. The experienced staff of a reputable builder or the professional designers in your builder’s design center can help you to make the best choice.

Appliances

Look over different options for appliances in the kitchen and laundry room. If you’re a gourmet chef, you’ll want a kitchen to match, with the best in convenience, space, and appliances. If you’re a parent, you’ll want a laundry room that can handle the constant cycle of dirty clothes.

Wiring

Another advantage of having a personalized home is that custom wiring can be installed inside the walls. This type of installation is ideal for home entertainment systems and for advanced home security systems that come with remote smartphone access.

Choosing A Builder

One of the most important decisions you will make is your choice of a builder. A good place to start is home builder associations in your area. Talk to people who have built a home. You can also go online and look at pictures of completed homes and specifications. And look at the statistics. A builder with a high percentage of satisfied customers speaks volumes about the builder’s professionalism, the quality of the builder’s work, and the service the customer received.

Make sure that you and your builder can communicate well. Discuss what you want in your new home and how much you want to be involved in the building process. A quality builder will guarantee the work that is done in your new home. You can expect a walk-through with the builder and the site manager before assuming ownership of your home to make sure that everything has been done to your satisfaction. Regan Greer of Forbes magazine explains that your choice of builder should rely on, “reputation, track record, financial stability, reviews, and follow-up warranty…“*

When the house is completed, and you’ve moved in, you’ll feel good knowing you were a vital part of the planning process. You’ll also have peace of mind knowing that the home will work for your family and friends.