5 Modern Features You Should Include in Your New Custom Home
By far the most appealing part about building and designing your own custom home is having the ability to personalise every single detail along the way. From the tiles in the bathroom to the shelving in the walk-in robes, you have the creative freedom to create a home that feels unequivocally and unapologetically you.
With this freedom, though, also comes a decent amount of pressure. With so many moving pieces and the pressure of budgetary constraints and time concerns, there are a lot of decisions to make in a relatively small time period. To help you make sure your new house is the best it can be, below we’ll five into 5 modern features that every new home build should have.
1. Double or triple glazed windows
With rising energy costs and the threat of global warming, energy efficiency should be a priority for every new home. One of the best ways to achieve this is through proper insulation, which when done correctly will keep your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter. This will help to reduce your reliance on artificial heating and cooling, which drive up your energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions.
Having double or triple glazed windows is the number one way to insulate your house, by using a gap between the glass panes to create an insulating barrier between the inside of your home and the outside world. Triple glazed windows have an extra gap, increasing their efficiency when compared to their double-glazed counterparts.
As well as lowering your energy bills, double or triple glazed windows also offer impressive sound insulation, increased value to your home, and low maintenance requirements year-round. They’re also an excellent way to help your home meet the 6-star energy rating, which is required by the government for all new construction projects.
2. Smart technology
With so many of us leading busier lives than ever before, it’s important that our homes offer us convenience and easy living. Smart home technology allows you to get the most out of life, allowing you to relax and unwind when you need it most.
Additions to your home such as a smart security system mean that you can keep track of your house from anywhere in the world all through your smartphone, being alerted of potential threats and being able to access your security camera footage.
Other features such as a home automation system allow you to control your blinds, appliances and heating at the touch of a button from anywhere in your house, making life just that little bit simpler.
3. A mudroom
With their roots in the US, mudrooms are creeping their way into Australian architecture through the ever-popular Hampton’s style home. Working as a kind of stop-gap between the back door of a home and the rest of the interior, mudrooms are designed to house all the snow and dirt that gets brought in from the outside and provide homeowners with somewhere to store their accessories and clothing such as jackets, boots, gloves and scarves.
It’s a convenient and practical way to keep the rest of your home neat and tidy, while making it easy to keep track of your belongings and have them all neatly packed in the same space.
4. Outdoor dining
Australia has one of the most famous summers in the world, so why not take advantage of it? Outdoor dining offers you a way to get the most out of your outdoor area and entertain your guests with style and class.
Whether you want to install a full outdoor kitchen with cabinets, grills, a pizza oven and a bar fridge or save your pennies and just go with a portable barbeque, any way you can spend more time outdoors is a win.
5. A state of the art kitchen
Kitchens are the centrepiece of the home and are one of the determining factors of its marketability and appeal to buyers. Having a large, bright and functional kitchen immediately elevates a home, and gives your family somewhere to gravitate towards and spend quality time together.
Features such as a walk-in pantry, kitchen island, under-cabinet lighting and a breakfast nook can ensure your kitchen remains both fun and practical throughout the years, and hopefully won’t need to be renovated if the time ever comes to sell.