Home Design Priorities: What to Incorporate Sooner Rather Than Later

When designing a new home, there’s a lot to consider. It’s easy to get carried away in the planning process and ask for all the bells and whistles, leaving you way over-budget. So, you go back and remove the things you don’t absolutely need (sorry, internal vacuuming system), and add them to a 5- or 10-year renovation list.

However, there are some things you should do sooner than later – even if it means cutting your budget somewhere else – to avoid doing major surgery on your home.

1. Good Air Quality

Indoor air quality is something that you need in place right from the start. “Anything that has to do with energy conservation and indoor air quality should be high on the list,” says Thomas Wade of Palo Duro Homes, which builds in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. “Both are almost impossible to do after the fact.”

The best place to start is by using as few products a possible that emit volatile organic compounds – especially paints, carpeting, and particleboard. Make sure the design calls for good ventilation in the kitchen and bathroom – the two rooms, besides the garage, that generate the most indoor air pollution.

Another good approach is to increase the amount of outdoor air coming indoors. You could periodically open windows or run an attic fan, but in the coldest and hottest climates, that may not be the best option. Many builders offer air-to-air heat exchangers that bring fresh air into the house, without sacrificing heat or cool air. You could also investigate attaching an air cleaner to your HVAC system.

2. Structured Wiring

Another top consideration is any wiring behind the walls, especially structured wiring for computers, television, and Wi-Fi. Sure, you want a strong Wi-Fi signal to take advantage of all the smart thermostats, garage door openers, and doorbell cameras that depend on it. But bandwidth requirements for audio, visual, and internet will only increase in the future. You need to run structured wire for high-bandwidth applications so your wireless system doesn’t slow to a crawl.

You want to run at least a Cat 6 Ethernet cable to any place in the home where you expect to run a computer – will you have a home office, or an upstairs media area? Plus, you’ll need to route RG 6 video cable wherever you expect to operate a TV.

If you are worried that current standards may one day be superseded, you could run the structured wire through plastic conduit, “the number one way to future-proof your home,” says Walt Zerbe, senior director of technology for CEDIA, a trade group for smart home installers. Conduit makes it easy to fish out the old wire and replace it with an upgrade – such as fiber optic cable – later on.

Finally, many builders run data ports for structured wire only to key rooms. Think about the places around the house where you might run a computer or watch a smart TV. What about the kitchen or bathroom?

3. Hardwood Stairs

Concerned about allergies, my wife and I decided several years ago to pull up most of the carpet in our house, including the carpet over the stairs, which, thankfully, were hardwood. However, some builders build the stairs with plywood if the plan is to carpet them.

Even if you plan to carpet the stairs now, build with hardwood. Otherwise, you’re left ripping out the entire staircase later, which is a lengthy and expensive process, then trying to match hardwood with your existing flooring. That might require a custom match, or an entire flooring replacement.

4. Recessed Lighting

Recessed lighting – in fact all lighting – often gets overlooked during new-home design. If you defer to an electrician for a lighting plan, he or she may not consider how you are going to use a room. You want recessed lighting to shine down on spots where you plan to work and spend time – the oven where you’ll cook, the chair where you’ll read. Recessed lighting, since it shines from above, is also a dynamic way to illuminate wall art, bookshelves, and wall niches.

However, recessed lighting may not be your first choice for every room. It’s a great way to provide general lighting in rooms where you spend a lot of time, such as the kitchen, great room, and master bathroom. But you may prefer indirect lighting in the bedroom and the glamour of a chandelier in the dining room or entry. Regardless, adding recessed lighting later on requires a major overhaul. Figure out where you want it from the start, and save yourself some hassle (and money) later.

5. Basement Plumbing

Many people leave their basement unfinished, allowing them to grow into it – maybe it’ll be best as a teenager’s hangout, or as an entertainment space, or a man cave, who knows! But even if that’s your plan down the road, there’s at least one important thing to consider during construction: pre-plumb the basement for a bathroom. That would would be costly and disruptive to do later on (spoiler alert: it may involve jackhammers). For less than $2,000, your plumber could install the necessary pipes and drains in the floor and walls for a full bath during the construction process.

Your job: figure out the most logical place for the bathroom. It saves money to have it close to the main drain since there will be less pipe to run. But you may want it adjacent to an eventual bedroom, and windows and light will affect the livability of that room. Also, when you put down pipes for eventual fixtures, don’t forget to account for the thickness of the bathroom wall, especially if you plan to use tile. Otherwise, the toilet may wind up cramped against the wall.

6. Wall Insulation

Another cost-prohibitive add-on is wall insulation. It makes sense to upgrade to insulation with a high R-value in the beginning, when the batts are easy to install. You may even want to bite the bullet and upgrade to spray foam insulation, which does a better job eliminating air gaps that allow heat to escape. The good thing about insulation upgrades is that they pay for themselves quickly in lower utility bills.

Soundproofing is something else that’s easier to do during construction. If you plan to use a room to practice music or watch movies, or if a family member uses power tools in the garage, ask about soundproofing options. You could also add a second layer of drywall to deaden noise transfer, along with vinyl sheets between them. Insulation companies make sound-attenuating batts that are easy to roll in walls and ceilings.

7. Bathrooms

The bathroom is one room that deserves extra-careful attention. You need a layout that shows where vanities and toilets will go, of course. But you also need to decide on the location of soaker tubs, which take special plumbing, and shower heads, especially if you plan to have more than one. Ripping up floors and walls to install plumbing fixtures and faucets these later on would be expensive.

Before you get too wrapped up in the romance of a new bath, think about how you might use it later on, especially if you plan to live in the home forever. Before tiles goes on the wall, it’s easy to install wood blocking that could be used to attach grab bars in the shower and assists around the toilet. Then there’s the matter of being able to navigate the bathroom if you have to use a walker or wheelchair. Leave plenty of room around the toilet and make sure the entrance to the bathroom isn’t too narrow. And think about how much you’d really use that soaker tub or Jacuzzi tub before you go through the extra expense of adding plumbing for one!

8. Creature Comforts

Many people, especially those living in cold climates, swear by radiant floor heating, especially in the bathroom, where it will warm your toes on cold winter mornings. But you could also install it on the first floor of your house and avoid running conditioned air through messy air ducts. The best time to install a radiant floor – with hot water run through tubs — is during construction before floor tile is installed (though retrofit systems are available).

Also, think about where you might want a gas line: a gas fireplace, a gas kitchen range, a gas clothes dryer, and a gas outdoor grill are all considerations.

9. Window Size and Placement

The size and location of windows (and doors) is difficult to change after construction is complete. Most home designs are drawn to be repeated; they may not work perfectly with your lot. If there are great natural features around your house – a lake, large trees, or a landscaped garden – make sure that you can enjoy great views of them from the inside the house. Similarly, you don’t want neighbors looking into key rooms of your house, if you can avoid it.

One feature that’s all the rage these days — patio doors that fold back accordion style or into walls. They create the delightful opportunity to eliminate boundaries between interior and exterior spaces. The classic place to put these folding patio doors is between a great room and deck, but they could also be used next to balconies, loggias, and other outdoor spots around the house.

10. Outdoor Placement

Structured wire isn’t the only tech feature that you need to carefully examine. Before the drywall goes on is a great time to add audio speakers in key rooms. Also, think about the placement of wall outlets; will they be accessible after you furnish the room? Will you be adding home electronics – a stereo system, kitchen appliances – that require outlets? Do you want an outlet on the mantle or near the roof for holiday décor?

Invest Now, Save Later

Worried about cost? Don’t discount anything without asking. You could roll a $20,000 package of upgrades into a $400,000, 30-year mortgage and barely notice the difference in payments. “It may only cost you another $100 a month to get design features that can make a big difference over the life of the house,” says Eric Brown, principal of Phoenix-based Artisan Homes. “That seems like a good investment.”  

There’s also an opportunity before the studs go up to set up your house so that it can grow or change with your family’s evolving needs. Maybe one day you’ll decide to put a spare bedroom in the basement. Down the road, maybe after the kids leave home, you may want to convert a bedroom into a home theater. A family member may one day suffer from an illness or injury that makes it difficult to navigate the house. You can prepare for these contingencies by making small investments in advance.