For many, the most exciting aspect of building a custom home is dreaming up what the property will entail--everything from architectural components to how the space will be used.
Before meeting with a building contractor, it's a good idea to start thinking about some of the features that you'll want to include in your custom home. Just a little more than a decade ago, homeowners were pretty much limited to physically touring properties to get inspiration for their own dream homes. However, as the internet has exploded in recent years, so have the number of resources that homeowners can turn to when building a custom home.
Houzz
If you have yet to check this website out, it's a social media platform specifically built around home improvement. Whether you're beginning the process of building a custom home from scratch or want to make some modifications to your existing property, this online community offers more than 8 million images for inspiration.
Something else that is especially attractive about this website is that users have the ability to create their own Ideabooks using the images that they find on this website. Similar to Pinterest, users can save (or pin) these inspiring images in an Ideabook (or board) for easy reference at a later date.
>> Be sure to view and follow our Houzz profile here!
Pins that fall into the home design category are some of the most highly pinned images on Pinterest. What this means is that an increasing number of people are turning to Pinterest to be inspired for home remodeling projects, design features, and curb appeal.
You literally can use Pinterest to create your very own virtual dream home. Basically, if you can think of an idea that you would want in your home, you can find it on Pinterest. Also, once you begin pinning content that falls into the home and design categories, Pinterest will automatically suggest other pins for you based on what you have historically pinned. This is a great way to be exposed to ideas that you may not have thought about otherwise.
Home Renovation Blogs
Your building contractor will likely have his or her own design blog that you can turn to for inspiration, but there are also a number of well-respected home renovation blogs on the internet too. Some great examples include Dwell, Remodelista, and Young House Love. If you simply type "home renovation blogs" into a search query, you'll have hundreds of results to sift through.
For more great resources that you can turn to for inspiration when building your dream home, be sure to ask your building contractor. Our team at Empire Custom Builders can offer you a wealth of knowledge as you begin the custom home building process and can arm you with resources to make the outcome of the project exceed your expectations.