When it comes to our homes, we all have a dream design in our mind. More often than not, this design may have changed over the years but there are always common features that remain. The best way to create the perfect dream home is to start from scratch, where you are not constricted by any existing designs or columns. When thinking about building your perfect new dream home, consider these eight steps.

First and foremost, create a vision of what you want. Think about your favorite places or features of other homes that made you go “wow!”. Create an initial concept based on this.

Once this is done, come up with a rough floor plan that contains approximations of the different areas of the property in general and the home in particular. There has to be a progression from one area of the house to the next so as not to separate any portions of the home.

Third, consult with architects and contractors. They may have suggestions on how to bring your concepts to the next level or how to turn the design into a reality. When looking for architects and contractors, consider their experience and their fees. Make sure they have previous experiences in constructing and/or designing good quality homes. Ask for references. Also look at the fees they charge. Another very important factor to consider is the concept of your dream home - does the architect or contractor understand what you want?

When you already have an architect or contractor, choose the best site for your home and discuss with them the ideal orientation of the house. There are several factors to take into account here and these include: (1) the surroundings; (2) the orientation of the sun; and (3) the availability and placement of technical provisions. For example, you would like the design of your home to blend with the background; thus, factoring in the surroundings is crucial to making this happen. The orientation of the house also determines which rooms will be getting daylight. This is important when starting the next step.

At this point, it may be time to fine-tune the details. How many bedrooms do you want? How many bathrooms? Do you want a separate walk-in closet? How about a library? Or a home office? Where will these rooms be located? If you want to have morning sunlight in your bedroom, then this should be placed on the eastern side of the house. These details must be thought out.

When you’ve already gone over the details of the layout that you want, put the design to paper. Here, it is vital that you imagine the details in your mind and create an imaginary walk-through of your dream home. Make sure the spaces are properly divided and scaled; see to it that there is transition from one room to the next. These can affect the overall feel of the home.

Never forget the details. When you already have the final floor plan, start thinking about the more minute details such as the lighting, the walls, and the location of the windows. For example, what areas of the house would require bright lighting? How about dimmers? Where is the wind coming from? Where should you put the windows to maximize on the fresh breeze? Would you like to have accent walls in certain areas of the house? Factor in also all provisions, piping and wirings so you won’t have any pipes jutting out or wires running through the sides of your wall.

And finally, have a budget in mind and stick to it. Make sure you work within the budget. A properly thought out design will significantly minimize surprises that may come up along the way and affect your budget for the house. Remember, building your dream home doesn’t have to be expensive if you can be creative.