Our natural tendency is to personalize our possessions and make them our own, which is why you’ll find yourself laughing at vanity plates on your way down the shore, or grimacing in distaste at your son’s request to paint his room a nauseating shade of neon. Everyone likes something different, which certainly guarantees headaches when planning family vacations, but this time-tested truth is what lets you turn a house into a “home.”
One of the major perks of purchasing new construction is the freedom to choose design options and upgrades as your home is being built, providing you a far greater degree of customization than had you decided to buy an existing one. The options and upgrades available to you often seem boundless, but to avoid feeling overwhelmed, consider the following tips when navigating theDesignCenter.
Come prepared. Since the construction of your home typically doesn’t begin until you’ve finalized all of your design choices, it’s important to approach the process with a sense of determination and, more importantly, organization. To prevent yourself from feeling harried and uncertain in your decisions, focus your excited energy on a room-by-room analysis of what you’re looking for in your new home and what questions you might have before making your first trip to theDesignCenter. By showing up prepared and confident of what you want, you’ll be able to both fully appreciate the customization process and move forward with construction.
Prioritize your choices. It’s tempting to design and try to upgrade every last detail of your home, but sometimes, against budgetary constraints, you might have to choose which options are most important to you and which options might not have as big an impact on your lifestyle and enjoyment of your home. Identify the amount you feel comfortable spending at theDesignCenter, and list the upgrades you need or want most. By considering the situation beforehand and using this information to guide your choices, you won’t fixate on smaller details while overlooking more significant upgrades.
Keep the future in mind. A home is a long-term investment and, for many, it’s the largest single asset they will purchase in their lifetime. While the National Association of Home Builders indicates the average length of homeownership in the Northeast is 22 years, longer than any other region of the United States, changing life circumstances may prompt you to elect to sell sooner than that. While buyers of new construction have the added benefit of getting a modern home at closing, to ensure long-term value it’s wise to avoid making any design choices that date or decrease the functionality of your home or to use décor to make any drastic personal statements.
At the end of the day, you want to relax and spend time with your loved ones in a home that reflects your personalities, tastes, and lifestyles, and provides you with both comfort and stability. While customizing your home requires time and resources, it’s an investment that pays long-term dividends in terms of enjoyment, lifestyle, and value.
Cheryl Adinolfi is the Design Center Coordinator for Renaissance Properties, a New Jersey centered, multi-faceted luxury residential and commercial real estate development firm. For more information about Renaissance Properties, please visit www.renaissanceprop.com.