Learn about some smart technology features to include in your custom home.

How to Increase Living Space for Your Custom Home

To increase space for your custom home, consider the following features and tips:

1. Create an Organized and Efficient Kitchen

The kitchen will be the heart of your home regardless of the layout and aesthetic style you choose. As the space where family members and guests gather, your kitchen requires significant consideration to ensure that it strikes a balance between appeal and functionality. While you may be tempted to focus on your appliances, countertop materials, and backsplash, it is equally important to consider the number of cabinets and drawers in your space. It is also crucial to ensure that your kitchen is organized in a way that is easy to cook in and move through. This will ensure that you always have enough space to cook while safely entertaining guests and spending time with family members instead of feeling cramped or confined in an appealing but inefficient space.

2. Construct Multi-Purpose Rooms

Modern homes typically utilize an open floorplan with fewer walls, creating a breathable and open space that is highly customizable. By opting for larger, open spaces instead of small and enclosed rooms, you can use certain rooms in your home for multiple purposes. For example, you can use one room as a home office and workout area with some built-in storage instead of using 3 different rooms for these purposes. This will allow you to reduce the number of walls required for your home while allowing for an open feeling and efficient flow between rooms.

3. Think About the Future

When designing your floorplan and choosing storage systems for your custom home, it is crucial to consider if your space will suit your needs 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years in the future. This will help to ensure that your home is still a great fit for you, your family, and your lifestyle even if they change significantly.

4. Creative Shelving and Storage

Creative shelving and storage solutions can drastically reduce clutter and free up floor space by giving you a dedicated space to keep various items. Consider utilizing aesthetic wall-based shelving, under-stairs storage, and unique cabinetry to maximize storage space while preserving the appeal and flow of your home.

To learn more about our custom home solutions, get in touch with the team at Hyline Construction. We can be reached through our online contact form and will be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding our services or the details of your project.

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Learn about some of the factors that affect the cost of custom homes.

4 Reasons to Choose an Open Floor Plan

Open floors plans offer the following benefits for homeowners and their families:

1. Easy Entertaining

If you want your custom home to be the perfect space for entertaining, an open floor plan can drastically enhance the experience for yourself and your guests. An open layout allows you to prepare food in the kitchen while maintaining the ability to see and speak to your guests in the living room and other areas of your home. This type of interior design eliminates the need to run from room to room to cook food and socialize. Open floor plans also help to prevent overcrowding in hallways or smaller rooms by allowing for more space between one area of your home to another.

2. Larger Feel

Open floor plans feature fewer walls than traditional layouts in interior design, allowing for better traffic flow and visibility. This makes your space feel larger even if it is the same amount of square footage as a home with a traditional floor plan. Open floor plans only feature walls and doors for bedrooms and bathrooms, creating a feeling of interconnectivity and “openness” that makes your home easier to navigate.

3. Enhanced Light Coverage

By omitting interior walls and hallways in your interior design, open floor plans allow for unobstructed light coverage from natural and artificial light sources. By utilizing large and strategically placed windows in your home, you will always have a great view of your outdoor space while keeping the interior of your home bright and inviting.

4. Better Visibility and Safety

For families with young children, a lack of visibility can be a safety hazard. An open floor plan makes it easy to keep an eye on your children from nearly any location in your home. This is true even if your child is playing outside in your yard, as no walls are there to get in the way of your windows.

To learn more about our custom home building solutions or to discuss the details of your project, get in touch with the team at Hyline Construction. We can be reached by phone at 604-889-5242 or through our online contact form and will be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding our services.

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Learn about the factors that affect the cost of custom homes.

3 Myths About the Custom Home Building Process

When discussing custom homes, the following myths are among the most common and widespread:

1. You Will Always Pay Hidden Fees

While an inexperienced home builder may present you with unexpected or hidden fees, this should not be the case when hiring an experienced builder. Before providing you with a detailed project quote, an experienced custom home builder will take the time to fully understand your custom home wants and needs. Your builder should also account for potential issues or delays and factor these into your quote as this will minimize the potential for unexpected costs. This will ensure that you have an accurate representation of the final price while reducing the risk of additional or hidden fees.

2. You Need to Bring Your Own Design

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to create your own design before contacting a custom home builder. Most reputable builders either have an in-house design team or a strong partnership with a design firm, allowing them to create the design of your home from the ground up. Whether you have a clear vision for every detail of your home or a rough idea, your builder will work with you to ensure that the final design is tailored to your wants and needs.

3. One-Storey Homes Are Cheaper

One of the most prevalent custom home myths is that one-storey homes will be cheaper than multi-storey homes. While this can be true, the main factors that affect the cost of your home are square footage, the materials used, the location, and the amount of labour required. For example, a 3,000 sq. ft one-storey home will often cost more than a two-storey home with the same amount of space. This is because the one-storey home will require more land, additional labour, and more materials for the foundation than a multi-storey home.

To learn more about our custom home building services or to discuss the details of your dream home, get in touch with the team at Hyline Construction. We can be reached through our online contact form and will be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding our services or your project.

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Learn what to look for in a custom home builder before choosing one for your project.

3 Key Factors That Will Affect the Price of Your Custom Home

The following factors will have a significant impact on the final price of your custom home:

1. The Details of Your Design

From the layout of the rooms in your home and the number of floors to the plumbing and the electrical wiring, the details of your home’s design will significantly impact the final price. To demonstrate how small details can affect price, consider two unique homes with 2,500 sq ft of living space. One home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, while the other has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. While many may think that the home with 4 bedrooms will cost more to build, the reality is that the home with 3 bedrooms will cost more as bathrooms are more expensive due to the plumbing labour required and the cost of the items within them. Certain countertops, flooring, and cabinet materials will also cost more than others, so this is worth considering.

2. The Total Square Footage/Size

The total square footage of your custom home will likely have the most significant impact on the price. As one may expect, larger homes with more square footage will typically cost more than smaller homes due to requiring more materials and labour. This is not always the case, however, as a two-storey home with 3,000 sq ft will require less land preparation and space than a single-storey home with the same square footage, reducing the total price.

3. The Location (Terrain & Surrounding Area)

When thinking about building your dream home, it is crucial to consider the price of the land you will build it on as certain locations cost more than others. For example, an urban lot in a popular neighbourhood will likely cost a lot more per square foot than a rural lot in a small town. In addition to the land purchase price, some locations will require more bulldozing, tree removal, and electrical connection work, increasing labour costs.

To learn more about our custom home building solutions or to discuss the details of your project, get in touch with the team at Hyline Construction. We can be reached by phone at 604-889-5242 or through our online contact form and will be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding our services.

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Ideas for Sustainable Custom Homes

During the design phase of a custom home, there are a variety of ideas that can be considered that contribute towards an environmentally friendly build and can help a home cut down on energy use once the family moves in. Many of these ideas are incredibly simple to implement and merely require a little extra planning. Some concepts for sustainable custom home building include:

Use Better Building Materials

The very materials that a home is made out of can have a massive impact on how green the home is. Some types of insulation can be made from recycled materials or plant-based resources to cut down on waste and toxicity. Using reclaimed materials, such as wood, steel, stone, and brick, can not only conserve building supplies but also give a home an excellent, highly coveted aesthetic.

Many siding and roofing options can also help to keep energy usage at a minimum. Living roof systems are a great way to insulate a custom home, and metal roofing or siding can greatly improve heat retention.

Energy Efficient Lighting

Lighting does not have to be purely about utility. When building a custom home, there are endless opportunities to incorporate unique light fixtures and many of these options can be made to be energy efficient. Light fixtures that use responsive technology will ensure that your home always has the proper amount of light for different times of the day.

Make Use of Natural Light

Allowing for plenty of natural light will also help to ensure that electricity use is limited during the day. Skylights and well-placed windows will let in sunlight and, with the right metallic oxide coating on the glass, these windows can adapt to be low-emissivity and keep your home’s temperature steady.

Conserve Water

The right fixtures and appliances can help your custom home to conserve water use. Dual-flush toilets, water-conserving faucets and shower heads, and Energy Star rated appliances can all help to keep water consumption down.

To learn more sustainable custom home building ideas, or if you are interested in getting started with any of our residential custom building services, please contact Hyline Construction at 604-889-5242 or fill out a contact form on our website.

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Before you begin planning your custom home layout, there is key information you should know and share with your custom home designer to help ensure a successful outcome.

Understand the Restrictions and Allowances of your Custom Home Layout

Knowing the conditions of your property that can dictate the shape and function of your home is extremely important. Some examples of restrictions include:

• Current bylaw and zoning regulations
• Building footprint and size allowances
• Tree restrictions and requirements
• Encroachments, easements, and right of ways

In order to help you understand the full construction potential of your lot, the custom home builders from Hyline Construction will begin your home building process by formulating a Property Report that outlines restrictions and allowances.

Pinpoint Your Architectural Style

It is important that you are clear in your own vision so that your designer can best realize it for you. Is your ideal custom home a craftsman style with contemporary accents or is it a modern farmhouse with an industrial feel? Whichever direction you lean, seek out a variety of inspiration images and have in-depth conversations with your designer about which details you love and which you would prefer to skip.

Know Your Budget

Establishing your budget before you begin allows your designer to work within your allotted finances. During the design process, the custom home builders and designers at Hyline Construction will work closely with one another to communicate the opportunities and obstacles of each specific custom layout and floorplan in respect to budget and function. They are adept at maximizing budgets and skillfully value engineering layouts.

Prioritize Your Wishlist

Whether you have your heart set on expansive floor to ceiling windows or a backyard swimming pool, evaluate which architectural features are most important to you and create a priority list before you design. This will help your custom home designer incorporate your priority features into the initial layout and established budget, only adding secondary features as the budget permits.

Sunlight is Golden

Spend time on your land. Know where the sunlight shines at each time of day. Envision living on the property and decide which rooms you want to maximize that light. Discuss your lifestyle with your designer. Do you enjoy long leisurely mornings with coffee or prefer entertaining into the evening on the patio? Do you work from home and want your office daylit or do you enjoy an afternoon workout in your home gym? Your designer will be able to fuse both the landscape and the nuances of your lifestyle into your floorplan, delivering a fully customized home layout.

If you would like to learn more about the process of designing custom home layouts and floorplans, or if you are interested in any of our residential custom build services, please contact Hyline Construction at 604-889-5242 or fill out a contact form on our website.

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Why Hire a Custom Home Designer for Your Floor Plan?

When designing your custom home floor plan, there are many factors to consider. Knowing where to place appliances, storage space, stairwells, and even furniture to optimize the flow and utility of your home can be a complicated procedure. An experienced home designer will know how to draw up a floor plan that is not only functional but also optimized for your specific lifestyle, all while avoiding common issues that can cause future issues for the homeowner.

The best custom home designers will create plans that do not only work for your family’s present lifestyle but also take into account the future by thinking about aging family members, the possibility of family growth, and designing rooms with the capacity to be multipurpose. Home designers with experience in floor plans will also know the best placement for certain rooms and features to ensure that the home operates as it should. Keeping bedrooms away from common areas that generate noise and providing privacy for bathrooms are just some of the ways that a good custom home designer can optimize a floor plan.

Floor Plan Standards for Modern Custom Homes

When designing a floor plan for a modern custom home, the best designers aim for uncomplicated designs focusing on simplicity and function. Some modern standards for custom home floor plans include:

• Passive and energy efficient floor plans
• Space planning
• Storage allocation
• Furniture layouts
• Outdoor living
• Maximizing on building footprint and square footage lot allowances
• Optimizing on natural light through windows and airflow throughout the home
• Highly customized according to the client’s lifestyle, design, and budget

To find out more about custom floor plans from top designers, or if you are interested in our custom building services for residential or commercial projects, contact Hyline Construction at 604-889-5242 or fill out a contact form on our website.

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Floor Plan Ideas for Custom Homes

When devising a floor plan for your custom home, it is worth remembering that your dream home still needs to be practical and suit whatever land it is being built on. For this reason, it is good to consult a custom home designer that can help execute your vision. Some great ideas for a custom home floor plan include:

1.     Open Floor Plan

The open floor plan has become quite popular in recent years and it remains an excellent way to showcase a space and build a free-feeling environment. Open floor plans allow your family to live life together, no matter what room of the house you are in. For instance, rather than walling off your kitchen, build a counter island and put barstools on one side.

2.     Designs for Outdoor Living

Whether it is by building a large deck with a lot of sitting space or by planning for large windows that showcase your yard, incorporating the great outdoors into a custom home floor plan can help make the space feel bright and natural.

3.     Home Office Floor Plan

If you know that you are going to be using your custom home as an office, you might as well build it to optimize workflow. Making the office accessible but separate from the custom floor plan might help streamline work down the road. If the office is accessible directly from the entryway, clients will not have to walk through the whole home for a meeting.

4.     Floor Plans for Entertaining

For people who love to host, having a floor plan that is built for entertaining guests is ideal. This type of design focuses on living and dining areas and often features recreational aspects, such as an entertainment centre, theatre room, or gaming area, as the focal point.

For more information about floor plan ideas to enhance your custom home, or to learn about any of our other custom home building services or commercial building services, please contact Hyline Construction at 604-889-5242 or fill out a contact form on our website.

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Benefits of Hiring a Custom Home Builder

By hiring a custom home builder from Hyline Construction, you get more than just a general contractor who can execute your vision. Some of the benefits of using our tried and tested custom home building services include:

Specialized Design for a Custom Home

At Hyline Construction, we have experience as custom home builders in planning and design as well as building. As custom home builders, we offer a one-stop shop for construction and renovation. If your property has a certain landscape feature that can be capitalized on, like a beautiful view of mountains, a close treeline, or a rising grade, our custom home builders can factor that feature into the design of your home and, in doing so, create a house that capitalizes on the foundation.

Budget-Controlled Custom Home Building

The builders at Hyline Construction are adept at staying within a budget. By doing most of the work within their own team and only contracting out when necessary, our custom home builders are able to keep spending under control.

Speedy Construction of Your Custom Home

By working with the custom home builders from Hyline Construction, you hire a team that can communicate with one another and plan each step of the project in a streamlined manner. There is no waiting for the architect to communicate with the contractor, who then has to hire the electrician, who then needs to wait for the floorers; our custom home builders make sure that every step lines up with the next so that your house is built on schedule.

To learn more about the what a custom home builder is and how they can help you to create the perfect living space, please contact Hyline Construction at 604-889-5242 or fill out a contact form on our website.

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At Hyline Construction, we understand that your custom home should be tailored to meet your specific needs. When helping you design your home, our priority is to ensure that the layout reflects your particular lifestyle and maximizes the potential of your specific lot. That is why we offer a wide range of residential custom home services as unique as each of our client’s.

5 Key Elements That Should Be Incorporated into Every Custom Home Design

5 key elements to enhance your layout and inspire your new custom home design are:

1. Site-Inspired Layout

Whether you are building a custom home in a mature neighbourhood or new development, it is important to maximize your property’s potential when creating your design plan. Think about how the house placement on the lot will be impacted by natural light at different times of the day. Investigate where you’ll get the best views from inside the home. Consider the grade of the land; how the yard slopes versus where it becomes level. Decide where the best areas are to enter from and exit out onto. Take the time to figure out which side of the house gets the most light and try to design the garage on the opposite side. Working with the land can enhance your curb appeal as well as benefit your overall lifestyle.

2. Natural Light

Incorporating natural light into your custom home design can make a big impact on the overall aesthetics of a space. Try to position the most lived in rooms; the living room & kitchen, on the South side of the house. Incorporating large windows there will allow for plenty of natural light; creating a positive mood throughout the home and helping to reduce energy costs. Skylights help to naturally brighten bathrooms and if possible, windows in hallways always create a welcome addition of light.

3. Outdoor Living Spaces

One of the best ways to utilize all the space your custom home has to offer is to expand your living area outdoors. Incorporating a destination patio in a section of the yard which receives the most sun and a covered living space directly off your home will add valuable living area to your new home all year round. Consider if you want a gas-fed fireplace, landscape lighting or a water feature in your yard. Planning ahead for such items makes them much easier, and less expensive, to incorporate before the landscaping begins. Sports courts and rock gardens are great for the spaces not usually hit by the sun, where grass is less likely to grow.

4. Creative Storage Solutions

When designing your custom home, be sure to include storage solutions that will provide you with more than enough storage space. These storage solutions can include built-in mill work in mudrooms, pantries, offices, laundry rooms and rec rooms. Storage specialists will aid in creative and aesthetically pleasing closet designs. Hidden doors are an effective way to conceal rooms containing treasured valuables. Creating creative storage solutions can not only help with the overall organization of a home but also add to your resale value.

5. Features that add to your Resale Value

Building a home is a great investment. And with all investments you need to think to the future. Although your intentions for living in your custom home may be long term, unexpected circumstances could always change the plan. Knowing you’re prepared to list a home that will sell easily will not only help mitigate against the stress of it if the time comes, but it will also improve your equity in your home. Designing with resale in mind doesn’t mean you can’t personalize your home, it just means you should incorporate features sought out by today’s buyers. Your Builder should be able to tell you what the basic criteria is for your local market. Consider features like how many bedrooms are necessary, what level of home automation is required and which appliances and design finishes will attract your target buyer. If you can build a home that is customized to your life while keeping it attractive to a large market of buyers, you can rest easy knowing you’ve responsibly protected your investment.

If you would like to learn more about these 5 key elements to incorporate when building a custom home, or if you are interested in our custom building services for residential or commercial properties, please contact Hyline Construction at 604-889-5242 or by filling out a contact form on our website.

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