Surely building a custom house in Australia is quite exciting. Selecting every aspect, from the roofline to the tapware, allows you to create your ideal space from the very beginning.
Among the whirl of:
- Blueprints,
- Council approvals, and
- Choosing finishes,
…one very important detail sometimes gets neglected: your furniture.
After the paint dries and the keys are in hand, many people believe furniture is the last flourish—something to worry about. Here’s an insider tip: Pre-plan your furniture before you ever start building to save a lot of time, money, and possible trouble down the road.
From the beginning, considering how you will live in the space and what you will fill it with guarantees that your lovely new house really feels like home. Let’s start with five basics to help you early in your custom home adventure: prepare your furniture package.
1. Clearly Specify Your Style and How You Will Really Live In It
Spend some time really considering your interior style and, equally crucially, how you and your family live daily before your architect even finalises those floor plans.
Dream of:
- A laid-back coastal vibe,
- A sleek modern look, or perhaps
- A classic Hamptons feel?
Knowing these characteristics helps direct architectural elements.
Beyond appearances, though, give function some thought. Will the living room be a formal space or a laid-back family area including pets and children? Do you simply need a nook or a specific home office space?
Knowing how each room will be used affects furniture decisions, which in turn should affect the:
- Layout,
- Dimensions,
- Window placement, and even
- Where power points should be located.
Early planning for that large modular lounge guarantees that the living room dimensions can really fit it comfortably, instead of finding out later that it blocks a walkway.
2. Get Real About Space and Scale—Measure Twice, Build Once!
This leads exactly to our next topic: spatial planning.
Although you haven’t yet decided on the exact coffee table, during the design process, it is imperative to have a strong concept of the size and type of key furniture pieces for every room. Imagine finishing your bedroom designs only to discover later that the only sensible place for the bed leaves no room for bedside tables or that your dream dining table makes the designated dining area seem small.
Early furniture dimensions will help you to collaborate with your designer or architect to:
- Modify room sizes,
- Change layouts, or
- Reposition windows and doors,
…guaranteeing a practical and comfortable flow.
At this point, considering possible whole house furniture packages can be quite beneficial since they often offer coordinated pieces meant to complement one another, helping you to better understand the area needed for a consistent look throughout your house. Moving walls later is far more difficult (and expensive!) than changing lines on a blueprint.
3. Budget Outside the Brick and Mortar
Building a house is a major outlay of funds; thus, the budget debate can easily centre on building expenses. One typical mistake, though, is underestimating or ignoring the furniture budget.
Providing a complete custom house calls for a large budget of its own, particularly if you’re starting from nothing or greatly upgrading. From the beginning, set aside a reasonable budget for:
- Furniture,
- Lighting,
- Rugs, and
- Décor;
…treat them as a whole component of the project cost.
Early knowledge of this figure helps you prioritise important pieces, make wise decisions, and avoid that sinking sensation later when you discover there is little left for the objects that define a house. If the budget is limited, early planning lets you strategically phase your purchases instead of sacrificing quality or choosing pieces you really hate.
4. Weave Architectural Designs into Furniture Plans
Custom build homes with seamless integration of architecture and interior furnishings are most successful. Your furniture should feel like it belongs, not like a second consideration.
Consider how particular furniture pieces might interact with the features of the house. Do you see a big entertainment unit? Early planning allows your builder to guarantee appropriate wall bracing and well-placed power and data points.
Wanting a lovely reading nook with an armchair by a window? Please discuss this during the design process to ensure the window size and location enhance this vision.
Think about built-in choices like bench seats or shelves; these architectural details should complement the freestanding furniture you want to bring in from the beginning. Early design guarantees that lighting designs improve furniture layouts rather than conflict with them.
5. Factor Logistics and Those Pesky Lead Times
Let us now address pragmatic issues last.
Especially custom orders or pieces from particular suppliers, quality furniture often comes with large lead times—we’re talking weeks, sometimes months! If you start shopping only after handover, you could be living in a house with minimal furnishings for some time or be compelled to make hurried decisions on easily accessible items that aren’t exactly right.
You can arrange delivery shortly after you move in by planning well ahead of the build and even ordering key items. This calls for some logistical planning; if items arrive too early, you may need temporary storage, but it relieves the burden of empty rooms or last-minute concessions.
Early knowledge of your preferences allows you to enjoy time to wait for the ideal pieces to arrive.
Combining All Around
Constructing your dream custom house is more like running a marathon than a sprint. Including furniture issues early on in the design process will help you to produce a more seamless, coherent, and finally more fulfilling result.
You ensure:
- Your budget fits everything you need,
- Your areas are exactly sized for your way of life, and
- Your selected pieces show up when you most need them.
It turns furniture choice from a last-ditch struggle into an interesting, integrated component of building a house that really reflects you.
Thus, pause to dream not only about the walls but also about what goes inside them before that first shovel touches the ground. Excellent planning!
Share Your Thoughts
Are you going to be building custom? What advice or biggest furniture planning difficulties do you find? Comments below will let you share your ideas; we would especially want to hear from you!
