What to Consider When Designing a New Home

You’ve picked out your ideal homesite, selected the perfect floor plan and elevation, and officially signed the Purchase Agreement on your new Lombardo Home. Congratulations! The next step? Choosing the options to make the home your own. Before designing a home and heading to the Design Center for your selections appointment, consider the following items and scenarios to help you choose the best options for your home.

Short-term and long-term needs
When selecting options for your new home, it’s best to plan for any family changes you will have in the future. If you have elderly parents or family members that may be moving in with you, adding a first-floor bedroom and full bath with a shower instead of a tub will save you the time and hassle of a remodeling project. If you plan to move within the next few years, consider options that would improve your home’s re-sale value, such as full ceramic bathrooms and hardwood floors.

Exterior lifestyle
Don’t forget about how you live outside your home! At your selections appointment, you can choose from a variety of exterior options for your home such as a BBQ prep for a natural gas grill, a covered deck or porch, additional plugs and recessed lights, a 200 AMP panel for a heated pool or hot tub, or extra space in the garage.

Electrical Needs
Take a look around your current home and notice where you have extension cords or surge strips. During your selections appointment, you can plan for all of your electrical needs with additional outlets and plugs. We will review all of the included plugs and areas where others have added outlets during your appointment, but before your appointment, consider:

• Which appliances you want on the counter, and which you want to leave in the pantry. The pantry does not have any outlets, but some buyers have added plugs in the pantry for appliances they don’t want sitting on the counter but want to be plugged in and ready to use.
• How you plan to use your walk-in closets. Closets do not have any electrical plugs. If you like to use a steamer or iron in your closet, then you can add an outlet. Some buyers have added outlets in a closet off the mudroom for a cordless vacuum or floor steamer.
• How you decorate for the holidays. Add our holiday lighting package or additional exterior plugs and recessed lights for your exterior holiday lights. Don’t forget about the inside, too – you may need an outlet near a mantel or stair rail for garland with lights.
• How you plan to decorate your new bedroom. Some buyers have added recessed outlets in the bedroom on the wall where the headboard and nights stands will be. This way, you can plug in a light or alarm clock and still push the nightstand or headboard against the wall. Consider adding an additional outlet, as well, if you anticipate using multiple electronics at once.
• Future electrical needs. We offer a 2” PVC pipe that goes from the basement to the attic for any future wiring or new technology.

Jody L., Lombardo Homes Design Consultant, contributed to this story.