With so much to think about when designing a new home, it can be easy to overlook elements that could make a signifi cant impact on the fi nished property. Architect Julian Owen highlights the key things to bear in mind to ensure you get the lifestyle you want

Julian Owen

Large glazed spans help to bring natural light in, but you need to carefully plan the design to ensure the room isn’t at risk of overheating. These sliding doors are by Schueco (www.schueco.com)

4 Don’t just budget for the construction work

Your design will be dictated considerably by your fi nances. While most people realise that they need to factor in the cost of the building work, it’s easy to forget about the other aspects that need to be accounted for on top of this. Quite a lot of money has to be spent on things that seem minor on their own, but collectively can tot up to thousands of pounds. These include landscaping, fi nance and insurance costs, professional and local authority fees, site surveys, access from the highway and service connections. The price of some elements can be fairly accurately predicted – such as planning fees and sewer connection charges – others have to be estimated. Don’t forget that you’ll also need a contingency on top.

2 A family can be noisy

Something that is often overlooked in house plans is the soundscape. Unwanted noise is a common problem, not least because of all the gadgets we now have for our entertainment. This means it’s important for the fabric of your self build home to be robust, wellsealed and as solid as possible. The layout of the house can also play a role in reducing disturbance. Children are a major source of noise, so look into how to distance their bedrooms from others, for instance with bathrooms or built-in wardrobes inbetween. Sound travels more easily to rooms below, which means a second fl oor or attic space is not always a good place for the loudest family members.