Thinking about building a custom home? Looking for inspiration? We have you covered.
Today’s guest post comes to us from Luda Artemieva from LVA Concepts, and she writes on the topic of home design and some great architectural features to consonder when building a custom home. Here, in Northern Nevada, there are several locations where you can build a custom built home like Arrowcreek, Incline Village, unincorporated areas of Washoe County or any county in Nevada, for that matter and even some locations near Holcomb Ranch. Some of these great architectural features might work for you and some might not, but the key is finding inspiration and incorporating that into your design to truly make your home unique and a great contribution to the housing in the area.
Thank you for the great guest post article, Luda.
Enjoy.
– Will
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5 Home Design Ideas for Build Inspiration
Here are some home design ideas to inspire your next build:
Arches Galore
Whether it’s a beach house in California or the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, arched doorways and vaulted ceilings are a great way not only to give your house design space, but a unique touch.
Arches have been a staple in many cultures for centuries, as the design itself promises stability and elegance in its simplicity.
It’s important to note that there are several different styles and shapes of arches.
- First, you have the Roman style, which is your most classic and commonly used in home building. Similar to the arches that you’ll find in the Colosseum, these are semi-circles over doors or windows.
- You also have Segmental (sometimes called a scheme arch), which as the name suggests is only a semi-curve, stopping before it completes at less than 180 degrees. Think of the kind of arch found with bricks for this kind of arch over doorways, fireplaces, and windows in 20th century architecture.
- You have Gothic, which most people will remember from Gothic churches, with their very noticeable point at the top.
- Tudor arches (also known as a four-centred arch) are much wider than Gothic, but still have a point on the top.
- And lastly, the Moorish arch (or Horseshoe), is a bit more unique but curves longer than the typical Roman arch to create a horseshoe effect.
Go Modern
Modern architecture is on the rise and its clean lines and re-purposed materials are a huge hit in North America when it comes to home design.
Some qualities you should try incorporating in your home design to give your build a modern touch are large open spaces, use of natural light, using green or re-purposed materials, and mixing both horizontal and vertical lines.
When looking at the exterior of your home, go for large windows on the unobstructed side of your house to let the most natural light in throughout the day. Go minimal on window treatments like curtains or blinds, to ensure nothing is keeping out the light.
Small touches that make a huge difference in your home design are the angle of your roof or materials used on the siding. Make sure you take inspiration from more industrial buildings to get that super unique look.
Using Lightwells
Speaking of natural light, something that can really enhance your home design living space is using lightwells to your advantage. A lightwell is an unroofed area in your house, used in architectural design to bring in natural light and fresh air.
The lightwell design isn’t a new idea by any means in home design, but just like the arch, has been around for centuries. In Ancient Greece, Greek people naturally used these types of spaces to open up their homes and bring in as much light as possible.
The effect of a few simple lightwells can transform a home design and bring in a feature that is fun and interesting.
Leverage Nature
Though we may have thought moss covered homes and trees in the living room are more a thing for movies, several cutting-edge architects from around the world are looking at how to use foliage in their home designs.
A home in Buenos Aires, designed by Bam! Arquitectura incorporates a whole garden on the roof and walkways.
Not only does this bring an occupant closer to nature, but it also brings a very interesting and ground-breaking style to the home design.
These kinds of unique touches bring your home into the future too, with more and more people looking to limit the amount of loss of green life around them when building a home.
A New Take on an Old Idea in Home Design
The most unique designs today are not necessarily new ideas, but simply a new take on an old idea for home design.
Take the new trend of treehouse style homes, like this inverted roof example in China that brings a childish idea and makes it new and stylish instead. Or, for the seaworthy, people are even designing lighthouse style homes to replicate their favourite beach fronts and keep their home design fresh and unique.
The trick is to find a home design that means something to you and put a spin on it.
Take your favorite castle from England and grab small elements from it to incorporate in your new home design. Like industrial buildings? Incorporate a garage door as a focal point of your living room to give it a unique spin.
Overall, if you’re looking for inspiration for your new build project, get out there and look around! There are so many people doing cool things nowadays, that sometimes you just need a little bit of an idea before you’ll get the lightbulb moment you need for your custom home design.
What kind of architectural design inspires you when considering your custom home design build or home renovation? Let us know in the comments below!