1o Essential Features for Building a Custom Home in 2024
Boerner Construction gives you 10 Essential Features for Building a Custom Home in 2024. Choosing custom home features is one of our favorite steps to build your dream home. We’ll reveal trends we’re seeing in 2024 for custom home ideas that make your life better every day. You’re creating the house you’ve always wanted, and these essential custom home features are wonderful additions for your build.
1. Dual offices
work from home offices
During the height of the pandemic in 2020-2021, many employees, business owners, and entrepreneurs were forced to find space in their homes, in order to continue working during lockdowns. In 2024, following the pandemic, many employers never returned to the traditional model of work at a corporate office. The Covid-era continues to emphasize the importance of working from home. Enter the necessity of dual offices.
A dual office is a dedicated space in your home, used for both work and privacy. Dual offices are set up as a home office that can morph into a private study, library, meeting area, artistic space, or board room. Whether conducting personal business, or creating a private space for quiet focus, dual offices are becoming increasingly popular. The primary benefits are increased productivity and uninterruptible privacy, with flexibility and cost savings—including tax write-offs—as equal advantages. A beautiful, functional home office is often indispensable for two working parents, as well as maturing children needing quiet working environments for their virtual learning, evening homework, or daily homeschooling.
2. attic storage lift
You know about the traditional attic ladder that is installed in the ceiling of a room, such as a closet or hallway, to be opened and closed as needed—allowing the user to climb up into the attic. But, what if you never had to climb into the attic again? An attic storage lift takes the concept of an attic ladder to the next level (pun intended). With a motorized attic storage lift, you’re able to hoist seasonal items remotely, into the attic of your custom home.
The attic storage lift comes in multiple platform sizes, but we like bigger platforms because they allow you to easily store and deploy the entirety of your seasonal decorations. The motorized system includes a pulley or winch that can descend and ascend with a remote control. Lift your storage and holiday items into your attic with ease with this convenient and efficient way to store and access home decor. This custom home idea is particularly helpful for those who have difficulty climbing stairs or lifting heavy objects.
As you consider features and find a custom home builder, make sure your home remodeling contractor or home builder is licensed. A licensed contractor will protect your work with a contactual warranty, securing the integrity of your custom home features. South Carolinians can use our free resource to find out if their home builder is licensed.
Complete Guide to Find a Custom Home Builder in Your Area
3. Whole House Water Filtration System
A whole-house water filtration system is next on our custom home features list, providing clean, safe drinking water for you and your family. Though Greenville, SC, is routinely recognized for its’ high quality tap water, custom home builders in ten states including Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio, recommend filtration to nullify the effects of contaminants in the water. This can be particularly important for households with children, elderly individuals, or people with compromised immune systems who may be more vulnerable to the effects of impurities in tap water.
Whole home water filtration systems also improve the taste and smell of the water, making it more pleasant to drink and use for showering, and cooking. Your whole home water filtration system is installed at the point where the main water supply enters the house, to ensure every drop of water is filtered. As the ground water or well water enters your home through your filtration system, sediment filters, carbon filters, and reverse osmosis remove all pollutants in your water supply.
An uncommon benefit of a whole house water filtration system is that it can help to extend the life of appliances that use water, such as washing machines, dishwashers, and hot water heaters. Water that is contaminated with minerals, sediment, or other impurities can be hard on appliances, causing them to wear out more quickly. By removing these contaminants from the water, a whole house water filtration system can help to reduce the strain on appliances and extend their lifespan. This can save homeowners money on repairs and replacements, as well as reducing the environmental impact of appliance disposal.
4. Indoor Outdoor Fireplace
An indoor outdoor fireplace is designed to multiply the accessibility of your fireside gatherings. Sit under the stars with friends and family gathering around the outdoor fireplace, while homebodies simultaneously snuggle up around the fireplace inside with a blanket on the couch. This custom home feature offers flexibility for everyone and is installed with a chimney or venting system that allows smoke and gases to be safely released outside.
The indoor outdoor fireplace is often used in tandem with outdoor kitchens, decks and patios and is fueled by wood, gas, or electricity. The see through fireplace increases your property value and creates a dynamic atmosphere for entertaining guests inside and outside. Like other custom home ideas, an indoor outdoor fireplace can be discussed with your custom home builder before construction begins. Learn about construction loan requirements.
5. Motorized window Shades
Motorized window shades offer energy efficiency for the entire home. Thermalize your interior design and program your motorized shades to open and close based on the time of day and the amount of sunlight in the room. Regulate the temperature in your custom home, reduce energy costs, and enhance security by programming the shades to close when you’re away from home. Remote shades are also perfect for those with mobility issues, affording easy opening and closing with a handheld control.
6. Walk In Pantry
Walk In Kitchen Pantry
A walk in pantry, like a luxury walk in closet, creates generous storage space that is organized and accessible. Customize your walk in kitchen pantry with an extra refrigerator or freezer for storing meats, and design spacious shelving, bins, cabinets and countertops. Many use the walk in pantry to stay stocked up for fewer visits to the grocery store, with plenty of space for months of food, ingredients, proteins, and non-perishables. A great place to store bulk items, these featured pantries are also great work stations for meal prep. Of course, there’s the added benefit of having an enclosed space to hide kitchen clutter, and keep pet supplies, cleaning supplies, and other household items as well.
7. smart homes and automation system
Smart home automation systems are all the rage, allowing homeowners to control and automate thermostats, lights, locks, appliances, televisions, speakers, security alarms, cameras, and even, outdoor lighting. Your smart home automation will have a hub, which is a device that connects your internet to your smart devices. Then, you’ll be able to control each aspect of your home with a smartphone app and/or dedicated remote control panel. You can run your devices on timers and schedule the elements of your home to come alive, or shut off, based on your family’s rhythms and needs. And if you need to see your home while you’re away, or make sure something was turned off/on, you’ll have 24/7 access and control through your phone or computer. Oh, and let’s not forget voice control either because your smart home can also be connected to Amazon Alexa or Google Nest, allowing you to make purchases verbally, ask for information and directions, play media over your speakers or television, and hear your “virtual assistant” verbalize your daily calendar for upcoming events.
8. mud room and dog washing station
Mudroom Bench and Storage
The kids came home from school on a rainy day and sloshed their muddy shoes all over the kitchen floor. Then, the wet dog ran through the house leaving dirty footprints on your carpet and furniture. It’s happened to all of us, and a mudroom is a must-have solution, usually located near a back entrance to your home. The mudroom combined with a dog washing station, allows for kids, dogs, and—let’s face it—you, to keep the rest of your house organized by filtering mess before it spreads into your home.
Mudrooms are used for taking off, storing and organizing shoes, backpacks, coats, wet towels, and outerwear. This is a great transition space between the outdoors and your main living areas, often with a series of hooks to hang up outerwear, and a mudroom bench to sit down while taking off shoes and outer clothing. And don’t forget to include a floor level dog washing station, to rinse off your playful pup after a walk or run outdoors. This mini shower or washing station can be a great help for people as well, especially to rinse off muddy gear, and clean dirty shoes and feet.
9. heated bathroom floors and electric towel warmers
Heated bathroom floors are especially helpful for colder climates during the winter months. Why use a space heater or turn up your thermostat to warm a cold bathroom, when you can have warmth built-in as a custom home feature. Radiant floor heating, as it is called, is accomplished with electric wires or hot water pipes installed underneath the flooring. But the benefit is not solely the warm floors because the heat also radiates and warms the bathroom (and spreads warmth to your home as well) . The radiant flooring systems are easy to maintain, and yes, they can be turned on and off; as well as being connected to your smart home automation system for remote control. Add on an electric towel warmer, and you’ll never dread getting out of the shower during the cold season again.
10. home gym
In Home Gym for Convenient Workouts
This custom home feature allows you to save time and money. Create a dedicated space for your workouts ranging from small spaces with a few pieces of equipment to large, dedicated rooms with a wide variety of machines and free weights. Pelotons, treadmills, elliptical machines, weight machines, free weights, and exercise mats make any home gym dynamic, including mirrors, music systems, and televisions to make your workouts more enjoyable. Over many years, you’ll save thousands of hours and dollars with an in-home gym, cutting down on travel-time and membership fees.
Looking for a custom home builder in Upstate SC?
“Great experience with Boerner Construction. From the initial interview through the entire process it was a pleasant experience working with Kyle. Good suggestions during the design process that improved the layout and quality of the construction. Kyle is a craftsman himself and actually does some of the more intricate woodwork. Great communication, quality workmanship, on budget, prompt follow-up, all the things you’re looking for when choosing the builder for your new home. We highly recommend Kyle and the Boerner Construction team.”