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Why build a house? (part 1)
“People think building a house will save their marriage — but, just like having kids, it won’t. Building a house can’t be to fix things, it must be to make a good thing better.” — My real estate agent
This is the first in a series I’ll be writing about my home-building adventures. I’ll be including lots of details, photos and financials as a future guide to myself and anyone else brave enough to embark on this journey.
Why?
Before embarking on your journey, it’s worth writing down your 2–5 core principles. Why are you building a house? What should the house achieve to make it worth your money and time?
Over the next 1–3 years, you will make thousands of decisions. The only way you’ll end up with a cohesive house (and not die of decision fatigue) is to establish your principles first and share them with everyone on your team (architect, builder, interior designer, contractors, etc) so that you can all row in the same direction.
Don’t even look for land until you’ve settled on your principles, since you might very well discover that your original idea (e.g. suburb) doesn’t coincide with your goals (e.g. helping the environment, since you’d be forced to drive everywhere).
You might also find that you can achieve your goals without going through the stress of designing +…
