Classic home design features that will never go out of style. And can even save you money

Are you ready to build your dream home? Have you gone through all design resources and made note of the designs you love and the features you want in your home? For most of us, building our own home or undertaking a major renovation is likely going to be one of the major financial investments we make. So it makes sense to have all the design elements and features we can in our home.

But, it is often a case of us all having champagne tastes on a beer budget. Because while we all have grand plans and big dreams for our homes, most of us will not have the budget to match. The good news is, there are some simple and effective ways in which you can actually have a beautiful home that is not going to break the bank. Here are just a few classic home design features that will never go out of style, and can even save you money.

1. Natural light and ventilation

Natural light and ventilation are definitely undervalued as design features. A well-designed home that captures natural light and lets air flow naturally throughout can make your home appear more spacious. Rooms will look bigger, the ceilings will appear higher and the space will feel less cluttered. Natural light and air can bring a warmth and freshness to a room that can’t really be achieved via artificial lighting and ventilation.

A good house design that allows for an abundance of natural light and cross ventilation will also save you money on the running costs of your home. Heating and cooling are one of the biggest expenses in the home. To be able to heat and cool your home naturally is a design gift that keeps on giving.

Adding stacking or bifold doors instead of standard sliding doors can increase the ventilation in your home. Incorporating skylights into the design can help increase the natural light. Even moving your windows and door openings to another position could make all the difference. There is a wide range of options that can capture more light and air into your home without costing you more money.

2. Blend indoor living with outdoor living

We live in such a great climate where we are able to live outside comfortably for a large part of the year. A great classic design feature is to blend our indoor living with our outdoor living. By blurring the lines between inside and outside, we are able to make our homes more adaptable, more functional and make our living spaces much bigger.

This is where replacing a fixed wall and sliding door with a large folding or stacking door can make sense. Being able to effectively open or close a wall to suit your needs and the climate can make a big difference to the livability of your home. You could even consider having an outdoor deck or courtyard semi-enclosed so you still get all the benefits of the outdoors while being able to use the space in wet or extreme weather.

3. Incorporating a flexible design

While you’re looking at ways you can combine your indoor and outdoor space, why not look at all the other rooms in your home and consider how you can make them more adaptable? Flexible home designs are a relatively modern concept but should be a design feature that stays a classic for a long time to come.

Gone are the days when every room was built for one purpose. Our lifestyles are more flexible and our homes need to be too. Some of the best home designs allow for flexibility and give the owners the option to adapt the rooms to different purposes. It means our homes don’t go out of style as quickly, they are more functional and we generally feel better within our own homes for much longer because of how adaptable they are to our needs.

4. The shape of your house

We spend a lot of time thinking about the inclusions we have in our homes… The floor coverings, benchtops, tapware, lighting and so on. But how much time do we think about the shape of our home? The shape of our home has an impact on both the design as well as the price it costs to build.

In fact, this little-known design feature could save you tens of thousands of dollars without compromising the style and sophistication of your home. A house with more angles will likely have a greater wall surface area, increasing the number of bricks, guttering, eaves, framework, gyprock, cornices and other building materials needed. A house with a simple shape (e.g. rectangle) can retain the same floor area with a greatly decreased wall surface area. The savings can run into the tens of thousands.

So before you fall in love with a complicated architectural design, check with your builder or designer and ask how you can achieve the same overall design result with a slightly modified external shape. This design secret could save you thousands.

5. Lighting and technology

Technology has definitely come a long way, especially in the products we use in our homes. LED lighting has to be one of the most beneficial home design features we can incorporate. LED lights are not only bright and compact — they are also extremely energy-efficient. Go a step further and incorporate LED lighting with wireless technology and remote functionality and we have a design feature that simply can’t be overlooked.

Once you have the ability to turn your lights on just before you get home, or turn the lights down without leaving the comfort of your lounge, you won’t ever go back. Even incorporating technology that allows you to see who is at your front door while you are not there, or turn your air conditioning on 10 minutes before you get home can make a big difference. Not only will your home be much more comfortable to live in, but the technology will save you money in running costs and add value to your home should you decide to sell.

6. Colour and texture

Colour and texture are areas where design trends are obvious. You can pinpoint when a home has been built by the original colours and textures selected. And most of the time, that’s okay — paint colours are relatively easy to change. But it would be silly to upgrade a perfectly usable kitchen just because the colour has gone out of fashion.

If you are looking for longevity in your home and want to maximise the value you get from your build, consider carefully the colours, textures and materials used — particularly in areas that are not so easy or practical to upgrade. Your windows for example. Choosing a more neutral and classic colour means any renovations or upgrades you do within the home down the track won’t clash, and your windows will remain stylish for a long time to come.

Stick to the classic home design features and you can’t go wrong. Within the B4U Build software, there is space for you to add your design notes and ideas. Use this feature to your full advantage to help give your builder and building designer an idea of what design aesthetics you like and want to achieve.