Best Custom Home Features for Large Families

Finding the ideal property for your large family can be challenging. In addition to needing additional bedrooms and ample storage, every family member may have different features that appeal to them. As a result, traditional house hunts may be plagued by frustration and disagreements.

Luckily, there is another option: building your own custom home. Custom homes can be uniquely tailored to your family’s needs and varying tastes. Below, we share just a few of the custom home features that are perfect for large families.

The Benefits of Building Custom Homes

The benefits of building a custom home are great for any family, regardless of its size. However, custom homes offer unique benefits to large families who may struggle to agree on their perfect property.

When you work with a custom home builder, every family member can have their say in thoughtful, tailored design choices. Their input can ensure ample space and storage to meet everyone’s functional needs.

Building a custom home allows you to choose the location of your new property wisely to accommodate every member of your large family. For instance, a rural home may be ideal to ensure the space and freedom your family needs. Alternatively, a property on the city's outskirts can provide plenty of room while keeping all family members close to work, school, and social connections.

Best Custom Home Features for Large Families

The best custom home features for large families include:

An Open Floor Plan

Over half of Americans prefer an open floor plan for improved socialization and aesthetic appeal. This design choice also has unique benefits for large family living.

Open floor plans create an increased feeling of spaciousness to avoid overcrowding, even in a well-populated home. They are also great for creating social spaces where you can easily supervise the entire family. Open floor plans also ensure that you all spend more time together, even when engaging in different activities like homework, play, or cooking. 

Open floor plans for large family homes might include significant natural light sources, zoned areas, and high ceilings to enhance the feeling of space even when everyone is occupying one area. 

A Well-Equipped Kitchen and Dining Area

Custom-built homes can prevent you from feeling confined to a tiny kitchen when cooking or eating with your large family. Instead, you’ll be able to ensure that your kitchen can handle family meal times.

Of course, the main focus here should be storage. Custom homes allow you to introduce additional storage spots like kitchen islands, multiple pantries, and extra surface space for food prep. You can also incorporate necessary additions, such as numerous sinks, dishwashers, and large ovens, to simplify cooking efficiency and clean-up.

Custom dining areas can be designed with specific room dimensions, allowing for large bench-style setups or six-seater-plus tables to ensure a more comfortable dining experience.

Multiple Bedrooms and Bathrooms

In large households, sharing bedrooms and bathrooms will inevitably cause strain. When designing a property from scratch, it’s far easier to include ensuites for primary bedrooms and multiple bathrooms to accommodate everyone in the home. Being thoughtful about the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in your custom home gives each family member plenty of privacy and time to get ready. Although it’s great to have large common areas suitable for the whole family, providing space for people to get away when needed is nice.

Ample Storage Space

As a large family, storage space is likely a non-negotiable element of your property search, but you may struggle to find enough storage to meet your needs in existing real estate. With a custom home, it’s far easier to ensure additional storage in every room and even specific spaces for storing seasonal items like lawn furniture or Christmas decorations.

Just a few storage space options you could integrate into your custom home to organize your belongings include:

• Basements/attics to allow overflow storage
• Built-in shelves or cabinets in primary spaces like bedrooms or living areas
• Garages for storage of seasonal items
• Mudrooms for coat and shoe storage
• Pantries for overflow food storage
• Sheds for gardening equipment and tools
• Walk-in closets for clothes and belongings in primary bedrooms

A Spacious Outdoor Area

Spacious outdoor areas can be invaluable for large families looking to spend time together while enjoying plenty of personal space. Even if you’re building a custom home near the city, there are plenty of options for maximizing your outdoor space. Generous custom outdoor areas like patios and decks can help facilitate outdoor activities for numerous family members or guests.

Custom designs can also enhance the usability of an outdoor area for each family member by incorporating various elements for everyone to use. Outdoor kitchens, which may incorporate multiple grills, sink spaces, and more, can add 55-200% to your home’s value. Furthermore, comfortable seating areas and fire pits can encourage and enhance time spent together outdoors.

Custom Homes in Idaho and Utah

Designing your own home could put an end to the real estate compromises that too often plague large families. Building a custom home could work exceptionally well for your sizable family if you introduce these features with the help of a trusted custom home builder like Guardian Homes. With over 14 years of experience building luxury custom homes in Idaho Falls and Utah, we’re the ideal team to bring your large family home to life. Contact us today to discuss your options.