Custom Home or Custom Design: What’s the Difference?

If you have been looking at the housing market you will regularly encounter the phrase “Custom Home”. It sounds great - a custom home - wouldn’t everybody like their own custom home that they can be proud of and show off? Of course, they would.

Once in a while as you are browsing the local Lifestyles magazine or driving around new housing developments you run across another phrase – custom design. When we encounter this phrase, which sounds so much like custom home, we simply assume that they are simply two ways of saying the same thing. In reality there are significant differences between the two.

Many companies tout their product as a custom home but what they often mean is a standard design that you can tweak with their guidance. It’s a little like playing within a set of boundaries. Sure it’s a custom home in the sense that you got to pick the finishes, countertops and whether the front elevation had stacked stone or stucco, but otherwise it is the same layout as twenty other homes on the block.

Look, there’s nothing wrong with a custom home. If you like the layout then that’s great. But it is not the same as a custom design property.

Francis Family Homes is a custom design builder. This means that the homes we build are unique to our clients from the ground up. They are a reflection of our clients themselves.

“Isn’t that a lot of work?” you might ask. “I’m not a home designer - I don’t know how to do that.” That’s where we come in.

A custom home design is a lot of work for us, but it’s work that we think is important to get it right. We meet with you to understand your idea of a dream home and then we craft a design to make it a reality. We take into account your budget and collaboratively create the perfect space for you and yours.

That’s why no two Francis Family Homes look alike. This process means that you can say “I helped design my home” and not just “I got to pick the tile and the countertops”. When it comes to custom design the only limit is your imagination.

Working with us to create your own custom design means that we have control over things like designing your house specifically to fit the best location on your lot to take advantage of views or sunlight. Or designing the spaces in your home to accommodate accessibility for your family. Or even to place windows so that they look at the best features of your lot and not just your neighbour’s garage.

“But what if my imagination is ridiculous?”

Part of the work we do with you to help you realize your dream is to offer our advice as professionals. We can tell you if a feature you are looking for might clash with a particular community or neighbourhood theme. We can offer insight into what parts of your dream may be better investments than others.

When you work with us on a custom design home you are getting our expertise and our experience to ensure you are comfortable every step of the way. Every feature is one you picked. You don’t have to settle for a particular layout or feature set. Best of all you get to build a home that truly reflects the uniqueness of who you are.

If you are considering building or buying a new home give Francis Family Homes a call – we’ll work with you to build your dream.