There are generally 3 types of homes:

1. Spec homes: “Speculative” (or spec for short) are move-in-ready homes that are built with the average homebuyer in mind. They are designed to accommodate a wide segment of homebuyers and are outfitted with selections that appeal to just about everyone. They are also typically located in a housing development.
2. Semi-custom or “customized” homes: A homebuilder has a library of designs they’re familiar with and that they can economically source materials for. From this list, you select a floor plan that meets your expectations and fits your family’s needs. Then, you work with that home builder to customize the home’s layout, selections, materials, and finishes to your liking.
3. Custom homes: These are homes that you work closely with your design team (and building team) to design, plan, and select every single detail about the home—its construction methods & materials, layout, and finish, and how it sits on the land. And when we say ‘everything’, this can quite literally mean EVERY-THING, right down to the door handles.

The Degrees of “Custom” Home Design

Within the category of ‘custom homes’, there are different degrees of the level of ‘custom’ in custom home design. We like to think of it as a custom home design spectrum.

On one side of the spectrum, there are custom homes designs where the designer gives you a basic custom design. The design drawings are not super detailed and not 100% thought through with all the selections and details. Drawing sets are smaller and convey the overall design intent with just enough information to pull building permits. You get the bare minimum essentials of a custom home: the layout, the orientation, the size, the shape, and basic massing. Finishes, tile, and siding may be selected by you from a builder’s showroom or your own shopping experiences. But the detailing for how materials intersect or how something is mounted isn’t planned out, drawn, or coordinated in advance. It happens more on the fly leading to more reactive decision-making. These custom home projects generally fall into the category of our “Basic Design Services”. We help you get started with a custom home, but we’re not figuring everything out for you.

On the other side of the spectrum are high-end custom houses that are truly custom. These homes are detailed inside and out. All the design decisions are made together with you and the design team so that everything speaks to everything else in a cohesive way. There’s alignment in light fixtures, outlets, switch plates, windows, tile joints, and tons of other objects that you may have never thought to consider. But when you walk into a home where everything is intentional, where alignments just make sense, your mind naturally reads this “order” and it just feels right. These custom home projects would fall into the category of “Full Architectural Design Services“.

Then, of course, there are many variations between these extremes where the designer/architect provides more or less design services depending on the client and project goals and budget.

Characteristics of a Custom Home

When you think of a custom home and what differentiates it from others, the biggest difference is that custom homes are truly one-of-a-kind solutions. There never was and never will be another one like it. But there’s more to custom homes than just this.

Here are defining characteristics of a custom home:

1. Custom homes tell a good story. When there’s a bigger, guiding idea behind every design decision, it imbues meaning and significance.  Does the large picture window frame an old oak tree that grandpa planted? Do you experience the home in a similar meandering way that you spent hiking this land as a child on summer vacations? Were the timber beams salvaged from an old homestead barn nearby? A home that tells the story of a specific client, in a specific place, at a specific time enriches the experience and gives it a reason for being.
2. Custom homes are harmonious with their site. Homes work best when they are work with the natural land features and resources, not against them. Custom homes feel rooted where they are and feel like they belong there and nowhere else. They are timeless. Good architects acknowledge the colors, materials, terrain, visual cues, and patterns of sunlight and harmoniously work with the environment to create a unique experience.
3. Custom homes inspire us and invoke a sense of awe. Custom homes are notorious for breaking rules. They take risks to do something out of the ordinary. The creative thinking that goes into designing custom homes often involves rethinking, reimagining, and inventing new ways of doing the same old thing. They may seemingly defy gravity or use innovative materials in an uncommon way. Floor plans get inverted, bedrooms and bathrooms merge into one room, and steel beams disappear through glass window walls. This isn’t to say that everything requires innovation or bold action, but in many cases, there are few interesting moments of surprise in a custom home that go beyond standard traditional practice.
4. Custom homes are thoughtful all the way down to the tiniest details. Architecture seeks to solve problems, but it’s the way these solutions manifest themselves — the poetry in the solution — that separates the good from the bad. Details matter, especially in custom homes. They’re what really separates a good home from a good custom home. When materials flush out next to each other, when light fixtures align with window frames, when the drywall terminates cleanly against a stone wall with a thin shadow reveal… This is when details can elevate a design and take it to the next level of custom design.
5. Custom homes establish order and fit your way of life. Spaces and sequences work with your morning routine, how you entertain, where you spend most of your time, and how you move from one space to another. They fit your specific furniture. There’s just the right amount of storage. And there’s that flex space in the basement that will double as an in-law studio in a few more years.
6. Custom homes are cohesive from inside to out. Custom homes often repeat materials, proportions, and details as you experience parts of the home from different vantage points. Repetitive elements talk to each other across the project solidifying the design. Good architects create a “rulebook” for the custom home and use this guide to make future decisions on the project.  There may be a family of repeated details and materials that create a sense of order and fit-ness for the project.  There may be a unifying color or material palette. While we may use different materials or products, each still speaks the same language. For example, the plumbing fixtures may all be different, but they are all angular and in brushed nickel.
7. Custom homes engage the senses. While we are constantly consuming Instagram-worthy visuals, good architecture appeals to all of our senses. They feel right, down to our bones. The daylighting, the views, the smells, the textures – everything is intentionally crafted to evoke a specific feeling. It may evoke a sense of calm or security. It may inspire, invigorate, or excite.
8. Custom homes are truly one of a kind. There is no other house like it in the world, and there never will be. Sure there will be homes with similar siding, similar windows, and a similar roof. But the shape, size, configuration, and orientation will be different. How the windows are trimmed, how the roof flashing terminates into the wall, and how the windows are grouped are different from other homes. Tile, fixtures locations, and finish carpentry are all unique, also. Everything inside and outside your home is intentional and tells a story – your story.

Let’s Talk!

At YR Architecture + Design, we specialize in modern custom home designs. We don’t just design a beautiful home, we create the perfect home for you. If you’re looking for a team that you can trust with your dreams, we would love to hear from you. Contact us today to discuss your custom home design project.