Custom Built Details

What are the luxury details we double down on in a Dickens Built Home?

Part of the beauty of a “custom built” home is that you can really customize the spaces for your personality, style, and function. Details, details, details - are what make a home special and uniquely yours. Beyond open floor plans and designer kitchens, there are many places our clients ask for extra special touches like reclaimed brick inside and outside the home, adding a hot water tap outside the house, and extra wide molding and casings for a regal look. Blending these function and style choices with the floorplan and finishes takes a lot of listening and communication with our clients and contractors.

Here are 6 areas most homeowners indulge in with their custom built homes:

Laundry Room - Watch any HGTV show and you’ll see home buyers make a comment about their desire for a better laundry area. These areas go beyond housing a washer and dryer and serve multiple purposes in most homes now with additional refrigerators, freezers, storage, clothing prep areas … They need to be functional with enough space to successfully operate (and, in my case, occasionally hide from your kids while pilfering their Halloween candy). 

Lighting Design and Fixtures - Like icing on the cake, lighting should tell the story of your personality throughout your home. It should be modern but not too trendy. Dramatic but not distracting. And simple but not boring (simplicity is the greatest form of design - you can quote me on that). Often, where lighting goes wrong is when it’s an afterthought: mismatched finishes, the fixtures don’t complement each other in the space, from one space to another, or complement the other hardware in the home, the paint colors, and the space. We use simple but chic fixtures that complement the space and don’t compete for attention.

Master Suite - The spa retreat in your home, the master bedroom and on suite bath area should feel like an, oasis. We aim to position it to have plenty of natural light and have enough storage to keep surfaces clear of clutter. Think about the time spent in this space and how you want to feel in it. Is it larger with a sitting area and fireplace for reading? Or simple, functional and seamless for easy sleeping?

Trim Work - We get really excited about adding these details to your custom home. This is the hero of your custom built home - no one else has this! Carefully designed tray ceilings define the space in open floor plans. Custom built doors create points of interest to closets and pantries. Weathered ceiling beams warm large spaces to feel inviting. And cathedral vaults in eating areas with lots of natural light literally lift the mood at every meal. Unique details invite you to linger and feel at home.

Front Porch - Did you know, a Dickens Built signature front porch has at least 6.5’ depth on every front porch. We’ve learned that in order for your front porch to be used and enjoyed, you have to have enough room for those rockers and a table. Being able to enjoy your front porch, the cooler temperatures, your neighborhood, and nature … that’s good living!

Outdoor Living Spaces - In our moderate climate, textured accents such as fireplaces or flat stone (blue stone, sandstone, or brick flooring) - make the space feel warmer and inviting (opposed to basic concrete). We add V-groove porch ceilings, and/or vaulted porch ceilings to make the outdoors areas feel like you’re still in part of your home. Cooking and grilling areas can be just as functional and still attractive like your beautiful designer indoor kitchen - creating the perfect space for entertaining, reading, watching the game, or spending time with family. 

Before you build your custom home, think through which areas you’ll spend the most time in and what details are missing from the homes you’ve lived in before. I’ve lived in several homes that I’ve built and each time I build our next home, I take those lessons and improve the function and style. Much like I do for our clients’ homes too. 

Reach out and ask me any questions you might have about building YOUR dream home!

-Chris