Designing a new home? Sable Homes’ Karin Kay offers tips to stay on budget

If you’re planning to build a new home in the upcoming year, Sable Homes Sales Manager Karin Kay has a few tips to help you with the design process:

• Ensure your decorating tastes match your budget. Clients often times look at magazines or Pinterest for decorating ideas and tips. While those ideas showcase the best of the best in design, be realistic about your budget. There are great – and more affordable — alternatives to marble countertops and a farmhouse sink out in the market.

• Know what items are most important to you. For some people, a walk-in closet is a must, while a home facing a specific direction tops the list for others. Also recognize that what is important to you might not be what’s important to your partner or roommate. Budget ahead of time to plan and get all of the major items on everyone’s wishlists.

• Plan not just for your home, but also for your lifestyle. Some love the outdoor space more than the inside of the home, while others don’t want to have to do anything with the outdoors. If you want to garden and have space to do so, make sure you plan a decent space for yourself.

• Don’t spend your entire budget on upgrades. It is so tempting to get that next step-up backsplash, but there is nothing worse than being house poor. Leave plenty of room in your budget for the typical new construction necessities after you move in, such as curtains, landscaping, etc.

• Don’t spend money on items until you have the space. It’s difficult to keep from buying that couch because you know it is the perfect color, but are you sure it will fit your space? Clients often purchase furniture or appliances because it’s such a “great deal.” Unfortunately, that “great deal” turns into an even better deal for the person you have to sell it to because it doesn’t work for your home.