If you’re hoping to build a property from scratch or are set to re-develop your existing property with a growing family in mind, you have come to the right place. 

Your home is your base and is typically where all your fondest memories are made, but it’s also the one place where you should feel safe and content from the outside world. How your home is designed will have an influence on how much time you wish to spend there, and ultimately, how you choose to use it. Therefore, careful thought is in order.

If you want to know how to design a family home that works for the current time and in the future, this guide will provide you with some useful tips to keep in mind.

1. Open Plan Living 

First thing’s first: you need to think logically about how each family member spends their day to day, which is why you need to consider layout as a priority. Open-plan living has become a trend in most modern homes and especially for families with small children. It can be difficult to keep an eye on youngsters at all times when rooms are sectioned off, however, open-plan living means there are fewer rooms downstairs so that the family can spend more time together, regardless of the activity. 

If the kitchen and living rooms are combined, you could be cooking while your child watches the TV. THis ultimately allows you to be the all-seeing parent as you go about your daily business.

2. Utilise Natural Light

The amount of light entering the room should be of high importance when designing your family home. Aim to incorporate as many windows as possible into the property to keep the space light and bright. If there is enough wall space, windows should be fitted around the room so that it is flooding in from numerous directions, but if this is not possible, a roof light would be a sufficient alternative.

Natural light is important to our health and wellbeing as it provides a vital source of Vitamin D needed to improve our mood and physiological function, as well as focus and productivity.

3. A Private Garden

When you have small children, privacy, security and safety are essential for both the front and rear gardens. Your little ones should be able to play freely, without the concern that they may escape or risk coming into contact with outsiders. Regardless of the size of your garden, it would always be wise to install tall screening panels from arbourlandscapesolutions.co.uk around the property borders to keep your property safe and secure.

If you have the ambition to design a family home in the near future, this guide should help you determine your priorities for the planning process. It would also be worth seeking a professional opinion if you’re hoping to build the property from scratch to ensure you have thought of all of the necessary measures and don’t run into difficulty along the way.