How to Create Your Dream Home

Whether you’re moving this year or you moved to your new home six years ago, it’s the right time to start planning your dream home. This isn’t about winning the HGTV Dream Home giveaway. This is about creating the perfect home with the space you already have or the one you’re about to move into. All it takes is a little planning.

Why Planning Your Dream Home is Important

Do the bathroom remodel for YOU, not for the next buyers.

When you go to sell your house, you’ll fix it up for potential buyers. You might add a fresh coat of paint to your newly clutter-free home. You may change the curtains, upgrade the pictures on the wall, or create a cozy reading nook. You’ll look around and think, “My house looks amazing. I wish it looked like this all the time.” It’s even more disheartening when you do that planned bathroom remodel that you never got around to until you put your house on the market.

Start by Taking Stock of What Makes You Happy

My dream home comes with a quiet place to read.

The first step in making dreams come true is to figure out what those dreams are. To get started, think about what makes you happy, whether it’s people, things, or experiences. I start by imagining things I love and goals I want to achieve in life. I love reading, entertaining, the color blue, and being close to water. Spending time with friends and family brings me joy. I want writing, exercise, and my hobbies to be part of my daily life. When I consider what makes me happy, I know my dream home should include space for all of these things. Once you figure out what your dreams and goals are, you can start building the perfect home for you.

Make a Dream Home List

Create a home that’s perfect for your dreams and goals.

When you create your Dream Home List, think about what you want and why you want it. Begin with the basics. Consider the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, house layout, and outdoor living space. Then, think about the more intangible items. For example, here’s my dream home list.

Ali’s Dream Home List

• Ocean view
• Clean, decluttered, & organized rooms
• Toys put away
• Reading nook
• A quiet place to write
• Bedroom oasis for parents only
• Turquoise and blue tones
• Place to play guitar
• Room to entertain friends
• Lots of photos of family & friends
• Open floor plan with large kitchen

Sure, getting an ocean view in the Midwest is a geographic impossibility. But, this is a dream list. I can find ways to bring the ocean into my home in other ways through photographs or color schemes. My list helps me understand why storage in my new home would be so important to me. A clutter-free environment makes me feel good, so storage should be high on my list when looking for a new house. The important thing is to write down everything that brings you joy and to re-create it in your physical space.

Stick To Your Goals

My husband begins building the tree house.
Photo credit: Ali Wenzke

Whenever my husband and I search for a new home, we make an extensive list of wants and needs. My husband always dreamed of creating a tree house for our children. So, the top of our list read “Great tree in the backyard”.  It’s easy to be charmed by an updated kitchen or an inviting fireplace. If the house didn’t have that perfect tree, though, then we knew the home wasn’t right for us. We stayed true to our dreams. The end result is years of unforgettable memories in our tree house that we would never trade for that fancier kitchen.

It’s easy to be swayed by this gorgeous kitchen.

Create Your Dream Home Today

If you’re moving into a new home, make your Dream Home List today so that you can make your dreams come true. When you start unpacking, organize your home from day one with your list in mind. If you wait to do it later, it’ll never happen. Life gets busy. It’s easy to place your dreams on the back burner. Don’t let that happen to you. Create that reading nook by the window and protect that space as if your sanity and happiness depended on it. What’s at the top of your Dream Home List?