People often like to think of a home as a living body. The walls are the bones, the kitchen usually the heart, but it’s the electricity that’s the blood. It’s what keeps all the different systems running. Clients are often shocked to learn that after designing their home layout they then have to design an electrical layout! A custom home builder will guide clients on this, but here are a few tips to consider when planning.
Think of Furniture Placement
Layout the blueprints and roughly plan where furniture will go. This way you can decide the ideal placements of electrical outlets and light switches. People often make the mistake of not doing this and then end up with outlets too far away for lamps or light switches in awkward places.
Plan for Extra Outlets
In rooms that will have a lot of appliances, it’s best to toss in more outlets than you think you’ll need. Nothing is worse than living in a home where you feel like you have to prioritize what to plug in or having extension outlets cluttering up the space. So plan for a few extra outlets in places like bedrooms, kitchens, and living rooms.
Walk Through the Home
There will be a stage in the building process where you can walk through with the walls roughly up. This is the ideal time to plan the electricity layout as the walls are still open so things can easily be changed. Walk through and imagine turning lights on or plugging in key appliances. Where does your hand naturally go? This will help you put outlets and switches in the best places!
Think of Visuals
People often forget that light switches and outlets will be visible! If placed in the wrong location they can completely ruin the look of a home. Try to find a nice convenient place that’s not in the way of art, furniture, or other décor elements you’re planning on.
Remember the Different Types of Lighting
The old-fashioned rule was to center a light on every room. But that leads to a lot of issues, such as dark rooms, inconvenient shadows, or uncentered furniture. Remember, there are different types of lighting, such as task lighting, ambient lighting, and accent lighting. Account for all three in your home.
Think of the Little Things
It’s the little things that often cause us to get annoyed with our homes. A great thing about custom homes is that you can plan for this! Think about how you decorate at Christmas time and put outlets in key locations to plug in lights. Does your family fight over charging devices at night? Plan for a charging station! Want to keep small appliances hidden but also want to plug them in? Add outlets inside of cabinets and closets!
