A functional home features well-maximized living spaces, allowing each family member to move around freely and carry out typical household chores without hitches. And it all starts with design. When constructing a house, you must analyze your current lifestyle and possible future changes so you can decide on the ideal room sizes and fixtures to install.

You can design your house from scratch or browse some beautiful custom home designs to borrow ideas. Besides the design, utilities like electricity, water, and sewage systems help in the daily operations of your home. So, it’s crucial to consider these too. You’d want to ensure their capacity optimally meets your family’s needs.

Having said that, here are the five essentials of a functional home:

• Adequate Lighting

Proper and adequate lighting is one of the essential factors for a functional home. Daily household chores such as cooking, washing, and cleaning require lighting. It’d be best to install large enough windows and skylights to let in enough natural light for daytime use. It significantly saves you money on energy bills and makes the interiors relaxing, given the amount of natural light coming in from the outdoor environment. An open layout design further enhances the penetration of natural light into the inner rooms, making them bright, airy, and open.

Further, adequate natural lighting can bring warmth to your home, especially with access to sunlight. That’s especially vital during winter when it gets chilly. A thermal-rated window can let in the sun’s warmth and trap it indoors for optimum thermal comfort.

Besides natural lighting, you’d want enough artificial fixtures for the nights. Multi-bulb chandeliers would be best for adequately illuminating your interiors. They’re also a vital decorative element, adding classiness to your spaces. Alternatively, you can install downlights in distinct patterns across the ceiling to light up every corner. They bring a modern feel to your home.

• Sufficient Storage

Your home needs enough storage space to be functional and organized. The amount of storage you’ll need depends on how many people live in your home and their belongings. For example, consider including bookshelves and extra storage boxes for toys if you have children. You can also install an external storage area for garden tools and equipment, such as lawnmowers.

Additionally, you can create extra storage by utilizing vertical spaces to fit in shelves or cabinets. It helps save space when your floor area isn’t extensive. You can use this space as a bookshelf or store extra materials like boxes. Vertical storage helps minimize clutter around the house, a crucial component of making the home more space-efficient. 

• Energy Efficiency 

Energy is a must-have essential for a functional home. But it’d help to find a way to create an energy-efficient home to decrease energy bills and encourage sustainability. You can do this by considering double-pane windows, insulation, and energy-saving appliances.

Ensuring that you have proper insulation is critical to the energy sufficiency of your home. It helps prevent heat loss during winter and heat gain in summer. Such heat control can help keep your home comfortable while reducing energy consumption. 

You can also install a programmable thermostat to control the temperature in your home. This device allows you to set an ideal temperature for your home, depending on your needs. For example, when it’s hot, you can lower the temperature to a reasonable level to avoid making the interiors stuffy. 

• Comfortable Furniture

Another essential inclusion for a home is a comfortable and functional furniture. Purchase solid, comfortable furniture that offers enough support. The needs of your family are also crucial in determining the best furniture.

For example, if some family members have back problems, you can consider ergonomic chairs for working desks. These are seats designed for comfort and efficiency, especially if you’re spending a lot of time seated.

You can also consider the arrangement of furniture when creating a functional space. The layout should maximize space and enhance interaction. For example, you can arrange the furniture in the living room to face the television with a coffee table in the middle as a centerpiece. 

• Accessible Bathrooms

You need to ensure the bathrooms in your home are accessible to every occupant. This is essential, especially if you have older or disabled relatives living with you. The accessibility of the bathrooms can be promoted by placing ramps instead of stairs if they are on a different level. Wheelchairs can easily ride on ramps, unlike staircases. You can also have the bathrooms on the lower house level to eliminate the need to climb the stairs to access them.

Other features that can help make bathrooms more accessible include grab bars, non-slip surfaces, and low-threshold showers. These features can help prevent slips and falls when using the bathroom, making it safer. 

Conclusion

It’d help if you considered your needs and those of family members when designing your home to be functional. Your design, layout, and materials should be customized to your household needs. Further, making your home functional requires considering comfort for every occupant.

Kenneth

Kenneth is a proud native of sydney, born and raised there. However, he pursued his education abroad and studied in Australia. Kenneth has worked as a journalist for almost a decade, making valuable contributions to prominent publications such as Yahoo News and The Verge. Currently, he serves as a journalist for The Hear Up, where he focuses on covering climate and science news. You can reach Kenneth at [email protected].