Your lifestyle is far busier than that of your parents and grandparents. Your days are filled with activities, and you rarely have any downtime. You most certainly don’t have enough downtime for renovations, and the idea of living in a home stuck in the 1980s—regardless of it having “good bones”—just isn’t appealing. You want a home that not only fits your lifestyle but is actually up to date with the latest technology and features.

A custom home is a great solution to home ownership for today’s young buyer. You have the freedom to customize your home with the layout and features you need to enhance your everyday life. Here are some of the features you should consider for your new custom home.

1. Tech Capabilities

With all of the devices available today, it only seems natural your home should be up to date as well. There are so many new options available to incorporate into your home. Your smartphone can control everything in your home from lighting, heating, and humidity to a built-in sound system, window coverings, and even your oven! You can have your home wired for device charging stations in any room that’s convenient: beside the bed, in the kitchen, bonus room, and home office.

2. The Right Products and Materials

Select products and materials that are easier to maintain, and better for the environment. By choosing durable, superior quality materials for your custom home, your environmental impact will be reduced.

Products such as triple-pane windows also reduce your carbon footprint by minimizing the energy usage in your home. Solar panels, low flush toilets, automated faucets, high-efficiency appliances and systems are all examples of environmentally conscious products you may want to include in your custom home build.

3. Open, Multifunctional Spaces

Design your floor plan for flexibility. The old style of compartmentalizing every space in your home is very out of date. Today, homes are designed for socializing across different spaces, with entertainment-friendly kitchens and living areas. You want to be able to visit with your friends while you’re preparing drinks or dinner rather than be stuck in a separate room. It's also nice to be able to watch your children play while you’re doing dishes, and open concept plans allow for this.

Additionally, several rooms in the home—including bonus and lifestyle rooms—are designed in such a way as to create the ideal media space, home office, or they can be multifunctional as a homework space and playroom for the kids.

Master bedrooms are becoming owner’s suites, in that they are more than simply a room for a bed and chest of drawers. Now, these open floor plans offer larger owner’s suites with room for a seating area, wet bar for coffee or wine, and an open flow to your spa-like ensuite.

4. Personalized Outdoor Space

Entertaining is stretching beyond the boundaries of the kitchen and living room and has moved its way outdoors. Bring the inside out with outdoor entertaining features like a kitchen, built-in barbecue and maybe even a pizza oven. A special space that will make you want to stay out all night, your outdoor patio can be converted into a cozy outdoor living room with plenty of space for friends and family. You can even incorporate a chimney or fire pit to provide warmth and soft lighting to your custom outdoor area.

5. The Right Community

Alright, so this one isn’t a feature so much of the home itself, but where the home is located. Think about the amount of traveling you do in a day and the places you go. Will the community in which your home is built be conducive to the commute to your most common destinations? Not only should your community be conveniently located to many of your daily endpoints, but it should offer some of those amenities right in your own neighbourhood.

Many of Calgary's top luxury communities offer a local shopping area, limiting how far you need to go for milk, coffee, or even a manicure. Find a community that meets as many of your regular needs as possible to maximize the benefit of living there.

Accessibility to main highways and freeways is important as well. If you're someone who likes to spend your weekend skiing or hiking, you certainly don’t want to spend half of your day trying to get out of town when you could be spending that time doing what you want.

By selecting the right features for your custom home, you can expect to enjoy your new home for many years to come. These are just a small selection of the wide array of items to consider when building your next home.