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Design your Own House with Latitude Homes

Design your Own House with Latitude Homes

  • 4 years ago
  • 4 min read
  • By Default Admin

‘COOKIE CUTTER’ HOUSING

We've heard the term bandied around so often, it's time to set the record straight: Latitude Homes are never 'cookie cutter homes.' Working with our team, you can design your own house, put in all the customisations you want, and get a top quality home, while avoiding the inflated costs of using an architect plus half a dozen separate contractors.

A bit of history 'cookie cutter' is a term people use to describe houses where the homeowner doesn't have any say in the design.

cookie cutter homes

LATITUDE HOMES PLAN ‘WHAKAMARU’

In the 50s and 60s, huge developments were created where every house was the same. These ‘model neighbourhoods’ didn’t allow for any individuality on the part of the homeowner.  

While they’re looking for an affordable house, most people don’t want to be saddled with a design where none of their style or personality shines through. 

This is never the case with a Latitude home. In fact, most of our designers can’t remember the last time a house plan went from concept to built without the homeowner putting their stamp on the design.

whakamaru home customise

If you put two Latitude Homes side by side, you’d quite quickly see that even if they started from the same plan, they’d end up looking very different, both inside and out. 

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Person comes in with sketch of their dream house - house from scratch
Significant design changes to one of our Latitude House Plans
Latitude Shell and Interior by Owner
Minor changes to Latitude House Plan
Sticking fairly closely to house plan, but customising fittings, surface coverings, and joinery
No customisations at all (this never happens) 

Even at the far end of the spectrum, where you stick very closely to the house plan, you’re not getting a house that’s in any way inferior. 

There’s 50 Latitude plans to choose from. Each plan has been well considered and carefully designed, and houses are made from high quality materials. Many of our plans have undergone 12 years of design and improvement, making sure they’ll stand the test of time for you and your family.  

Even if you don’t want to change the Latitude floor plan you choose, there’s so many ways you can put your own style into the finished home. 

Throughout the design process, you’ll need to choose: 

Cladding
Floor coverings
Joinery finishes
Paint colours
Roof materials
 

With the main building elements selected, there are still other design decisions you have the opportunity to make to add your own personality to the build. 

One of the most effective ways to make your house unique is to do an upgrade of hardware (door, kitchen and tap fittings) or appliances (fridge, dishwasher, oven, heating & cooling.) This type of upgrade has minimal design costs, but gives a totally different look and feel to the interior.

We’re often modifying kitchen layouts and benchtop finishes to suit owners’ individual needs. Bathrooms are another place where a hardware upgrade can transform an area to make it really feel like your own.  

PROS AND CONS OF USING YOUR OWN DESIGN

If you’re all set to design your own house, you can always change the Latitude plans. The changes can be minor, like shifting around cupboards, to major: changing whole floor layouts. 

This does mean there’ll be a design time fee, and you may lose some of the buying efficiencies we have when we’re using our plans. This can be done, though, to fit a house on a small or narrow section or accommodate the owner’s needs. And you’ll still be taking advantage of the seamless integration between our designers and our building team, which creates a cost saving over using separate designers and builders.

Plans Gradient

This is the main reason for our 50 customisable plans: they’re the most affordable way to get a quality house. This is because over time we’ve perfected how best to build these house plans, and the standard measurements mean we can use our superior buying power to get great prices on materials. 

That said, when you come to Latitude Homes to design your own house, you’re not ‘locked in’ to any one plan. We’re quite capable of working from scratch to make your home come together exactly as you want it to.  

At Latitude Homes, we’re tremendously proud of the work we do. We’re also really proud of our clients. We know building a house is a major milestone in their lives, and no matter what the budget, we take care to make sure every project ends up with a client overjoyed to move into their new home. 

If you’re ready to build a new home, check out our house plans here. Bear in mind though, these are just a starting point. From here, you can work with us to create a design to suit your needs.