When it comes to popular features for today’s custom luxury homes, we all know gourmet summer kitchens, outdoor living rooms and swimming pools that rival the Atlantic Ocean.
They’re often among the most popular requests from prospective customers and certainly so. Florida’s year-round temperate climate is a perfect fit for these iconic spaces in any home design, and we at ICI Custom Homes might even have one or more in our own homes!
But, assuming such de rigueur features, there are many others you might want to consider for your new custom luxury home. Although not thought of as showstoppers, yet done well, they can become much-loved, indispensable havens that you and yours can enjoy indefinitely.
Here’s why you should consider these unique spaces for your custom luxury home.
Butler pantries
It may sound like an unattractive part of some vintage Victorian, but it doesn’t have to be!
Think of a butler’s pantry as the typical kitchen pantry on steroids. It can serve as your sole pantry, or function as the “warehouse” for your regular pantry — the historical role for which it was designed in the 19th century.
Modern butler pantries usually appear as a larger walk-in pantry with additional food-prep space and kitchen appliances. If you’re an enthusiastic entertainer and/or home cook, this space can be a necessity rather than a perk.
Here’s where you store seasonal serving dishes (turkey platters!) and multiple crates of club soda. Tuck away extra flatware, Grandma’s china, and aprons for everyone attending your next barbecue.
And don’t forget to make it a pleasing space. Our pros at ICI Custom Homes can help you create functional yet attractive storage that’s cheerful, colorful and a fun place to access.
Home gyms
Forget the stereotype here, too. We’re not thinking of a set of free weights, a lone treadmill with a ceiling fan and MAYBE a television.
Home gyms in luxury custom homes should be awesome enough to convince you to cancel an existing membership. So list the equipment and features that are must-haves and decide where you’d like to stage this space.
Hint: walking straight from an elliptical into a custom wet-room shower sounds awesome.
Reading nooks
Whether you like curling up with a digital reader or a physical book — or would like to develop that habit — a designated place to read is a real treat.
It’s a way to escape, learn something new, and to encourage children and other reading-averse members of your household to indulge.
Most of us have had to don ear buds or headphones to screen out noisy surroundings in order to enjoy a good book, so purposefully designing a reading nook in your new luxury custom home helps you avoid that by placing it in a quiet area of your home.
Outfit it with good lighting, comfy seating, and a place for drinks, snacks and extra books.
Ready for your new luxury custom home? Talk to ICI Custom Homes here.