When it comes to building a new home, one of the biggest decisions is the floorplan! As a custom home builder in Saskatoon – we’ve built everything from large acreage properties, multi-levels in new neighbourhoods, unique designs in infill properties and even Cam’s cabin! One of the types of homes often overlooked is the beauty of the bungalow. Some of our recent builds have been bungalows – and they are anything but basic!
Most of us here have aging parents and small children. Whether we care to admit it or not, we aren’t getting any younger ourselves! Recently, one of our own team members went through a challenging experience with a loved one whom lost a great deal of their mobility while waiting months for surgery. Thankfully, they were living in a bungalow which made their limited mobility just a little bit more manageable. This got us thinking about bungalows and their benefits.
Here are just a few of our favourite benefits of a bungalow home:
- Accessibility – This is the most obvious. A single-storey design simply means greater accessibility. This is a huge advantage. Most of us don’t want to think about getting older, but it’s unavoidable. We’d like to believe we can run up and downstairs well into our senior years. The truth is, none of us know what may or may not happen to us or our loved ones, health or mobility wise. A bungalow home makes a great choice to be prepared for unexpected health challenges, as they are much easier to navigate for those with mobility issues.
- All Ages – Bungalows are great for kids! They aren’t just for those for mobility challenges. Sometimes, stairs and small children – or even pets, don’t get along well. A bungalow allows you to better keep a closer eye on your loved ones. No more yelling at the kids to come downstairs for dinner.
- Ease of Maintenance – Bungalows typically have less walls than two-storey homes – there is a little less of everything to maintain on the interior and exterior. With everything on one level there is no vacuuming the stairs or lugging cleaning supplies to the second level. The exterior is easier to maintain as well, – it is more convenient to wash your windows or clean your eavestroughs.
- Privacy – Because a bungalow is one level, there aren’t any second-floor spaces that need additional privacy. It can be difficult to get trees to grow tall enough to cover the windows of a multi-level home. Creating a leafy green border by planting trees or shrubs around your home will increase your privacy. Also, there are less shared walls in a bungalow meaning you won’t be hearing noise from above. On the flip side – if your family has different sleep schedules, it is important to ask yourself if you are content with having all your rooms on the same floor.
- Heating and cooling – Heating is distributed evenly in your home as the heat can’t rise to the upper floor. Your HVAC system doesn’t need to work as hard pumping heat or cool air to multiple levels. As a result, your heating and cooling costs may be lower.
- Great Investment – Look around new neighbourhoods, you will notice that most homes are multi-levels. New bungalows are a bit of a rarity. They are unique designs and have a welcoming charm about them! Bungalows are in a lower supply, which means a higher demand.
If you think a bungalow is the perfect fit for you, let us know. We have floorplan options available to get you started. We can also tailor any design to make it just right for your individual needs. No matter how many stories you need, we are happy to help you design a home that you love coming home to.