The $15,000 Mistake Most People Make When Building a House
When people build a house, they tend to spend money on the things that look impressive.
Tile.
Lighting.
Countertops.
Statement pieces.
But the things that actually affect your daily life in a home are usually the things people overlook.
After living in our custom home, one thing became very clear to me:
Most people overspend on finishes and underspend on systems.
And that mistake can easily cost you $10,000–$20,000 in regret.
Let me explain.
The Mistake: Upgrading the Wrong Things
When you’re building, it’s incredibly easy to get pulled into aesthetic upgrades.
Builders present endless choices like:
• upgraded tile
• statement lighting
• designer plumbing fixtures
• high-end backsplashes
• feature walls
And while those things look beautiful, they often don’t improve the way your house actually functions.
The regret most homeowners feel later usually isn’t:
“I wish my backsplash was different.”
It’s things like:
• “I wish we had more outlets.”
• “I wish this cabinet opened differently.”
• “I wish we had planned storage better.”
Those are the decisions that affect your everyday life.
The Systems That Actually Matter
If I could go back to the beginning of our build, I would prioritize home systems before aesthetic upgrades.
These are the things that truly impact daily living.
1. Electrical Planning
Outlets and lighting placement make an enormous difference in how a house functions.
Things I wish more people planned ahead:
outlets inside pantry cabinets
outlets inside drawers
under-cabinet lighting
bedside lighting controls
extra garage outlets
Soffit Outlets (for heat cable and holiday lights!)
One thing I recommend to almost everyone is installing smart plugs or smart switches so you can control lighting and devices easily.
Examples you could add during planning:
These small upgrades can dramatically improve the way your home works day-to-day.
2. Storage Layout
Storage is one of the most undervalued parts of home design.
The key isn’t just how much storage you have, but where it’s located.
When we built our house we valued open spaces over storage and we regret it. We should have added more closets and closed storage!
Think about storage near where you actually use things and how to make those most efficient:
drawer organizers in kitchens
cleaning supply cabinets
drop zones near entrances
pantry containers for easy access
Some simple products I always recommend for functional storage include:
These are the kinds of things that make your house feel organized and easy to maintain.
3. Workflow
A well-designed home flows naturally.
When planning layouts, consider:
kitchen prep zones
laundry workflow
pantry access
garage entry organization
For example, something as simple as a mudroom drop zone can completely change how your house functions.
Things like:
can prevent clutter before it even starts.
4. Materials That Are Easy to Maintain
As someone who also owns a cleaning company, I’ve seen firsthand how certain design choices affect long-term maintenance.
Some materials look beautiful when they’re first installed but become frustrating to maintain over time.
For example, surfaces with heavy texture, deep grout lines, or glossy dark finishes tend to show dirt, dust, and footprints much more quickly.
If you want a home that’s easier to maintain, I recommend prioritizing durable, low-maintenance materials wherever possible.
Here are a few materials that tend to perform really well over time:
Quartz countertops
Quartz is non-porous, doesn’t require sealing, and resists staining much better than many natural stones. It’s one of the easiest countertop materials to maintain in kitchens and bathrooms.
Large-format tile flooring
Larger tiles mean fewer grout lines, which means less scrubbing and easier cleaning. This is especially helpful in kitchens, mudrooms, and bathrooms.
Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) flooring
High-quality LVP is durable, water-resistant, and extremely forgiving for homes with pets, kids, or heavy traffic.
Matte or satin finish hardwood floors
Glossy floors show every footprint and scratch. A matte or satin finish hides wear much better and tends to look cleaner day-to-day.
Slab backsplashes
Instead of small tiles with lots of grout, slab backsplashes (stone or quartz) create a smooth surface that wipes down easily.
These kinds of decisions may not seem exciting during the design process, but they can make a huge difference in how easy your home is to maintain over the long term.
From a cleaning perspective, the best homes aren’t necessarily the most elaborate — they’re the ones that are designed with everyday living in mind.
What I Would Prioritize If I Built Again
If I were starting another build tomorrow, I would prioritize these things first:
Electrical planning and outlet placement
Smart storage in every room
Functional kitchen and laundry workflow
Durable, easy-to-clean materials
Lighting zones instead of single overhead lights
Once those systems are in place, then I would start thinking about finishes.
Because the truth is:
You live in your systems every day.
You only look at your backsplash occasionally.
If You're Planning a Custom Home
Building a home is one of the biggest investments most people will ever make, and small planning decisions can have a huge impact on how your house actually functions.
I’m currently working on a full guide to custom home building that walks through everything I learned during our build — including things I wish someone had told me earlier.
If you’re planning a build or renovation, make sure you're following along because I’ll be sharing more tips and lessons from our experience.
