Many people looking forward to building a custom home in Greenville, South Carolina, already have a floor plan in mind. Perhaps they’ve been looking through Southern Living’s excellent floor plan collection or spent some time googling things like “Craftsman home with mother-in-law suite” until they located what seemed like absolute perfection.

These individuals sit down with members of our team in our Design Center, excited to see their dream come true, only to realize that the floor plan they’ve chosen will cost more to build than they originally budgeted.

What can you do if you find out your home’s floor plan is too expensive to build within your budget? You’ve got some options, and we’re here to help.

First Off: What Don’t You Need?

This is usually the easiest way to “trim the fat” and cut down on the cost of building your perfect home. Perhaps the floor plan you’ve located includes space for a finished basement, but you don’t really need the space. Maybe the floor plan involves more bedrooms than you need, so you can cut one out, or you don’t need the third bathroom.

We mentioned in a previous blog that, for a small fee, you can easily download a modifiable copy of the floor plans you found. Once we get access to that file, it will be easy for us to take a closer look and discuss with you what we might be able to remove to help you save on the overall costs.

Second: Can You Save on Flooring or Other High-End Finishes?

If “real hardwood floors” is at the absolute top of your must-haves list, then don’t cut that out just to save a little money — you’ll regret that decision later, and the amount saved won’t be worth sacrificing your dreams.

However, if it’s just the look of hardwood you’re interested in, you may find that tile with a hardwood pattern works just as well, and it costs significantly less.

When it comes to countertops, there are a few ways to save — granite “remnants”, or smaller pieces leftover from larger construction jobs, can be had for a near-steal and work perfectly for smaller spaces like a kitchen island. You can also find tile or laminate countertops made to look like granite or marble, in some cases so similar in appearance that individuals can’t tell which is which!

Finally: Can You Modify the Home Itself?

While you may adore the overall outside “look” of the floor plan you fell in love with, one good way to save on your overall budget is to build up instead of out. If your floor plan involves living spaces like the family room, kitchen, and office space placed together, with bedrooms clustered on one end by themselves? Consider placing the bedrooms as part of a second story.

Less time and money spent on foundation and roofing equals time and money saved out of your budget.

Since modifying any floor plan like this involves the need to seriously rework the electrical design, plumbing placement, and many other internal details, this is definitely an option you’ll want to run by our Design Center as early as possible.

Build Your Custom Home in Greenville, South Carolina

Five Star Construction has been a part of the Greenville, South Carolina community for decades, giving us plenty of experience helping Upstate families bring their luxury home dreams to life. We’ll work with you from that very first consultation through move-in day and beyond. Give us a call at (864) 303-9143 or contact us online at any time to request your consultation!