63 episodes

Whether you’re dreaming of building a custom home in the future or you’re ready to start planning now, this show is for you! The Before You Build Podcast is your one-stop shop for actionable home-building tips and advice as well as tips for designing your dream home so that you feel equipped to design the home of your dreams that makes you (and your wallet) happy for years to come. 
We’ll answer all of your burning questions such as: How do I plan for building a custom home? What should I do before building a house? How do I design my new house? What mistakes should I avoid when building a house? How do I create the perfect floor plan for my family? How do I hire a builder? How do I finance my home build? And the biggest question of all, how do I bring my dream home to life without blowing the budget? Well, friends … the answer is in PLANNING for your home build long before you ever break ground.
I’m your host, Carrie Barker (aka, Caroline on Design). I designed my own custom home from the ground up, inside and out. Through trial and error (psst … I built pre-Pinterest), I created my absolute dream home that is not only perfect for the way my family lives but also turned out more beautiful than I imagined. The best part … I did this all without blowing the budget and without design regrets. 
I cracked the code on how to bring my own dream home vision to life while sticking VERY close to budget and now I’m here to teach you everything I learned along the way so that you, too, end up with that cozy, beautiful home you envision in your head and a mortgage you’re comfy with. 
The short, actionable, and bingeable ‘Before You Build’ episodes will prepare YOU for a successful home build with less stress, more confidence, and joy throughout the process. And just so you know … the key to building your dream home close to budget is all in the planning you do BEFORE YOU BUILD! So let’s dive in and get started!

Before You Build Caroline On Design

    • Leisure
    • 4.4 • 23 Ratings

Whether you’re dreaming of building a custom home in the future or you’re ready to start planning now, this show is for you! The Before You Build Podcast is your one-stop shop for actionable home-building tips and advice as well as tips for designing your dream home so that you feel equipped to design the home of your dreams that makes you (and your wallet) happy for years to come. 
We’ll answer all of your burning questions such as: How do I plan for building a custom home? What should I do before building a house? How do I design my new house? What mistakes should I avoid when building a house? How do I create the perfect floor plan for my family? How do I hire a builder? How do I finance my home build? And the biggest question of all, how do I bring my dream home to life without blowing the budget? Well, friends … the answer is in PLANNING for your home build long before you ever break ground.
I’m your host, Carrie Barker (aka, Caroline on Design). I designed my own custom home from the ground up, inside and out. Through trial and error (psst … I built pre-Pinterest), I created my absolute dream home that is not only perfect for the way my family lives but also turned out more beautiful than I imagined. The best part … I did this all without blowing the budget and without design regrets. 
I cracked the code on how to bring my own dream home vision to life while sticking VERY close to budget and now I’m here to teach you everything I learned along the way so that you, too, end up with that cozy, beautiful home you envision in your head and a mortgage you’re comfy with. 
The short, actionable, and bingeable ‘Before You Build’ episodes will prepare YOU for a successful home build with less stress, more confidence, and joy throughout the process. And just so you know … the key to building your dream home close to budget is all in the planning you do BEFORE YOU BUILD! So let’s dive in and get started!

    062. Your Home Build Success Plan

    062. Your Home Build Success Plan

    Before creating YOUR Home Build Success Plan, you need to really think about what a successful home build looks (and feels) like for YOU.
    More specifically, how you will feel while you’re building and how you’ll feel about your house at the end of your build when you move into your brand new home.
    I’m going to share what most people consider to be a successful home build.
    You might relate to some of these things.
    You might even relate to all of them.
    You might even have other things that I haven’t added to this list.
    The bottom line is to take from this list what resonates with you and leave the rest.
    -
    EPISODE SHOW NOTES: carolineondesign.com/home-build-success-plan
    -
    FREE CLASS: ‘3 Keys to Build Your Dream Home WITHOUT Blowing Your Budget’  carolineondesign.com/free-training
    -
    'BEFORE YOU BUILD' PROGRAM: carolineondesign.com/before-you-build
    -
    See carolineondesign.com for more resources.

    • 13 min
    061. Kitchen Design Q+A with Anne-Marie Klobe

    061. Kitchen Design Q+A with Anne-Marie Klobe

    This episode is a VERY informal kitchen design Q+A session I had with Anne-Marie Klobe, Kitchen Designer. This Q+A session was not intended for my podcast but rather for clients in my private 'Before You Build' program.

    However, there are SO many golden nuggets of kitchen design advice that I wanted to share with all of you! The sound quality isn't my usual standard, and the call is extremely informal, but the tips are SO worth listening to.
    In this episode, we cover:
    The first thing to do BEFORE you design your kitchenThe kitchen triangle ruleTips for kitchen design elements to make your life easierThe biggest consideration for designing your kitchenModular cabinets, semi-custom cabinets, custom cabinetsand more!---
    Episode Show Notes: carolineondesign.com/kitchen-design-questions
    ---
    Connect with Anne-Marie:
    Instagram: @dreamkitchen4me
    Website: amklobe.kartra.com/page/Home
    Email: kloberesidential@gmail.com
    ---
    Grab your seat in my FREE Training! (3 Keys to Build Your Dream Home WITHOUT Blowing Your Budget): carolineondesign.com/free-training
    See carolineondesign.com for more resources.

    • 26 min
    060. Your Initial Quote for Home Build (It’s OK!)

    060. Your Initial Quote for Home Build (It’s OK!)

    Your initial quote for your home build can be a little frightening, BUT it's OK!
    Your initial quote is just that ... an INITIAL quote. 
    It doesn't mean it's the final price of your house.
    It's just a starting point.
    Believe me ... it's MUCH better to get a crazy high quote BEFORE you start building because this allows you time and space to pare your future house down to a comfortable price before you break ground.
    Tune into this episode to learn about a concept I teach inside BYB (i.e. creating a REALISTIC budget). 
    Creating a REALISTIC budget (that you can actually stick to!) all starts with getting an ACCURATE initial quote and then paring it down in a strategic way.
    -
    EPISODE SHOW NOTES: carolineondesign.com/initial-quote-for-home-build
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    FREE TRAINING: ‘3 Keys to Build Your Dream Home WITHOUT Blowing Your Budget’ carolineondesign.com/free-training
    -
    BYB PROGRAM: carolineondesign.com/before-you-build
    -
    See carolineondesign.com for more resources.

    • 11 min
    059. Ripple Effects of Planning Before You Build

    059. Ripple Effects of Planning Before You Build

    If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while or you know anything about my signature program, you know that I am ALL about planning, planning, and more planning before you build a house.


    This (planning) is what I teach, and it’s exactly why I’ve named this podcast and my group program ‘Before You Build’.


    I teach this because I know the power of planning before you ever even consider breaking ground on your new house.


    Planning is honestly the key to every single positive result that you want throughout your home-build experience and beyond. Tune into this episode to learn about the positive ripple effects of planning before you build your house.
    -
    Episode Show Notes: carolineondesign.com/planning-before-you-build
    -
    Want to learn how I built my dream home within budget and without sacrificing my must-haves? It’s all in my FREE on-demand training, ‘3 Keys to Build Your Dream Home WITHOUT Blowing Your Budget’ > carolineondesign.com/free-training
    -
    See carolineondesign.com for more resources.

    • 15 min
    058. Floor Plan Design Process with Holly from Hereabout

    058. Floor Plan Design Process with Holly from Hereabout

    I’m chatting with Holly, the founder and architect of Hereabout, about her floor plan design process.
    Holly has more than a decade of experience in residential architectural design, and she started her business, Hereabout, to bridge the gap between budget and design for people who want a thoughtfully designed floor plan but might not want to pay for (or spend the time on) creating a custom floor plan from scratch.
    In this episode, we cover:
    Holly’s process for getting into the mindset of her potential customers (i.e. families) as she creates her stock floor plans (FYI … most stock plans are NOT created with the potential families in mind)Holly’s entire process for creating her thoughtfully designed floor plans (she provides such unique and well-thought-out plans ... this is rare when it comes to stock floor plans)Holly’s process for getting feedback on her floor plans in order to improve the functionality for families (it’s pretty cool!)How she customizes the experience for customers who purchase her stock floor plans---
    Episode Show Notes: carolineondesign.com/floor-plan-design-process
    ---
    Connect with Holly from 'Hereabout':
    Instagram: @hereabout_home
    Website: hereabouthome.com
    Email: hello@hereabouthome.com
    Holly has generously provided a 10% off code for my listeners! Use code CAROLINEONDESIGN at checkout.
    ---
    Grab your seat in my FREE Training! (3 Keys to Build Your Dream Home WITHOUT Blowing Your Budget): carolineondesign.com/free-training
    ---
    See carolineondesign.com for more resources.

    • 27 min
    057. Why Hiring the RIGHT Builder is Important (and where to start)

    057. Why Hiring the RIGHT Builder is Important (and where to start)

    Hiring the *RIGHT* builder is one of the most important parts of creating a home build experience that is both positive and successful. 


    In other words, your builder plays a crucial role in bringing your dream home vision to life … without completely blowing your budget. 
    I’m going to illustrate the importance of WHY you need to hire the right builder for your project and then I'll share some tips to get you started on the path to finding the right builder for YOU.
    ---
    Episode Show Notes: carolineondesign.com/hiring-the-right-builder
    ---
    'Before You Build' Program: carolineondesign.com/before-you-build
    ---
    FREE Training (3 Keys to Build Your Dream Home without Blowing Your Budget): carolineondesign.com/free-training
    ---
    See carolineondesign.com for more resources.

    • 13 min

Customer Reviews

4.4 out of 5
23 Ratings

23 Ratings

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