Your home is not merely an investment. It is a statement. 

Buying or building your first home is a right of passage for many as they move into adulthood. It’s one of the most significant purchases a person will make up until that point. But unfortunately, it’s often more of a practical choice than a fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

Most will look for something closer to their work or with suitable school access. They’ll weigh budget with accessibility and make compromises to their initial desires. Sure, they’d love the modern artist retreat or funky downtown loft, but they have kids to raise and work to attend, so they go for the cookie-cutter home in the suburbs. It’s exciting to have a place of your own, but it usually doesn’t end up being the place of your dreams.

Many first homes represent compromise and sacrifice.

However, when you reach the place in life where you get to purchase or build your second (or third, fourth, etc.) home, that’s when you can truly get what you desire and need.

Your second home typically comes later in life. You’ve worked and grown as a person, developing a personal taste and style. You know better who you are and what makes you thrive.

Perhaps in your twenties, you craved the frantic energy of a big city. Access to restaurants and nightlife took top priority. So, you choose a tiny apartment in a hip part of town, close to the action. Now, later in life, you desire escape and tranquility. You’d like time in nature to get away from the noise so you can work on a passion project.

As we grow and mature, we learn things about ourselves. When buying your first home, you might have imagined yourself entertaining people nightly from a lavish open kitchen floorplan. But a look at your past ten years shows that you mostly attend parties at other people’s homes and spend most of your time in your office.

So, your second home represents an opportunity. You get to apply the lessons you’ve learned about yourself and treat yourself to what you really want. You can build something bold, specific in purpose, further away, or extravagant.

Are you building a 2nd Home or a Holiday Home?

Before launching too far into your second home planning, you need to make one crucial distinction: what kind of second home you want. You can help answer this question by looking at the amount of time you plan to spend in your second home.

Will this be an occasional vacation spot you visit two to three times a year? Or will you be escaping to your new getaway every weekend? Will it be a fun vacation spot you eventually sell off or something you plan to transition to when you sell your first home? Will you be renting the property out when not in use or sending friends to stay in your absence?

You need to be crystal clear on how you intend to utilize the space. Your intended use has significant implications on your second home’s design, layout, materials, etc.

If you’re infrequently visiting, you can choose bold graphics or design choices that wouldn’t make as much sense if you were dwelling there daily. A large living room spanning fireplace is a fantastic feature for a weekend retreat on a cool night. But if you’re there every weekend, you may find yourself missing the television, for example.

Also, if you think you might plan to rent it out to others, this impacts how bold you might want to be in your designs. A prominent feature wall that looks great to you could put off renters and will need to be considered.

Similarly, some design elements require more extensive upkeep. Will you be around to tend to a lush garden, or can you trust renters with your koi pond?

When making these decisions, be honest with yourself about how much you’re willing to travel, how much free time you have, etc. It’s easy to imagine ourselves escaping to the hillside every weekend, but then actually driving a few hours after a long work week is more demanding in practice.