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Kitchen storage ideas in a custom home kitchen with deep drawers, tall cabinets, under-cabinet lighting, and a large island.

Kitchen Storage Ideas You’ll Thank Yourself For Later

Smart Design Choices for Everyday Ease She opened the Tupperware drawer, and something unexpected happened: everything remained in place. No falling lids. No plastic avalanche. Your ideal custom home kitchen should be beautiful and function brilliantly. Planning for kitchen storage solutions that make you look forward to using your space is where innovative design meets real life. Here are the kitchen storage features our clients love most, and wish they’d added sooner. Deep Drawers Instead of Lower Cabinets Make your kitchen more functional for everyday use with deep drawers that provide easy access for pots, pans, mixing bowls, and small appliances. This design eliminates the need to kneel or reach into the back of dark cabinets to find what you need. Adding soft-close hardware also enhances the experience, creating a quiet, smooth, and more luxurious finish every time the drawers are used. Pull-Out Spice Racks Pull-out spice racks are a

March 13, 2026

Designing a Custom Home for Every Season of Life - LaFollette Custom Homes bathroom with green vanity, black countertop, and modern fixtures.

Designing a Custom Home That Works in Every Season of Life

Weatherproof. Life-proof. Future-proof. The dining room table hosts holiday gatherings and early morning breakfasts before school. The front porch steps framed first-day-of-school photos, from kindergarten through prom night. The backyard patio welcomed summer sunrises and crackling fires on winter evenings. Your custom home should support you and your lifestyle through every season of life. From thoughtful design and intentional materials to flexible layouts that grow with your family, here’s how we craft homes built to adapt beautifully for years to come. Make the Most of Natural Light Natural light makes your custom home feel warm and inviting year-round. Strategically plan for large, energy-efficient windows to capture sunlight throughout the day. Your home can be full of light without heating up by using UV-filtering or low-E coatings on the glass. Covered Outdoor Spaces You’ll Use Your outdoor living area is an extension of your custom home. Being intentional in your initial planning, such as including ceiling fans, heaters, and a fireplace, can help

February 27, 2026

LaFollette Custom Homes interior showing a functional custom home layout with open-concept kitchen, large island, and spacious living area.

3 Functional Custom Home Layouts We Can’t Get Enough Of

It started with a simple question at the dining table. “Do you think we’ll still love this layout five years from now?” They looked around at the open kitchen, the tucked-away guest suite, and the quiet office down the hall. “Honestly,” she said, “I think we’ll love it even more.” At LaFollette Custom Homes, we have designed dozens of custom layouts over the years. While every home is unique, certain floor plans consistently rise to the top. These three remain favorites because they strike the right balance between beauty, flexibility, and the way real families live. 1. The Versatile Open Concept with a Flex Wing This layout continues to be one of the most requested designs, and for good reasons. It offers the openness that today’s homeowners love while still providing structure and privacy where it matters most. A split-bedroom configuration separates the primary suite from secondary bedrooms, creating a peaceful retreat for homeowners. The heart

February 13, 2026

Feb 2 Designing a primary Suite Youll never want to leave

Primary Suite Design: Bedroom, Bathroom, and Closet Features

After years of sharing space with toys, guests, kids, and chaos, she stood in her new bedroom, took a deep breath, and smiled. The lighting was soft. The floors were warm. The bed faced a wall of windows. For the first time in a long time, her room felt like her own. Whether you’re starting the day slowly or winding down with intention, these design features help create a bedroom that feels personal, calm, and well thought out. Bedroom Features That Invite Rest Your primary bedroom is your sanctuary, a private oasis from the rest of the world. Imagine sunlight streaming through thoughtfully placed windows on a Saturday morning. High, vaulted ceilings create a sense of spaciousness, while layered lighting gives you complete control over the ambience. And then there’s your favorite corner of your home: a cushioned reading nook tucked beneath the window. Spa-Inspired Ensuite Bathroom What if your daily morning

February 5, 2026

Bathroom with checkered floor, white tub under a window, beige walls, and double vanity with two mirrors and white granite countertops.

Custom Home Lighting Guide: How to Choose the Right Lighting for Every Room

The kids were tucked into bed, the kitchen was clean after dinner, and the gentle patter of rain on the roof signaled the end of a long day. She sank into the couch with a glass of wine and turned on her favorite comfort movie. With the overhead light off, the warm glow of the floor lamps filled the room, creating the perfect ambience to relax and unwind. Good lighting is not an afterthought. It’s the tool that enables you to live, cook, read, relax, and entertain comfortably. We’re here to guide you on how to light your custom home room by room, ensuring that every space is illuminated with intention. Use the Three Layers of Lighting Rule For every room of your custom home, aim to include these three layers of lighting to create depth and versatility. Living Room Lighting Your living room serves many purposes, from family movie nights to hosting friends, and your lighting should

January 23, 2026

Top custom floor plan features that create functional, flowing layouts in custom homes

Top Custom Floor Plan Features (and Why They Work So Well)

They toured five different homes this weekend, but something about this one was different. It felt like an interconnected design more than a jumble of rooms. The mudroom made sense. The kitchen was the heart of everything. The laundry room was near the closet (finally!). “It just feels right,” she said. That feeling of flow in a home doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of thoughtful floor plan decisions. These are the layout elements our clients love most and why they’re worth considering for your custom home. Main-Floor Primary Suite It’s a good rule of thumb to keep the most important rooms of your custom home, your master bedroom, bathroom, and closet, conveniently on one level. This layout is ideal for aging in place, improved accessibility, and long-term future-proofing, while also providing added privacy and separation from children’s or guest bedrooms. Thoughtful Mudroom Placement Located between the garage and main living space, a well-planned mudroom is designed to manage

January 16, 2026

Modern white kitchen with green cabinets, beige wood flooring, fixed round ceiling lights, and sleek white countertops.

Smart Kitchen Storage Ideas for Custom Homes

You grab a spatula from the drawer beside the cooktop and flip a Mickey Mouse-shaped pancake, then turn to plate it in front of the hungry kids waiting patiently at the center island. As you glance at the clock, you realize you’re heading out the door for school drop-off on schedule, without the scrambling or clutter. You have a kitchen that works with you, not against you. Homeowners frequently realize too late that their beautifully designed kitchen doesn’t function the way they need it to, leading to costly changes and daily frustration. Fortunately, you can avoid that costly mistake. Thoughtful kitchen storage, planned from the start of the custom home building process, allows your home to adapt as your lifestyle changes. Start With How You Actually Use Your Kitchen Your cooking habits, entertaining style, and family size all play a major role in determining what kind of kitchen storage will truly work for you. A family that cooks most nights will need very

January 9, 2026

Functional Beauty in a Custom Home bathroom with white tub and sink, wooden floors, and a window above the bathtub.

Functional Beauty: How to Design a Stunning, Livable Custom Home

The deep, soft-close drawer under the kitchen island was sized just right for heavy pots. “I don’t even think about it anymore,” she laughed. “But it’s one of the best things in the whole house.” That is the beauty of functionality. When a home is designed to be truly lived in, the best features fade seamlessly into everyday life. At LaFollette Custom Homes, we believe your home should be as practical as it is beautiful. Here’s how we make the design process effortless for our clients, helping them create spaces that function like a dream and feel worthy of a magazine spread. Use Materials That Work Hard Quartz countertops offer lasting beauty, exceptional durability, and minimal maintenance, making them ideal for everyday living. Engineered hardwood brings warmth and resilience to busy areas, while porcelain tile that mimics natural stone delivers the same elegant look without the ongoing upkeep. Design Spaces

January 4, 2026

Kitchen Storage Ideas You’ll Thank Yourself For Later

Designing a Custom Home That Works in Every Season of Life

3 Functional Custom Home Layouts We Can’t Get Enough Of

Primary Suite Design: Bedroom, Bathroom, and Closet Features

Custom Home Lighting Guide: How to Choose the Right Lighting for Every Room

Top Custom Floor Plan Features (and Why They Work So Well)

Smart Kitchen Storage Ideas for Custom Homes

Functional Beauty: How to Design a Stunning, Livable Custom Home

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