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The Before You Build Podcast
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!
The Before You Build Podcast
112. Building a Custom Home on Family Property: Joanne’s Story
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
When Joanne decided to tear down her family's lakefront cottage and rebuild on the same lot, she knew building a custom home on a small, waterfront lot was going to be anything but simple. So she joined BEFORE YOU BUILD℠ because she knew there would be a lot to think through before breaking ground.
In this episode she covers:
- Why she chose to tear down instead of renovate
- Permitting and building on a lakefront lot
- Designing vertically on a small footprint while planning for aging in place
- Staying within 5–10% of budget by negotiating and shopping vendors
- Catching a framing error mid-build — and why being on-site matters
- How an email trail saved her when a contractor "forgot" a conversation
- What she wishes she'd done sooner
- The emotional side of seeing finishes for the first time
- How BEFORE YOU BUILD℠ helped her walk in prepared and confident
Joanne's story is proof that the right preparation changes everything.
GET ALL THE BYB DETAILS → carolineondesign.com/before-you-build
(and see Joanne's beautiful lake house in the show notes)
SHOW NOTES → carolineondesign.com/building-a-custom-home-on-family-property
Get the SPLURGE + SAVE PLANNER℠ → carolineondesign.com/splurge-blog-promo
Join BEFORE YOU BUILD℠ → carolineondesign.com/before-you-build
Download FREE HOME BUILD GUIDE → carolineondesign.com/home-build-guide
My FREE CLASS → Build Within Budget and Without Regrets! Grab your seat at carolineondesign.com/free-training