We did a self build on family land with money we'd inherited. I got everything I wanted and imagine we'll be here forever. We're very lucky and moved out of our 2 bed terraced into our dream home.
Weve got...
Utility/laundry room. A double sink, spare dishwasher and undercounter fridge. Large enough to iron with a heated airer up. Lots of storage, tall enough to hang clothes in. I have a to iron cupboard and an ironed cupboard. Enough room to hide school shoes, coats and bags. Access into the garage from it a downstairs loo so no need to remove muddy shoes.
Kitchen living room diner, where we spend nearly all our time, set out so as i cook I don't have my back on the kids. My quooker tap, wine fridge, 2 side by side double ovens.
Play room, mainly for the younger 2, the older ones prefer their bedrooms. Used to be a study but the kids get more room out of it.
Snug, with a woodburning stove, really cosy for when it's just me and DH. The kitchen feels too big for just us two at night when we want to get cozy.
Living room, we don't use it day to day, usually we would if we had people over, the kids like to play in there.
Dining room, used for dinner parties, Sunday lunches etc, I love keeping the table set.
Our upstairs hall has a row of storage cupboards which are filled with towels, bedding, coats, upstairs cleaning supplies, hoover etc. It's amazing. I'd highly recommend loads of storage. We also have a laundry shoot which is a total game changer.
Master bedroom has a full bathroom with a bath and separate shower, and shockingly a TV in there a la mtv cribs and a chaise long.I love sitting in the bath watching a movie.
We have 3 other ensuite doubles and then 2 other doubles and a family bathroom. We use one of the ensuited for a guest room for when DHs parents come.
There are some things I did have to compromise on....
I wanted bifolding doors along the kitchen but had to settle for patio doors.
I wanted a separate mud room and a pantry but couldn't fit in with the utility the size it is.
I wanted a real fire in our bedroom and the livingroom but we'd have had to rearrange a lot of the floor plan so I've had tovsettle with just the snug.
I wanted some faux beams to make it feel more farmhousey but couldn't.
My best advice would be to make a list of what's most important to you and how you want to live.
Visit loads of new builds, get a good feel for sizing.
Employ a good architect, I presented ours with a few badly drawn sketches of a kind of plan, he turned it into a dream home and thought of everything.
Prepare to compromise, and expect to pay more.
We thought we'd be walking in to a completely done home, instead we moved in to a half done one. In reality we got the kitchen fitted an quickly ran out of money, the 10k estimate for the kitchen and utility trebbled so we could get it exactly as I wanted it, my heart dropped when I got the quote for flooring too. We had to move into what was basically the kitchen, utility, the playroom and the snug while the rest of the house was finished room by room. I didnt want to compromise on quality so couldn't really do anything else but wait and save.