The long-awaited moment has arrived: you start building your home! Firstly, know that the quality of your house plan is crucial to the success of your project. A good plan must specify each architectural detail of your future home, both internally and externally.
Whether building a new or renovating an existing structure, creating a new home is a journey of discovering who you are, what you want, how you want to live, and where you want to be. It’s a chance for you to define your relationship to the world, to your family and yourself. Creating a home is more than building “3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms.” It is so much more than the sum of a few parts.
As with any journey, you’ll want to do some research and plan your trip. You’ll want to have a sense of what the result should be and how much it’ll cost. And while you’ll no doubt be able to go it alone, having a seasoned and experienced guide show you the way will likely mean a more enjoyable, more enriching and overall better journey.
Steps To Planning A Successful Building Project
Choose a design professional.
To create a plan and detailed work scope, most homeowners hire either an architect or interior designer, and sometimes both. Every company does things a little differently, and design licensing varies in each state. Many designers work on projects that don’t involve major structural work or additions and offer assistance with material and colour selections. Architects may take on a wide range of work, or work only on floor plans and permits, and leave the details of the electrical plan, baths and kitchen to another designer.
Selecting a design professional usually starts with an in-person meeting, which can take a few weeks depending on how many companies you are interviewing. This is your opportunity to understand each firm’s services and make sure they match up with what you are expecting. It’s also critical that you have a budget for your project in mind that you communicate clearly to the firm you hire, so the design can align with what you are planning to invest.
Create a plan.
After choosing a design firm, it’s time to start making a plan. There are usually at least two and sometimes three good ways to reach your design goals.
The plans are called schematic designs; they usually involve a rough layout of the floor plan and some simple views of the home exterior if there is an addition. It takes time for the design professional to work these out, and then usually another week or two for the homeowners to consider them and make decisions. If the project is more significant or the homeowners want additional changes made to the schematics, this initial design phase can take several months.
Interview contractors.
Contractors are frequently brought into the process once a final schematic design has been selected. Usually, there is at least a general idea of how the home will look from the outside, a dimensioned floor plan and some preliminary material selections. With this much information, it’s possible to provide preliminary estimates of cost.
Contractors are often asked to estimate the schematic design as part of the interview process. It may take a couple of weeks to set up the interviews and generally at least two to three weeks after discussions to receive the estimates. Altogether it could take four to six weeks to interview candidates and obtain estimates. After that, you may want to call references, visit job sites or do additional research before deciding on the contractor you will hire.
Go shopping while others are engineering.
Love to shop or hate to shop? This may determine whether you enlist a designer to help with your material selections. Even those who like to shop may be overwhelmed by all the options and want professional input. Do not underestimate the number of things that need to be selected, from doorknobs and windows to countertops and light fixtures. To keep a handle on your project cost, it’s best to choose every last thing ahead of construction. This will allow your contractor to tell you the prices for what you’d like and properly schedule material purchases based on lead times.
Allow yourself one to two months to choose everything. While you are shopping for tile and hardwood floors, your architect or designer will finalize construction drawings, work with a structural engineer on how the project will be built and put in the details required for permitting. If it all goes well, you will work on this step and the previous one concurrently and finish simultaneously.
Get your permits.
Depending on your project’s scope and where it’s located, permitting can take a day, months or even years. You should have some idea ahead of filing for permits about the length of the process, which will allow you to identify a potential start date for your project. Permit fees can range from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars, depending on where you live and how big your project is.
Ready, set …
With the plan submitted for permits and material selections made, your contractor will be able to finish up pricing and write up a construction contract. If the selected materials cost more than the budget allows, there may be a round of “value engineering,” which means changing the scope of work or materials to reduce cost. By the time the contract is signed, your contractor will have identified the longer-lead items (like cabinets, windows, doors, tile and sometimes plumbing or electrical fixtures) and may even have them on order ahead of the start of construction depending on the timing of your project.
Tips for Designing Your Dream Home
Start simple.
You don’t need fancy software to begin making decisions about your custom home plan. All you need is a pencil and a piece of paper. Sketch your ideas. Brainstorm. Make lists of features you want each room to have – get your ideas out of your head and onto paper. Even rough sketches can help your home design team understand what you want.
Think about the future.
Do you have or plan on having children in the coming years? Do you have aging parents? If so, you’ll need to think about accommodating close family members in many different scenarios, such as returning college students, accommodating grandchildren and grandparents, taking care of elderly parents – even accommodating extended family for holiday occasions. Likewise, if you’re hoping to transition from an office job to operating your own business out of your home, your custom home design should include an office or flexible space. When you think about the amenities in your custom home plan, you are deciding what kind of family you’d like to become. Include features your future self will find handy.
Showcase and maximize the lot.
Often, those who are in the market for a custom house plan already own the property where the home will be located. If you already know where your custom home will be situated, be sure to consider the topography, size and best features of the lot. For instance, if your lot overlooks a naturescape, you might choose to face the living room toward the feature so your family members can watch nature in action. Alternatively, if you have a brook or stream running through your property, you might choose to place bedrooms nearest the stream so you can enjoy the beautiful sound of running water while you sleep.
In addition to thinking about which windows should face the home’s best views, you’ll want to consider whether the land is sloped. A custom home design for a steep slope will look very different from a flat lot design.
Prioritize features.
Once your ideas are recorded in rough form, begin prioritizing features for your new house. Custom home design can easily exceed a budget if you let your fancies run amok. With so many luxuries to choose from, it’s essential to prioritize your design’s most critical aspects. For instance, if you’ve always dreamed about a box window in the kitchen where you can grow herbs, you may want to prioritize that over installing a line to facilitate a gas stove.
Consider function and flow.
As you and your designer begin playing around with where various rooms should be located, consider how your final design will flow and how your family might function in each space. For instance, to reduce noise in sleeping areas, it’s wise to place bedrooms away from the house’s communal areas. Likewise, if you’re the kind of family that tends to gather around the kitchen, an open floor plan with easy flow between the living room, kitchen and dining area will suit you well. This kind of design also allows for excellent flow between rooms.
Reflect on light.
Light has a powerful influence on humans. Indeed, in areas that see little natural light during the winter months, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is not unusual. This disorder brings feelings of depression, weight gain, daytime sleepiness, social withdrawal and lethargy. If you have suffered from SAD in the past, or if you’re moving to a place with long, cloudy winters (such as the Pacific Northwest), it is wise to add skylights to your custom house plan to maximize the natural light in your home. Heck, even if you’ve never felt sad on a cloudy day, skylights are bright because they reduce the need for artificial light and provide as much as 30 per cent more light than vertical windows.
Light also figures into the placement of rooms in a custom home plan. For example, if you want to enjoy natural morning light in your dining nook, it would be wise to face the nook east, where it will catch the morning sun.
It’s also wise to think carefully about how electrical lights in your home will facilitate comfort. For instance, a custom home designer would suggest installing bright task lighting for kitchen countertops to reduce food preparation. Lighting can also create a mood – for example, dimming sconces in the bedroom can make sense of romance or peace.
Meditating on the items listed above can help you create the home of your dreams. As you work with your home designer, take your time. Remember that it’s far easier to be upfront about what you do and do not like than it will be to remodel your custom home later.
Things To Consider When Choosing A House Plan
Your Lifestyle
Your house must be in harmony with your lifestyle. To verify this, imagine yourself living inside it. Does it meet your daily activities? Will you be able to have guests over as you like?
Your home must be friendly, of course, but it must also be practical. Remember to include the relaxation, game or entertaining areas according to your regular or favourite activities. Each family has a unique way to occupy its time; think about how you will furnish your home and focus on the most popular rooms in the house.
Your Privacy
Privacy is an essential need for everyone. We all agree it’s necessary. The need for isolation is essential if you work from home, love working out, are a cinema-lover or an aspiring cabinetmakers.
Give these rooms special attention to ensure tranquillity when working on your favourite activities for you and the rest of your household.
Your Property
The amount of money at your disposal, the shape and size of your lot can significantly impact your house plan. Do not forget to foresee your walkways and your drainage system. Also, consider the sun’s position, the wind direction, and the proximity to neighbours in the process. A large window facing the sunset is a good thing. With neighbours a few meters away, it’s less attractive.
Your Furniture
Make sure you have the necessary space to place your furniture in your new home. Do not hesitate to take all the required measurements and to expand or reconfigure some rooms accordingly. House plans are there to be modified and meet your needs.
Hint: It is recommended to keep at least 90 centimetres of space around each piece of furniture to facilitate movement within the room.
The Basic Structure
Concentrate on the basic structure of the proposed house. Forget initially about decoration and frills, especially if you visit model homes. The important thing is setting up your future construction and its ability to welcome you properly.
In terms of decoration, you will have the time to make it your own.
Future Costs
Consider the possible consequences of certain architectural features. On paper, everything is beautiful. In real life, the practical and economic sides are quickly put into perspective. Consider the maintenance costs of your future home. You need to establish your priorities and your budgetary limits.
Safety
Safety is essential in the design of any new home, especially if you have children. Is it safe to have access to certain areas? Are balconies and stairs well protected?
Your family home is sure to be a wonderful playground. However, make sure the baby does not end up in your workshop.
Your Family
Discuss your house plan with your family members. Do not hesitate to get feedback from your friends. Their reactions will inspire you or make you realize some things that you may not have noticed. Such an approach can also avoid much discussion and criticism in the future.
Your home will be the scene of your family life. Feel free to make changes to the rooms where you spend most of your time together.
Your Budget
Avoid spending too much in anticipation of the future, even though it may be tempting to develop a modern house plan. Concentrate more on your short term needs and your current and actual budget. This way, you do not end up being squeezed by high monthly payments.
You can always make renovations or improvements to your home. You can even reserve some space for these purposes on your plan. It is for you to decide!
Your questions
Do not attempt to play the connoisseur. Unless you are an architect, house plans and design are not your specialties. Be humble and acknowledge your limits: usually, you do not understand all the symbols and terms used on your house plan. Ask questions. After all, you are in charge of your project!
Finally, be aware that there is no point in looking for the perfect plan. All the techniques can be modified according to your criteria. Before getting the project rolling, make sure that the plan meets your needs and your aspirations. If you don’t find what you are looking for, consider doing custom plans with an architect.
In the end, you’ll be amazed that your new house is so much more than the sum of just its three bedrooms, living room, and so on. It’s the place you get to call home and make yours uniquely.