3D Home Plans

The first thing you must know is what you want so go to a book store a browse the Home Plans magazines and don’t be afraid to take the pieces from one home that you like and add it to another. By looking at a lot of the plans you can narrow down what you like.

It’s important to know the dimensions you are looking for so get a tape measure out to give yourself a rough idea of what room sizes you need. Remember the human frame needs approximately 2 feet to pass through an opening to feel comfortable. High ceilings add space (not too high, just 9-10 feet) without adding a tremendous amount of money. Most of the money is in the footprint of the house so up is generally cheaper than sprawling.

Also to consider is how to decorate the finished home. Many people build their dream home and find that there is no comfortable way to decorate the space because this was not taken into account before the construction. There are interior design books available at bookstores now that include tips on designing a room that has removeable and placeabel furniture inserts in them to play around with furniture placement. Remember you live on the inside of your house and if you like the inside the exterior will take care of itself.

Don’t be afraid to sketch-out some ideas on graph paper and remember that typically when building a home depending upon where you build there is a set price for $/sqft. — some neighborhoods are $300/sqft with others that are much less. Research your budget first, then the location that you need / want and can afford.

However, the most important step is to do some research on what your needs are, what you or or family’s lifestyle is (where do you spend most of your time, what would help your family work/function better — have more peace, etc.). Finding something that accomodates your desire is easier after you know exactly what it is. After you have the basics down, how many bedrooms, bathrooms (and sizes); consider the size and lay-out of your kitchen and common areas as these will be the most used areas of the house in most cases but not always. The rest will be easy to recognize in a home plan book.

These plans come pre-drawn and at reasonable prices; if modifications are necessary an architech can make them if they have a rough idea of what you need/want. You don’t want to go to an architect until you are pretty sure of what you need and what you can afford. Often times what you need and can afford are very similar it’s the "wants" that cost so much extra.

Good luck and congratulations on such an exciting adventure.