The first step in building a custom home is deciding on a floor plan. It can be an exciting experience, but we understand that it can also be daunting. To assist you in starting your custom homebuilding journey, we’ve compiled some steps to design the right floor plan for your lifestyle.
- Consider your baseline features
Here’s a checklist of baseline must-haves for any home
__convenient laundry (not in the basement)
__adequate bathrooms for the number of bedrooms: the realtor recommendation is to have one less bathroom than you have bedrooms; for example, three bathrooms for a four bedroom house.
__enough storage and closet space for the number of occupants. The podcast “Build Your House Yourself University” https://www.byhyu.com/home–podcast/how-much-storage-space-should-you-include-in-your-new-house-byhyu-122 suggests that storage space should comprise 10% of your home.
2. Rank the most desirable features
Write down all the parts of a home that you can think of, and rank them 1-10 based on how desirable they are to you, with 10 being the most desirable features and 1 being the least desirable features. Dream big! If you have always wanted a second story balcony, give it a 10. If you need an open concept floor plan, give that a 10. If you’ve always been creeped out by attics, give those a 1.
3. Make a list
Combining baseline features and anything you ranked 5-10 on your features list, you’ll now have a list of Must-Haves.
4. Consider your current needs
When you’re trying to design the right floor plan, it’s a good idea to think about what you will need in a home based on your interests and day-to-day activities. Oftentimes, we don’t even think about what those are. We’re so caught up in our lives, we just do them! Take time to examine the way that you and your family spend your time by making a list of activities you engage in.
These activities can be broken down into types: social, work, and relaxation. Have each member of the family write down all the activities they are involved in in each of these categories. Here’s an example:
After creating these lists, think about how you might configure your floorplan to be most conducive to the activities you’d like to do. For example, this family might need limited office space, but ample kitchen and outdoor space to support the family’s hobbies. If Dad likes to watch movies with friends, he’ll want a larger, more open family room. Or he might consider a basement or even outdoor theater, so that he can keep the family room open for others when he has friends over to watch movies. This family should consider the size of the backyard, so that Mom can garden and Grandpa can have access to a swimming pool and a workbench. If you haven’t already accounted for these things in your must-have features, you can make adjustments to your list based on what your activities reveal that you need.
5. Consider your future needs
You want a custom-built home to grow and change with you, so think about your long term needs. For example, take a look at our example family; Grandpa might be limber as a gymnast now, but in 5-10 years, will he be enthused about climbing stairs? The family might want to consider a one-story home, or a home with bedrooms on the ground floor, adequately set apart from shared spaces like the living room. Maybe Sheila is only 12 now, but it will only be a few years until she’s driving. The family might opt for a 3-4 car garage to be sure everyone gets a dry, warm place to park in the cold months. Thinking about these things will help you design the right floor plan for your future selves.
By the time you’ve finished these five steps, you should have a good idea of the kind of floor plan that’s going to work for you and your family. Bring us your list of Must-Haves! If you still have questions about what else to consider when designing a home, check out our free e-book, “Tips for Building Your Custom Home” http://www.builtbyhamilton.com/how-to-build-with-custom-home-builders-that-care/ .
You can also contact us directly here: http://www.builtbyhamilton.com/contact-hamilton-homes/
We are here to walk you through each and every step of the process to help you design and build a custom home you’ll love!
