MN House Plan Resource What should you consider when choosing a house plan?
MN House Plan Resources
What should you consider when choosing a house plan?
Here are some things to consider when choosing a house plan to build:
Create a list of your needs and wants. Discuss this with your family and write everything down. What is important to everybody and what will your needs be in the future? Getting feedback from friends can also be very helpful and could help you realize things you may have overlooked.
Concentrate on your budget and avoid overspending in anticipation of the future. You can always make improvements and renovations to your home in the future, finish basement spaces, etc.
You don’t want to run the risk of over or under-building your home, so consideration of the size is very important. Decide how many bedrooms and bathrooms you need. What is your family’s lifestyle and daily activities? Do you host large groups of people, and will there be enough gathering space? Will you use a formal dining room or is a dinette and kitchen island enough for your family?
Concentrate on the basic structure of the home first and not small details, those will come with the design process. Your new home will be nice, but it should be practical.
If you have your lot chosen or purchased, make sure to know the measurements and allowable building area as this will allow you to quickly sort through the size and layout of plans you are looking at. Take into consideration sunlight, views, wind direction, proximity to neighbors and walkways/drainage areas as well.
Privacy is important to many families as well, make sure to consider certain rooms and their level of privacy to the rest of the gathering areas. Do you work from home and need a quiet office, or maybe you don’t want your master bedroom wall shared with the main living area.
Making sure you have the necessary space for your furniture is important. Take measurements of your important furniture pieces to be sure they will fit into the space.
Don’t forget about future plans and costs. Will this be a home you want to retire in and may need the main floor to be accessible if needed? If you will be selling in the future, consider features that will make for an easy re-sale of your home. Will there be future maintenance costs from certain architectural features in your home?
