Custom Home Design Tips: Choosing the Right Designer

Whether or not you have already purchased a lot that your custom home plans must be designed around, following the tips we've gathered below will ensure that your custom home designs will produce the house of your dreams.

1. Establish excellent communication.

Poor communication can ruin a set of custom house plans. For instance, if your architect doesn't really understand what you want in your custom home designs, you could end up with a custom built home that you don't actually enjoy. Alternatively, you could be shocked to see your "custom" plan in a new housing development. (Some architects turn their best custom plans into generic, widely available floor plans.) Avoid both of these unsavory outcomes by clearly outlining what your custom home plans should include, and whether or not you're comfortable with your custom design being tweaked into a universal house plan.

2. Choose a designer with experience working with similar properties.

If you've already purchased the land for your dream home, ensure that your designer has background in working with your type of property. For instance, while a steeply sloped lot often offers up the best views, it also poses unique design challenges.

Beach House Design - Tips to Recreate the Seaside Atmosphere

Are you always dreaming of the laidback and calm feeling of living in a beach house? You don't have to live near the sea to get that relaxing atmosphere. If you want the look and feel of a peaceful abode by the sea, you can recreate them right in your own property with a little bit of creativity and resourcefulness. Here are some beach house design ideas you can use even if you're home is right in the middle of the city.

Regarding the structure itself, you have a few options to think about. You might want the simple and low-maintenance qualities of a rustic shack. Or, you might be dreaming of a Balinese, Thai or other Asian-inspired motif for your home. But you can also have a modern minimalist architecture, too. You need to determine what your preference is and what would work best in your location. From here, it would be easier for you to select all the other materials for the rest of your home.

The flooring is one element you should focus on if you want a true beach house design. Most coastal homes use timber for their floors. This is mainly because of the sand and moisture from the sea breeze or even sea spray that constantly goes into the house everyday.

Minimalist Home Designs

Minimalist home designs are often chosen by house owners these days to refurbish or build their properties, because their simple and seamless style makes their abode more comfortable and relaxing. Minimalist design is influenced by the Japanese art elements of clean lines and open spaces. It doesn't support elaborate features, clutter, and unnecessary items that take up space.

If you'd like to apply this principle on your own house's architecture, you have to focus on being simple and keeping things at their most natural state. You should choose a flatter roof and more open spaces. Try avoiding a roof structure that has a steep pitch. For your interior house design, if you need to have a private space, try avoiding permanent walls and use a shoji or a sliding door, instead. In this way, you can still have an open space when you don't need an enclosed area.

Flooring should go with the simple and natural theme. Wood is often the choice for this style. You can still have stone tiles, but refrain from the shiny types. Muted stone tiles in earth colors would be best.

How to Start Designing Your House Plans Before Hiring a Home Designer

For most people, the chance at designing their dream home is rare. If you are fortunate enough to ever be in a position to do so, then you should be aware that it takes considerable time, planning, and money to complete the job. Most people will choose to hire an architect to get it done, but this can be expensive for the average person. As an alternative solution, a professional building designer (aka home designer, residential designer) can provide the same services, in most cases, at a much lower rate than that of an architect.

Develop a must-have and wish list

You can get the ball rolling and save some time in the early stages by doing at least part of the design yourself. It doesn't have to be to scale per se, but a simple sketch and notes can prove to be very useful in the beginning stages of the design process. Begin by making a list of must-haves and a separate wish list of things you'd like to include in your house plans. Your must-have list is going to obviously include the necessary rooms which include the family room, kitchen, dining room, and bathrooms. Your wish list, on the other hand, can and will include a number of extras that are only limited by your home's total heated square footage, land space, and most importantly your budget. Wish list items may include things like an extra bedroom for guest, an office, a bonus room, an entertainment room, or a game room.

Creating a basic floor plan

Take a sheet of paper and a pencil and let your creative juices flow. So what if you can't draw? You can create squares or circles and position them in the general location of where you want rooms to be located. It doesn't have to be perfect. The idea is to develop an outline from which to build upon.