You’ve made the decision you want to take on a construction project. Whether or not that is your next home or a detached garage addition to your existing property, knowing how to study floor plans to determine if the design is right for you is an important tool to have.
“Whether you are looking to work with a professional designer to create a custom design or are walking through open houses, you need to evaluate each room and how the layout of the home comes together. What you are seeing may not be the ideal way the floor plan should be laid out. The key is bringing in your lifestyle and how you and your family use a space to make sure it is right for you.” – Rick McAlexander, CEO of Associated Designs.
While this may seem daunting, Associated Designs has put together four tips and tricks that will have you reviewing floor plans like a professional designer.
Movement
A home design needs to allow for easy flow. What does that mean? The flow of a floor plan is all about movement. Is there a reason for a wall to be where it is? Are there dead ends? How rooms transition and are connected is key to a good fit.
“Measuring the natural flow of a design can be as simple as counting how many steps between the kitchen and dining room,” says McAlexander. “For instance is the dining room is a fair distance away from the kitchen, there is something wrong with the floor plan. How you move from room to room and how you move within a room matters.”
As your study floor plans, try to envision moving through the different rooms. Also give consideration to how you live in your current home. What elements do you like? If you like having your bedroom removed from the hustle and bustle of the living area then make sure the design you are looking at has a similar layout. Just as important as what you like about your current home are what elements would you change? If you dislike having your laundry room between the kitchen and garage make sure that the floor plan you are considering has it located near the bedrooms.
Outdoor Living
A frequently overlooked design feature is the outdoor space. We’ve seen over the last year a spike in the desire for outdoor living proving that living space isn’t just limited to the living room. Consider how you entertain, do you spread out and allow guests to mingle in the living room, dining room, kitchen, or backyard? If outdoor entertaining is in the mix than making sure your patio or porch is built with that functionality in mind.
“Make sure to consider how much outdoor living or entertaining space you will need,” said McAlexander. “A reoccurring piece of advice to keep in mind regardless of the space being considered is – if there is something about your current home’s outdoor space that you like, be sure your new home has the same qualities. You want to have an equally comfortable exterior when compared to the interior.”
For example if the beautiful farmhouse you are looking at offers a thin front covered porch and expansive back covered porch with outdoor kitchen. If you love grilling and preparing meals while enjoying the outdoors and can picture sunny, summer dinners with friends and family here than this feature is a good fit. If you enjoy a warm beverage on the front porch enjoying the sunrise or greeting neighbors out on a stroll you may find that thin covered space isn’t big enough for your favorite chair or porch swing. A simple modification to the floor plan may be required to make the front covered porch a more usable space.
Natural Light
Just as important as the size of the kitchen is how much natural light will shine in. A home design that does not offer ample light can feel dark and dreary. Each room should have a window as natural light has a large impact on the feel of your home.
“As you consider floor plans you want to make sure that you consider where the sun will be. A design may appear to be filled with windows but if the direction of your home or lot is not considered you may not get the full effect of those windows,” says McAlexander.
Natural light is a simple but powerful influence when it comes to long term happiness in your home. Too little light and your modern prairie home will feel like a cave so don’t forget to give special attention to windows.
For more great design trends and pro-tips check out our House Plan Blog. To put your floor plan reading skills to the test and to start the search for your perfect plan, Associated Designs has a large collection of pre-designed home plans, garage plans, and multi-family designs on their website www.AssociatedDesigns.com.
About Associated Designs
Founded in 1990, Associated Designs offers pre-designed plans and custom design services. Created by a talented team of designers with more than 45 years of design experience, Associated Designs offers a variety of single family homes, garage and accessory structures, and multi-family designs.
