House Plan Blog

Let’s face it. When we sit down and look at a floor plan for our dream home, it’s easy to just think what’s in the design is the best solution. After all, a professional designer was behind the ideas so everything has to be the way it should be. So who needs to second-guess the plan?

“But here’s the thing: You tour homes. You look at floor plans and view room layouts,” said Rick McAlexander, CEO of Associated Designs in Eugene, Ore. “What you see may not be the ideal way the room should be put together or the right way to plan where each room goes. You have to evaluate how it all fits together, and then be sure it’s right for you.”

Knowing how to study floor plans and what to look for in a home design can help you figure out what’s good and bad, what works and what doesn’t. Sounds daunting, but lest you think you’re on your own, we’ve got you covered. Here are four tips and tricks to help you review floor plans like a professional home designer.

Movement Matters

A home needs to have an easy flow – and by that we mean there has to be a reason for a wall to be where it is. Similarly, a home shouldn’t have dead ends. The reason is simple: movement matters.

“Natural flow can be as simple as counting how many steps between the kitchen and dining room,” said McAlexander. “If the dining room is a fair distance from the kitchen, there’s something wrong with the home design. How you move from room to room, and move within a room, matters.”

In other words, when looking at a floor plan, try to envision moving through the design. A house with a great room, for example, should have all the essential gathering spaces connected: living room, dining room, and kitchen. If a wall or fireplace blocks the movement between rooms, then it’s not really a great room.

A good rule of thumb in this case is to compare the new home with your current home. Are there elements of your existing home that you like or don’t like? If that utility room in your current house is in the perfect spot – right next to the garage and yet out of sight – then be sure the home you’re considering has a similar setup.

Outdoor Living

Not everyone thinks to consider the outdoor space in a home design. But a living space isn’t limited to the living room. When you entertain friends and family, you use the living room, dining room, kitchen, and even the backyard. If there’s a patio or a porch, they have to be built with functionality in mind.

For example, let’s say you decide to tour a beautiful country cottage with a cute front porch and a backyard patio with pergola for soft shade. The backyard patio has ample space with plenty of room for outdoor furniture, a grill, and maybe a few well-placed potted plants. In your mind’s eye, you can picture fun summer barbecues with yard games.

In comparison, the front porch is small and simple. Granted, it has curb appeal but other than that, it serves no function. A porch that can be a useful living space needs to be at least 8-feet deep. But the space in this design is not large enough for patio furniture let alone a party, so you are left with a front porch that isn’t a porch at all.

“Take time to consider how much outdoor living space you will need,” said McAlexander. “In most cases, if there’s something about your current home’s outdoor area that you like, be sure your new home has those same qualities. You want to have an equally comfortable exterior when compared to the interior.”

Natural Light

This is a home design tip that is as important as the size of your kitchen. A home without ample light can be a cave – dark, dreary, and unpleasant. Each room in a home needs to have windows because natural light can make all the difference in how your home feels.

“Let’s compare it to a medieval castle,” said McAlexander. “A castle has great spaces and lots of room, but the windows are small and limited. Each room becomes a cave when the sun goes down. A home you’re touring shouldn’t have rooms that make you feel like you are in a cave. Yes, you want ample space but you also want ample natural light.”

Insufficient daylight is usually the result of too few windows, or windows on only one wall. A great room similarly needs to have large windows or it will be a not-so-great room. Natural light adds depth and power to a home, so when you study a floor plan or tour a home, don’t forget to look out the windows.

Labeled Spaces

This final tip to studying floor plans is all about flexibility. Many floor plans online have labeled spaces telling you where the kitchen is or what this room near the dining room is supposed to be. The labels are there to offer some insight into how the designer saw the space being used. But spaces aren’t limited to what the label says.

In other words, don’t be trapped by labels. If you need a home office, and the floor plan includes a space labeled “formal dining room” that you won’t use, then turn it into what you need. A space can serve more than one purpose.  

“Remember that the home you are touring or the floor plan you are looking at is open to interpretation, specifically your interpretation,” said McAlexander. “You can decide how that extra room should be used.”

As seen on Newswire

People who appreciate simplicity are drawn to the Bungalow-style Kent home plan. Call it a cabin, a cottage, or a vacation retreat. Whichever designation you chose, this home is charming and economical to build as well as maintain.

Slender wooden posts support and define the front porch that wraps around to the right. Exposed rafter tails along the roof's edge create visual interest, while cedar shake shingles give a rustic texture to the exterior, above the batt and board siding.

Entering through one of the two atrium doors you step into a surprisingly large and naturally bright vaulted great room. Windows line much of the side wall, and a kitchen with a large work island fills the rear. If a wood or gas flame stove could be tucked into the front corner by the door.

Standing at the kitchen's stove, you can easily serve up assorted culinary delights to family and friends perched on stools along the raised eating and conversation bar.

A stacked washer/dryer is close, hidden behind doors that front the hallway leading to the back porch. Shelves fill the other half of the alcove. More storage is available in a smaller alcove across from the bathroom.

Two rooms fill the the left side. The front bedroom is larger and boasts a wide closet. The second room could be used as a study or another bedroom. A pull-down ladder there provides handy attic access.

The Avalon is reminece of a French country estate. The steeply pitched roof lines, stone veneer facades, keystone lintels, and arched entry are all European influences. Inside, it offers spacious living quarters, ideal for families who enjoy entertaining guests.

Upon entering, you step into a two-story foyer with a balustrade curving up to the right. A den is to the right, and a large dining room is to the left. Ahead, at center, is a large living room anchored by a masonry fireplace on one end. French doors open out onto a large covered patio.

Informal living spaces cluster on the left, in a large, free-flowing space that is the family room, kitchen and nook. The open kitchen has every convenience, including a large rectangular work island rimmed by a raised eating bar on two sides. Plenty of natural light flows in through wide windows in the nook.

More light spills into the family room through windows on two sides, and a home entertainment center nestles into the rear corner, next to the fireplace.
Laundry appliances are close in a large utility room with storage cabinets and two long counters for folding clothes. This space also has a pull-down ironing board and a built-in desk facing a window.

A curved window bay expands the sitting area in the luxurious owners’ suite. Amenities abound, from the huge closet to the luxurious bathroom and a private patio with a hot tub. 

Bright and spacious gathering spaces fill the core of the Manor Heart, and private rooms are off to the right and left in this ranch-style home plan.

Once inside, double doors in the entry open into the den or home office. Just past the coat closet, you emerge into the naturally bright vaulted great room. Cabinets and/or bookcases flank the fireplace centered on one wall. Across the way, this room flows into the dining room, which is open to the kitchen. Sliding glass doors in the dining room open wide to offer easy access to a covered deck.

Counters and cabinets wrap around three sides of the large kitchen, encircling a wide work island rimmed on one end by a rounded conversation bar. Work surfaces and storage areas are generous along with a roomy walk-in pantry.

The owners’ suite features a large walk-in closet along with a luxurious bathroom. Amenities here include a deep soaking tub that nestles into a windowed alcove between the walk-in shower and a private toilet. Bedrooms on the other side of the house share a two-section bathroom. Nearby, the pass-through utility room links the house to a two-car garage with extra storage space. A bonus room sits above.

The Cambridge is an exception to the rule for a compact Craftsman style home. Often, homes that feature gabled rooflines, dormer windows and a wrap around front porches can be out of reach for first time homebuyers and far too large for empty nesters.

This plan is designed for economy and efficient maintenance, making it equally well suited to the needs of singles, families with young children, or empty nesters.

Day to day living takes place in a bright, vaulted great room that faces the rear. Naturally illuminated by skylights, side windows and a high dormer, this area rarely needs additional lighting during daylight hours.

Sliding glass doors in the eating nook open onto a wide deck. Utilities are just a few steps away, tucked in the passageway to the garage.

Eight foot-high display shelves that flank the vaulted entry hall, overarch the entrance to the family room, and mark the passageway to the owners' suite. 

Amenities in the owners' suite include a large walk in closet and twin basins in a dressing area separate from the water closet and shower.

The Kersley's arched windows and lofty entry, keystones, corner quoins and a steeply pitched hip roof create an impression of statuesque grandeur in this Classic-style home design.

Inside, a graceful curved staircase sweeps up the right side of a wide, bright foyer that features a two-story ceiling and a hardwood floor. Arched openings lead to the formal living room, dining room, and the informal family living spaces are at the rear. Most of the main floor has 9-foot ceilings.

The fireplace in the living room is its center piece and the French doors and tray ceiling augment the sense of refinement. The dining room, with its coffered ceiling, hardwood floor and built-in buffet, is equally elegant. Family room, nook and kitchen are all open to each other. A pool room is off to the left, through raised panel doors. Roomy and bright, this area has a wet bar and sliding glass doors that open on a large patio.

In the family room, another fireplace adds color and warmth. The entertainment center houses electronic toys¬--big screened television, CD player, Blu ray,  or video games. Kitchen conveniences include a spacious walk-in pantry and a large work island with a cook top.

All four bedrooms are upstairs. Owners’ suite luxuries include a large walk-in closet, dual vanities, soaking tub, and oversized shower. The guest suite has its own bathroom, complete with shower. The other two bedrooms share a jack-n-jill bathroom.

Country-style Pine Hill makes an ideal retreat cottage, and is equally well suited for year-round suburban living. Wooden shutters and a wrap-around front porch add nostalgic charm.

Light flows into the entry through sidelights that flank the door. The stairs directly ahead of the entry lead up to the three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor.

On the first floor, four linked family living areas wrap around the staircase. The entry is open to the living room on the right, and a den on the left. A fireplace serves as a focal point on the living room's exterior wall.

A wide arched opening links the living room to a dining room that is expanded by a window bay. Sliding glass windows there access a large deck, down a few steps from the main floor. The dining room is open to the kitchen, where a large work island adds to the counter and cabinet space. 

Around the corner is a good-sized utility room and a powder room. In the utility room, cabinets line the wall above the appliances. The hallway leading to these rooms ends with an exterior door that leads out onto the covered porch and then on to the patio. 

The owners' suite boasts a second gas fireplace, a deep soaking tub, and a dual vanity.