Planning your New Home
It is best to plan a home from the inside out as opposed to compromising by fitting into an existing design.
“Build the interior rooms around the people and furniture, then put the exterior walls around the rooms.”
Ron Cole, President, Les Maisons Roco
Some simple steps to calculate the size of the home you want:
Measure your current house for reference. Measure your rooms to find the size. What size would you make them if you could remake them? What rooms do you want?
- Kitchen: how many and what type of appliances? Shape: U-shape. G-shape, Galley, Island, lunch counter? The finalized kitchen plan should be made before the final house plan is made.
- Dining room. Measure dining table.
- Master bedroom.
- Bedrooms. How many?
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Bathrooms (two, three, four piece rooms?).
- Bathroom fixture choices: combo bath/showers, or separate showers, tiled or acrylic, rectangular or corner.
- Baths: enclosed or stand alone or tiled surround. Size 5ft – 6ft; corner or standard. Standard or whirlpool.
- Sinks: vanity or pedestal.
- Living room. Fireplace.
- Entry. Open or enclosed vestibule? Separate service entrance/ mudroom?
- Basement: 2nd Living room, bedrooms, hobby rooms, exercise room, storage, mechanical room. Entry from outside?
- Closets.
- Home office?
- Media room?
- Laundry room?
- Is the house to be used full-time or vacation?
- How many people will use the house?
- What is the land's orientation to the sun and the views?
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What is the lay of the land?
- Flat?
- Sloped?
- Steep?
- What is the exterior style you like?
- What is the interior style you like? Ceiling heights, vaulted ceilings?
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One floor or two?
- Mezzanine?
- Cathedral ceilings?