Things You'll Need:
- Graph Papers
- Home Design Software
- Pencils
- Personal Organizers
- Electronic Personal Organizers
- Notebooks
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Step 1
Make a listing of your family's requirements: how many bedrooms you need, how large the rooms should be, what floor plan you want in your kitchen, if you want a formal living room and dining room, and so forth.
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Step 2
Look around at houses you like in your neighborhood. Take note of details you like on houses you see; for example, you may not like your neighbor's entire house, but you love the porch.
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Step 3
Read home design magazines for ideas.
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Step 4
Read books on home design as well as those with collections of plans.
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Step 5
Draw your floor plan in pencil on blank paper or on graph paper. Draw to scale; make a block or an inch equal a specific distance. Common scales are 1 inch = 4 feet and 1 inch = 8 feet.
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Step 6
Consider using some helpful home design software- you'll probably find this easier than drawing. Most packages come with templates so you can easily insert appliances, fixtures and even furniture into your plan.
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Step 7
Bring your plans to a architect so he or she can draw up building plans. The architect can also catch any problems or suggest changes.
Comments
TRPeterson said
on 1/10/2009 rampg, I am the owner of www.HomeBuildingProjectPlan.com and just wanted to provide some clarification. You are absolutely correct as for as the need to hire an architect for the DESIGN process of a new home, which is what this eHow article is about. Our program is a project plan for the owner-builder or general contractor to help them keep track of all the tasks necessary to build a home. It for someone who's familiar and preferably experienced in construction techniques and has dealt with hiring sub-contractors before; but needs a better means to organize, track and maintain a cost/budget analysis on their build. Again, I completely agree that the $99 Punch! and Better Homes & Gardens programs you can purchase at Best Buy isn't the best way for a non-architect to achieve designing their own house.
rampg said
on 11/1/2008 If you think you can design your own house with a $99 software you are in for the surprise of your life. Architects don't go to architecture school 6 years for nothing. No responsible architect will do the plans for a houser designed like that. It's probably a death trap and many, many design issues would have been probably overlooked by an untrained person. The worse part is that you will come into the design process with a lot of pre-conceptions that may be irrelevant and will prevent you from analysing and accepting good ideas customized to your needs presented to you by the architect. Design is an adventure, enjoy it!
rampg said
on 11/1/2008 If you think you can design your own house with a $99 software you are in for the surprise of your life. Architects don't go to architecture school 6 years for nothing. No responsible architect will do the plans for a houser designed like that. It's probably a death trap and many, many design issues would have been probably overlooked by an untrained person. The worse part is that you will come into the design process with a lot of pre-conceptions that may be irrelevant and will prevent you from analysing and accepting good ideas customized to your needs presented to you by the architect. Design is an adventure, enjoy it!
Thinson51 said
on 4/1/2008 My wife and I are using the www.homebuildingprojectplan.com softeware to build our home. It is going great so far, but wanted to know your thoughts. Thanks for any help that you can provide.
Anonymous said
on 4/3/2006 When building, always plan for the future. Put outlets, cable and phone jacks in all rooms. Even if you never use them, they will always be there if you ever sell the house. Converting rooms into offices works so much better when the necessary wiring is there (home networking and Internet access).