How To Decorate Your Own Home

What Should Be Included In My House Plans

How to design your own home

Designing your dream home sounds easy at the beginning – just draw the rooms on a sheet of paper then call it a day. The good news is that I am here to guide you through the process step-by-step so you dont miss a single piece of the equation. The bad news is that building a house takes many different types of drawings besides just floor plans.

The Basics:

When you start designing your house, youll likely start with the basics. These include your bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, dining and living room. Layout the rooms is a simple diagram. What rooms will be next to each other and how will you move from one room to the next? Will this be a one, two or three story house and which rooms will be one which floor?

Kitchen

Basement

The Details:

As you get more detailed with your house plans, you may realize that there are many more elements needed to make it a real house. Things like doors, windows and lights are all important. If you have multiple floors, youll need to draw in the location of the stairs and youll also need to know the ceiling height of the floors.

If you are plan to buy house plans online, all of these details will be worked out for you already. However, if you are drawing your own plans, youll need to pay special attention to these details.

I cant tell you how many homeowners Ive talked to that wished they could start the home design process all over again because they didnt think out the details beforehand.

Entry Door
Radiant Heating

Organizing And Refining Your Ideas

1Draw up a responsible budget. Instead of starting with the question “how much will it cost to build my dream home just the way I want it,” ask yourself “how much house can I actually afford?” This will help you arrive at a more realistic figure and bring your vision into clearer focus. An articulated budget will be your principal guiding force in the design process moving forward.XResearch source

If it’s your first time building a home, it may be helpful to meet with a certified financial planner who can go over the provisions of your budget with you and explain potential curveballs, like sales tax on building materials and whether the cost of the property will be included in your mortgage.XResearch source

2Keep a design notebook. Get yourself a sturdy, cloth-bound graph-ruled notebook to record your notes, doodles, and musings in. This simple resource is where your design for your home will finally begin to take shape. You can use its pages to paste photos, tab out calculations, collect contact info for potential contractors, and keep track of other important details associated with the project.XResearch source

Divide the contents of your notebook into sections by room and use colored tabs to mark the pages. That way, you can easily jump back and forth between schematics for different parts of the house.

Compiling all of your materials in one place will allow you to work much more efficiently than digging through reams of loose paper to find what you’re looking for.

Designing Your Custom Home

Rather than adapting to the layout of an existing home this is an exciting opportunity to design a home to match your needs. You can create a space specific to the way you and your family live. All of the features from the doorknobs and countertops to the type of heating and arrangement of rooms are up to you. To know what to do, you must consider how you wish to use the space. The questions and suggestions in this section should help you make your architectural program.

Determine the size your home should be
Are there any restrictions on the possible size of your home?
How many stories do you want your home to be?
What rooms do you need?

What aspects of your lifestyle do you want to be built into your home?

Consider the type of layout you want

What structural features do you want in each room?

Determine your design and style preferences

Are there any special features you want to be included?

Green design?

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Home Decor Idea #4: Dont Go Overboard On Color

Sprinkling just one or two accent colors throughout the home will add a pop that looks cohesive without going over the top. Adding too much color will immediately make it feel shabby chic or Boho, which is nice but a very different vibe than luxe, says Henry. Avoid these 8 decorating mistakes that make your home look immature.

Reminders For When You Feel Stuck With Decorating

If youre feeling stuck when it comes to decorating your home, here are a few things to keep in mind. Consider this your pep talk!

You dont have to have it all planned out before you begin
Nothing you do is permanent rooms can be repainted and furniture can be rearranged
Resist the urge to finish your house right away Its okay for it to be in progress

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You Dont Have To Purchase Everything New

As a matter of fact, blending old and new furniture pieces and decor pieces will keep any room feeling more comfortable and attractive.

The best room updates will have an artful combination of old and new. This also provides a chance to change things up a little. If youve gone in a different style direction in your bedroom, you may find that a piece that has been assigned to that room forever might just be the perfect accent for your new study.

Home Decor Idea #1: Make Walls Shine

Lustrous wallpaper adds dimension to an otherwise flat area. Go for just a hint of shine with a semi-gloss or luster sheen to keep it classy, not gaudy, says Reiner. Stick to simple neutral or semi-neutral colors, but look for a paper with a hint of a shine the light can bounce off of, she says. If you have leftover wallpaper, you can always use it for craft projects to decorate the rest of your home.

Living Rooms And Family Rooms

Living rooms can fill many functions, from a formal “parlor” used to greet guests to a space where the whole family gathers for study, entertainment, socializing, and play. In modern homes, the living room is often a “great room” that is contiguous with the kitchen and dining area.

One of the first considerations is choosing a focal point for the living room and especially where you want to create conversation areas. Your selectionand arrangement of living room furniture should keep this element in mind. Only then can you move to the details of planning lighting, then choosing area rugs, art and accessories.

Struggling With How To Start Decorating A House Its Easy To Feel Intimidated And Overwhelmed When Youre Staring At A Huge Empty House Here Are My Simple Tips For Decorating When Youre Feeling Stuck And Dont Know Where To Begin

How to Design your own home for Factory Built Housing using SketchUp

As someone who identifies herself as a home decor blogger, Im embarrassed to admit that Ive barely decorated a thing since moving into this house five months ago. I managed to put up some Christmas decor but have felt completely overwhelmed at the thought of doing any permanent decorating.

Are you struggling to start decorating your house, too? If you dont know where to begin and the thought of making decor decisions leaves you feeling paralyzed, youre not alone! Im sharing some simple steps for how to start decorating a house today.

I hope that youll feel inspired and confident enough to start decorating your home after reading todays post, but Ill be honest Im writing this for me, too! Sometimes it takes giving someone else advice for you to realize you needed to hear it yourself, right?

When we were house hunting last summer, I could hardly contain my excitement. I would soon have a new space to decorate and the possibilities were endless!

We bought a builder-grade home in the suburbs and while I wasnt thrilled about its lack of originality, I knew it had good bones and it was a blank slate that we could personalize and customize. I could rely wait to put our own stamp on this house!

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Room By Room Decorating Basics

You may well have a general chosen for your entire home, but within the overall style, each room has its own purpose and style. How the room is used, and by whom, should be considered as you arrange each room and choose materials, accessories, and accents.

Consider the needs of each individual room, and research related articles pertaining to those spaces. Home decor should reflect your personal taste and interests, but it must also address the particular function of those rooms.

Home Decor Idea #4: Brighten Up The Laundry Room

Dont ignore design in your laundry room just because you dont love spending time there. Laundry rooms are a great room to paint a fun color that you may be scared to use other places, says Bowry. Rugs and artwork also make the room more inviting. She recommends parents hang their kids artwork there. Your little ones will feel special with their art displayed proudly, but you can keep your pricier pieces in the rooms guests see. Homes are always changing. Here are 15 household objects that might disappear in the next 25 years.

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Break Down Your New Home Decorating Plan By Room

The fastest way to get overwhelmed by an empty new home is by trying to decorate the whole house at once. Prioritize what rooms are most important to you and make a decorating plan, one room at a time! Maybe youll want to start with your bedroom, living room and laundry room. Pick two or three rooms maximum and plan to decorate them one at a time.

Matching all the rooms in the house is a design myth. If you decide you want a transitional bedroom but a modern living room, go for it! Your home will have far more personality when you decorate from scratch, one room at a time. Just be sure to add a unifying element to all the rooms for flow, like a certain color, or a decor item in the homes architectural design style.

Pro decorating tip: Not sure which rooms to start with? Think about what rooms you spend the most time in. Youll want to do those first. You can always do the guest room later close the guest room door and forget about it for a while.

Assemble Your Team And Monitoring The Process

This checklist includes information on assembling your custom home team, including an architect and general contractor. It suggests what questions to ask before you hire and advice on how to find the right person. Weve also included some things to think about and keep track of once your home is under way.

Hire an architect

+ a contingency budget

Getting a loan: Most likely, you will need to take out a loan.

Check your credit report. Correct any errors, as your credit score will affect the loan you can receive.
Speak with multiple lenders to get the best interest rates.
Consider mortgage options. Fixed rate or variable? 12 or 30 years? FHA or traditional? Only you, your family, and your financial advisor can determine whats best for you.
Prepare to make a down payment. Talk to your family and a financial advisor on what you can realistically pay at this time.

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Create Your Floor Plans

You can use one of two methods to create floor plans for an architect or builder.

Floor plan method 1: Draw by hand

You can draw a floor plan for your architect the old-fashioned way: with pencil and paper.

Even a quick sketch will help the architect understand your requirements. But unless you have experience drafting by hand , your drawing will likely be imprecise.

Will you have space for your antique furniture in the living room you drew? Is there room for an extra closet in the master bedroom?

Its hard to say from your sketch alone.

And while even a basic drawing will help an architect understand your vision, it definitely wont be enough to take straight to a builder.

Floor plan method 2: Home design software

Home design software is a more modern way to make house plans.

You can easily draw the outline of your home with precise measurements. Each room will be the right size with doors and windows in the correct place.

Sometimes its easier to design a floor plan if you can visualize how the house will look filled with furniture and decor. Home design software has you covered.

You can drag-and-drop pre-made 3D models of furniture and other elements into your design.

Move it around, swap it out for different products, and look at it from different angles.

If populating your floor plan with furniture makes you realize that your outline wont work, you can easily edit the location of walls, doors, and windows.

You may be wondering how much home design software costs.

Monitoring The Building Process

Insurance. Make sure there your general contractor has workmans compensation insurance and general liability. In many places, contractors are required to hold active policies of both in order to be licensed. Get copies of both insurances for your records before building starts.

Permits. Your builder should typically take care of this. Make sure this is the case and ensure that the correct permits are in place

Dont let payments get ahead of schedule.

Inspections: Generally, your contractor is responsible for scheduling periodic inspections as required by your municipality. Confirm with your contractor that this is the case and find out the dates to ensure you can keep track.

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Prepare The Home Site

First, it’s time to get situatedâliterally and figuratively. Not only are you getting your project straight in your mind and on paper, but you are siting your intended home on its intended spot.

Clear the building site of brush and other debris, down to ground level and at least 25 feet around the planned house perimeter.
A land surveyor stakes out the lot, based on original plot drawings that indicate the property boundaries.
Make alterations to the site’s topography if necessary to alter the water flow across the site: This often requires a contractor with earth-moving equipment.
Order a dumpster to handle refuse during the building project.
Order one or more portable toilets for the workers.
Order temporary utilities from the power company.
Hire an electrician to hook up a temporary electrical panel, which is usually mounted on an existing utility pole.

Interior Design Compared With Interior Decorating

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Interior design and interior decorating are often mistaken for the same thing, but the terms are not completely interchangeable. Interior design is a profession that requires specific schooling and formal training, including space planning, furniture design, and architecture. An interior decorator does not have that formal training and focuses on the aesthetics and the surface appearance of a space. Who you would hire depends on whether you have any structural work or space planning to be done or you need someone to plan the decor only.

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How To Design Your Own Home

This article was co-authored by MacKenzie Cain. MacKenzie Cain is an Interior Designer and a LEED-certified Green Associate for Habitar Design based in Chicago, Illinois. She has over seven years of experience in interior design and architectural design. She received a BA in Interior Design from Purdue University in 2013 and received her LEED Green Associate certification from the Green Building Certification Institute in 2013.There are 13 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 972,031 times.

If you’re like most prospective homeowners, you have a clear vision of your dream home. Finding a home that perfectly matches your design preferences isn’t likely, but luckily you can design your own! With little more than a sketchbook and a few inspirational ideas, you can make your vision a reality.

What Size Should Your Home Be

One of the first steps in designing a custom home is figuring out how much space you have to work with. Deciding how large your home should be is determined by a number of factors.

First, find out if there are any limitations on the height and/or square footage of your home. These may be based on zoning restrictions, neighborhood ordinances, or perhaps the size and layout of your lot.
How many stories do you want? Are you looking for a single-story home? Two? Three or more? A split level? Do you want a basement? Consider at this stage if stairs are going to be a problem for you or any family members.
Finally, think about size in terms of rooms. Deciding what rooms you want will play a huge factor in determining the size of your home. To get started, consider the following:
How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you need?
Which of the following spaces do you need/want?
Formal and/or informal living spaces
Home office
Garage
Basement and/or attic
Workshop

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Install Electrical Plumbing And Insulation

Now the interior work on your house begins with the arrival of masons, electricians, plumbers, and HVAC specialists.

Masons build the chimney if your home is designed to have one. This generally involves the application of brick or stone veneer over a base of concrete block that was laid by the foundation contractor.

Electricians and plumbers do the rough-in work for electrical circuits, plumbing pipes, and HVAC system ductwork. This work is easier without the wall, flooring, and ceiling surfaces in place. After completion, these contractors will return after the walls and ceilings are in place, to complete the final connections of various fixtures.

Inspections are made of rough-ins. Arranging for permits and inspections are handled by the contractor. If you are tackling this work yourself, the responsibility for inspections falls on you.

Install the insulation in the walls and attic. This is sometimes done by the carpentry crew but usually by a specialty insulation contractor.

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