How-To Home Design Guide: Learn Before Making Mistakes

How-To Home Design Guide

Learn Before Making Mistakes

Cheri Clancy

© Copyright Cheri Clancy 2012-13

This book is protected under the Copyright laws of the United States of America. It may not be transmitted in any form without the expressed permission of the author.

Smashwords edition

Introduction

I have experienced many of the positives and negative of custom homes when involved in my first new home. Difficulties came frequently that had to be understood and dealt with. The lessons learned were many. Being a hands-on type of prospective homeowner, I was involved in all aspects of the design and construction. This learning curve resulted in creating a beautiful, fashionable home… a worthy goal for everyone.

Because the home building industry is so loosely regulated in terms of quality and competence there may always be a significant difference between vendors. With this knowledge in mind prospective homeowners must take a degree of responsibility for all aspects of the design and construction of their home.

I don’t pretend to know all there is to know about this subject. With much of my advice the reader will have to decide what is appropriate for them and what is not. My intention is to be informative and offer aspiring homeowners a way to improve their skill set in order to become more effective with their own custom home project. After all it is the lack of knowledge that puts people at a disadvantage.

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Home Design Goals

Design Considerations

This chapter presents an overview of design features that might be incorporated into a superior home design. Hopefully this will help you think outside of the box and then employ more critical eyes. After all having plain vanilla plans merely produces plain vanilla homes… which should not be the goal when building a custom home. A custom home’s design should take the following aspects into consideration …

Efficiency

Convenience

Curb appeal

Uniqueness

Elegant touch

Baby proofing

& Your budget

When these criteria are properly addressed and satisfied the reward can be a home to be proud of. Below is a sampling of ideas that defines each of these categories.

Efficiency: This is (or should be) the most important design consideration for homeowners. The concern involves maximizing the livable space within the home as well as providing for a smooth room to room flow. An open-style concept runs counter to previous philosophies which envisioned compartmentalized dwellings with few windows and lots of doors. Here are a few ideas to consider on how to improve home efficiency.

Eliminate the halls because they are a major inefficiency. They may even result in an undesirable maze effect. They work against the open-style design which facilitates easier passage between rooms. I have seen more than a few plans where the hallways occupied too much of the home’s area… in one case nearly 10%. Couldn’t everyone use that 50 or 100 sq. ft. inside of rooms rather than having it as wasted space in between them? In our home, for example, there is a walkway through the Kitchen that goes past…

-- the wine cave

-- the guest Bathroom

-- an Office/ Guest Room

-- on toward the Master Bedroom

This hallway is a functional part of the Kitchen because it doubles as a counter seating aisle. As a result it does not appear to be a hallway, nor does it contribute toward wasted space. This design demonstrates how having access to multiple rooms by going through another room can be more efficient than using a dedicated hall for that purpose.

If the area that is allocated to hallways exceeds 2% of the home’s total area it may be appropriate to rethink the design - a 3000 sq. ft. home should ideally have no more then 15-20 ft. in total hall length

Another element of efficiency revolves around the shape and layout of small to medium size rooms. If the intended furniture does not properly fit inside a room, or it interferes with window or door placement, too many unwanted compromises may result. Care should be taken to see that the designer’s or architect’s room layouts and your furniture make real world sense. In other words specifying a room only by its size is inadequate. I actually ran across a professional design where there was no suitable place to locate the bed in one of the Bedrooms. In another plan the front entry way was semi-blocked by a tall boulder.

If a feature inside a room is either unnecessary or its purpose can be incorporated elsewhere, living space may be wasted. One example of this might be a guest Bedroom that has a TV-armoire. This item can take up a fair amount of floor space for something that is rarely used. When was the last time that your company wanted to spend time in the Guest Bedroom watching TV rather than being with their hosts?

Space can also be used more efficiently by eliminating duplicate areas. One such redundancy could be in homes with both a small Breakfast Nook and a modest sized Dining Room. In this case when entertaining a group guests must be mercilessly packed together in the Dining Room, or they have to dine in separated areas. Another result of this inconvenience is that food must be shuffled back and forth, and the number of other people with whom guests can interact becomes limited.

When the overall space is tight I suggest consolidating the dining and breakfast rooms into a single, larger room, and do away with the breakfast area completely. A more efficient option for a second eating area might be to have a breakfast bar that is incorporated into the Kitchen’s island.

Unless you have children that you want to separate from either yourself or your guests why have a Family Room in the home’s design? It would be more practical to replace this room and a modest Living Room with a larger, multi-purpose Great Room that can handle all types of gatherings and activities. Does your home really need two or three places to entertain, read or watch TV? Consolidation can also help save on the cost of purchasing redundant sets of furniture and electronics.

If a Family Room is a must, consider having it attached to the Kitchen without an intervening wall. This large space can then serve as an area where guests can easily gather and not be too far away from the enticing Kitchen.

As an alternative to the walk-in closet consider wide, traditional, wall closets where the access to them is a useful part of the room. For instance, the next-to area could be the space between the closet doors and one side of a bed. In this case the access does double duty as part of the bed’s and closet’s accessibility. This location of the closet can also act as a sound barrier between the Bedroom and the room next to it.

If one or more walk-in closets are a must, locate them where there is a vaulted ceiling in order to maximize the storage space. Then be sure to include a built-in ladder or a mounting to hold a regular ladder.

Even though homes are becoming larger, wall closets are still the most efficient storage method. Another one of their assets is that they eliminate the difficulty with the two to four semi-blocked corners that are part and parcel of walk-in closets. Since the view of an unsightly row of doors would be unappealing, consider installing attractive, floor-to-ceiling drapes to obscure the closet’s opening. Incorporating this convenient design allows all of the contents can be viewed and easily accessed once the drapes are pulled back.

Convenience:This is a concept that is somewhat in the eye of the beholder. One convenience to consider might be having an open dining area that is situated next to both the Kitchen and the Great Room… without any intervening walls. Not only does this layout make food service easier, but it expands the area in which guests can congregate and still be within close proximity to each other without passing through halls or doorways. I will not include the Family Room (if part of a design concept) in this consolidation scheme because its primary function should be to have a separation from the other rooms.

Moving on to the Master Bedroom. Is it appropriate to have a desk in this room or should it be located in a separate office? Unless you run a business from your home the appropriate answer may be to place the desk here. Or as an alternative, a desk could be built into the Kitchen counter or island. This location might even be more suitable and will surely take up less space than the alternative of being in a separate room.

If two people need an Office setup then it might be fitting to consider a single room that will accommodate both with their separate desks. When sharing phone lines, scanners, printers and other items with your mate, a combined Office may make more sense.

Curb appeal: How many homes do you see, except for perhaps some grand homes on large properties that have a truly attractive appearance from the street? Here are a few items to consider that can make a home more attractive from the outside…

-- design a house that is not shaped like a box

-- incorporate a roofline with architectural features

-- use colored concrete or pavers for the drive and walkway

-- include a curving walkway to the front door

-- have a 2’ or 3’ change of elevation in different areas of the yard

-- locate roof venting hardware so that it does not face the street

-- obscure the placement of the Garage

Most homes present their unattractive Garage doors to their street. This layout can occupy 25-40% of that elevation (view) of the home. One alternative to this Garage-in-front design is to have it open off the side of the home rather than toward the street. While this layout may still position the Garage in front, it works well to obscure that fact by having its doors somewhat out of sight. It may also allow for a more appealing curved driveway to the home. This layout can also have a softly rounded T shaped drive with a turn-around. When using this particular Garage design, large, room-like windows (with window coverings) on the front side should be used to mimic the look of a regular, interior room. A side benefit is the increase in the apparent home size.

Another possible solution to the unattractive Garage is to install upscale, wooden doors. These can take many forms, including up to 18’ wide doors that resemble double carriage doors. Yes their price is substantially higher, but the curb appeal is fantastic… especially when combined with an arched surround (the bump-out that goes around the door). This also eliminates the need to hide the Garage’s opening. An alternative to these high cost items may be to paint the Garage door in a 3D fashion to resemble wooden doors and hardware. This looks much better than it sounds.

While I am on Garages, skip those tiny windows that can be found in the top frame of many doors. Rather than improve the door’s appearance they draw undue attention to what is already an unattractive sight. One alternative to these windows could be to paint the Garage door and its frame in contrasting colors to punch up their looks. Or it may be possible to find a talented faux-painter artist who can add subtle and interesting touches to the doors.

An immediate impression that greets guests is landscaping around a home. Other than being appropriate to the neighborhood, items to consider are…

-- undulating grounds

-- fast-growing trees

-- large flowering plants

-- colorful bushes

-- an attractive statue

-- ground cover

As for the undulating grounds, a few randomly placed mounds will be effective in breaking up and enhancing any yard. Then these areas can also become sighting locations for attractive islands of vegetation. I would, however, avoid the type of flower gardens that tend to border the front of the home or run along its sidewalk. First, this look is a generations-old style. Second, these near-house plantings and their subsequent watering will disrupt the insect poisons that should have been laid down to control pests. Lastly, they have little curb appeal.

Uniqueness: Is it me or do many new homes tend to look alike? What ever became of custom homes that actually look custom? There is a housing development in our area that has attractive, million dollar homes, but coming home after dark must present a problem for the owners since they all have a similar appearance. Having a generous construction budget to spend on design and materials does not always ensure uniqueness. It may simply lead to a high end, tract look.

Will you be satisfied having your next home a near copy of others in the neighborhood, or would you prefer to have one that stands out with its own creative style that is impressive to viewers? A relatively simple method for achieving this uniqueness is to adopt a non-linear home design. That is, use…

-- curved, offset, angled or bumped out walls

-- cantilevered floors (that extend several feet past a lower wall)

-- multi-faceted gable or hip rooflines

-- balconies and decks

These features substantially improve a home’s appearance for a relatively modest additional cost. And it is these styling touches that can move a home from the: just another box category toward the elegant category.

Hip (three-sided) rooflines can often add a visual roof appearance that is generally more attractive then the more common Gable (peaked roof), the unusual Dutch (half-hip/half-gable) or the equally odd high-pitch style. Although Hip roof architecture is generally more expensive, it also tends to set homes apart from the crowd. In some cases the combination of hips and gables can be even more stylish.

Several curved, angled or multi-level decks are a nice touch for adding the requisite uniqueness. While it may be tempting to construct a rectangular deck in order to be efficient with the use of materials and construction, I would suggest that this may not be the best place to save money. Rambling, angular decks are an excellent to adding beauty and value to a home.

Having vaulted ceilings is an outstanding way to add to a room’s apparent size and elegance. The bang you get for the buck with this architecture makes its modest cost worthwhile. Vaulted ceilings come with a built-in benefit, other than their great looks. They can be combined with an economical 8’ wall on one side of the room and still have the attractive look of a high-wall room. I would readily consider vaulting all full-sized rooms. This makes any room more open and inviting. Conversely I would not vault smaller rooms since they could take on the look of an elevator shaft. In this case I would suggest a flat, 9’ ceiling… including any basement level room.

Let me interject a caveat at this point. The energy costs of heating and cooling a high-ceiling room is significant. The prospects of stabilized energy costs are probably a pipe dream. As a result you will need to consider this added expense in your budgeting.

Adding solid or hollow beams that follow any ridge lines of a vaulted ceiling can look stunning if they are done with flair. This feature also serves to pleasantly break up the expanse of larger rooms. One usually finds the rustic look of beams in woodsy homes but they can also be effective in more elegant homes if the wood that is used is of high quality and their construction style is also sophisticated.

Using several adjacent (non-bubble) skylights that have the look of regular windows is another unique touch. Not only do they let in extra light during the day, but they also permit star and moon gazing at night… sort of a window to the heavens. I might avoid having skylights located on the southeast, south or southwest sides of a home where there is high sun penetration in summer. Nor I would use them with flat-roofed adobe homes due to a greater potential for leaking. In addition, the use of triple pane glass is appropriate to prevent excessive heat penetration in the summer and heat loss in the winter (the ceiling is a warm spot in winter).

Unique design does not require re-inventing the wheel - it may just mean incorporating a variety of good ideas that are already in the public domain

Elegant touches: This is the difference between a home with a plain vanilla style and one that shows a more exciting, sophisticated look. Elegance also involves staying away from