Things to Consider When Choosing a Floor Plan
A home plan or a floor plan is a drawing that shows the layout of a certain property. It’s a scaled visualization of your property that shows the different spaces in the house and their corresponding divisions. It’s usually an overhead view of the house when completed. It will indicate the rooms, doors, windows, and any other built-in elements that will help you visualize the house’s layout. Home builders find it critical to choose a floor plan that would best benefit their client’s needs, as the home building process would strictly abide by it.
In choosing a floor plan for you home, here are few main things to consider.
Think about the lighting
Lighting plays a big role in deciding how the different rooms in your floor plan should be laid out. Think about the orientation of your house and where you suppose the major windows should face. How’s the street facade? How about the backyard? Where do you want the morning sun to be hitting? Natural light has a big impact in illuminating your homes, so you need to consider where the sun is facing and which room should bask in it every morning. Normally, homeowners would keep their bedrooms away from the sun to keep it cool and to save in cooling costs. As per most layouts, the living area is usually the one receiving all the sunlight in the morning as it needs to be alive and bright every day.
Consider your lifestyle
How many are you in the family? Is your current living area too big or too small for all of you? In choosing a floor plan that’s right for you, you must always consider your family and how many are you in a household. Based on your current lifestyle, decide how the different rooms in your home is going to be used. Do you like to throw a lot of parties? Then perhaps get a layout with a big receiving and entertainment area. How many cars do you have or plan to have? That’s your cue for the garage size. Do you love cooking? Then kitchen size is a priority. And of course, consider the growth of your family as well. How many rooms should you have? Do you have certain hobbies that require specific layouts and spaces? Like gardening or woodworking for instance. Let your floor plan reflect your personality.
Will it change in the future?
Imagine how your life will be like 5 to 10 years from now. Do you have plans of growing old in your home? Then you may want to consider a flexible floor plan that will allow you to convert the layout as needed. As you grow old, your needs change, and your house needs to adapt to it. If your family is growing you may consider converting a home office into a nursery. Or if it’s time for the kids to move out to move out you can easily merge some rooms to create a bigger space. Talk to your architect to communicate your growing needs in the future, so that it can be incorporated into your requested floor plan.
Consider your design style
If your taste is leaning more on modern and contemporary style homes then you may want to consider an open floor layout. It’s very popular these days and features spaces that are maximized by reducing walls and creating a single space that looks big and airy. If you’re the traditional kind then you would likely opt for a layout that has divisions for privacy. Think about your decorating style and how it would suit your future home.