6 Essential Tips for Choosing a House Plan for Your Homestead
Planning to build on your homestead? The right house plan makes all the difference. Here are 6 practical tips to help you choose a layout that fits your land, lifestyle, and long-term goals.
When you decide to build a house, choosing a house plan is one of the most important (and exciting!) tasks. But it can also be really difficult. After all, there are thousands upon thousands of plans to choose from – and you can even work with an architect to create a custom design. The possibilities are endless!
So how do you choose a great house plan? Below we’ll go over our top 6 tips to consider when choosing a house plan.
Why It’s Important to Choose a Great House Plan
I’m sure almost all of us have seen or visited a home and property that is just beautifully put together. Not that it has to be the grandest house, or meticulously landscaped yard. But a home that truly belongs where it was built. The home and its surroundings are full of character and charm.
But what makes it so welcoming and beautiful? It’s not necessarily the size of the home, the style, or even the setting. It is the character of the home and the setting together that gives it that sense of place. And it’s not instantaneous. Character is something that develops over time – that lived-in and well-loved attribute that makes a house feel like home.
Choosing a great house plan is key when building a new house. A new build will rarely, if ever, have that cozy character right away – but the right house plan allows a house to turn into a home over time.
Tips to Consider When Choosing A House Plan
1. Your Property. The natural setting and features of your property should have a significant influence on the style of home you choose. A home style that fits the landscape will naturally age well and blend with the landscape. There’s also some practical benefits: optimal functionality, potential energy savings and improved desirability. Not to mention, matching the home style to the property setting really accentuates the beauty of the home.
2. Lot or building pad layout. Lot/building pad size is a major factor in determining the size of home you can build. But there are other details about the lot or building pad you should also consider. Shape of the building pad and driveway entrance are big ones. Is the lot long and narrow, wide and shallow? Where is the driveway entrance and what home layout would work best with that?
3. Orientation. This tip ties into the point about layout above, but there are some further considerations when it comes to the orientation of the building pad and how you want your house situated on it. Is there a nice view you want to take advantage of? If you live in a mild climate, what orientation would maximize natural light in the house? If you live in a hot climate, what orientation might help keep the house cool? Or, if you live in a cold climate, what orientation might help keep the house warm?
These three tips above really focus on the property characteristics specifically. Now, let’s dive into some practical aspects to consider when choosing a house plan.
4. Affordability. When it comes to building a house, aligning what you want with what you can afford is probably the most important, and sometimes challenging, practical aspect. Square footage, complexity of build, quality of materials, and permits and fees are all factors in the overall cost of the build.
5. Functionality. Choosing a floor plan that flows well and is functional is really important when it comes to building a house. The last thing you want to do is spend the money on square footage that you never use!
6. Adaptability. Can this layout suit not only your family in this current season, but in the many seasons of life to come? If you plan on living in this home for a while, thinking about adaptability is key. How this layout fits your family and lifestyle now and into the future will help you choose a plan that will suit you well for many years to come.
We hope these tips help you in your search for the perfect house plan for your new build. You can find some of our favorite plans and more property development topics in the posts linked below.
