How to Design Your Own Home

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.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Getting Inspired

1
Come up with a basic vision. Before you draw a single line, picture what kind of home you would want to live in if money were no object. The earliest stages of the design process are not about building materials or zoning regulations, but about how you define your desires. Chances are, you already have a few images in mind that just need to be fleshed out.^{[1]XResearch source}
- Think carefully about the homes you fantasize about. What is it about the way they look that appeals to you?
2
Look through architecture publications. Poring over some domestic architecture photobooks or home design magazines at the bookstore can be a good way to get your wheels turning. You'll get a good overview of current design trends, along with styles that were fashionable in past decades or are just now catching on in other parts of the country. For instance, you might see yourself living in a cozy European-influenced cottage, or gravitate towards something more sleek, modern, and minimalistic.^{[2]XResearch source}
- Due to the way tastes constantly evolve, many design styles that have long been considered outdated (such as Art Deco and mid-century modern) are now beginning to make a comeback.
- Don't feel like you have to limit yourself to a few specific types of architecture just because they're what's fashionable. The winning style is the one that speaks to your personal sensibilities.
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3
Tour neighborhoods with houses that spark your imagination. Go for a drive through a few of the subdivisions in your area and scope out the houses there. Forget about whether or not such a home is within your price range for now—you're just mining for ideas that you can borrow when it comes time to begin designing your own home.
- Take notes on what you like about each property, as well as what you're not so keen on. It's just as important to know what sorts of features you don't want as what you do.^{[3]XResearch source}
- Keep an eye out for homes that are up for sale. An open house could present a great opportunity to take a closer look at a particular home inside and out.
4
Take photographs of attractive houses to study later. When you see a home that catches your eye, get your camera out and shoot it from as many angles as you can. You'll be able to take in more of the subtle nuances by examining a picture at your own leisure than you could with a hurried walk-through. Photos also make great reference materials when you get into the specifics of piecing together your own home.
- Use a dedicated photography camera or HD smartphone camera to take your snaps. That way, more of the key details will be apparent.
- Make sure you get permission from the homeowner before you go snooping around on their property.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Organizing and Refining Your Ideas

1
Draw 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.^{[4]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.^{[5]XResearch source}
2
Keep 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.^{[6]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.
3
Consider your individual needs. Now that you're getting serious about documenting what you want, it's time to zero in on what you need. This is where considerations like space, privacy, and specific building techniques will come into play. You've probably already accounted for many of these factors subconsciously when spitballing ideas, which means it will just be a matter of identifying which of them are non-negotiable.^{[7]XResearch source}
- In order to determine the type of living space that's right for you, it may help to outline the number, ages, and relationships of the people who will be sharing it.
- A cozy two-bedroom cottage might not be big enough if you're planning on starting a family, but a slightly larger Tudor revival-style home could provide the space you need without forcing you to give up on your preferred aesthetic.
4
Make a list of essential features. Under individualized headings for each of the main rooms, start naming the amenities you just have to have. Maybe you're crazy about island kitchen counters, or you've always wanted bay windows or a living room with a comfy reading nook. This is the fun part. Let your imagination run wild and jot down anything and everything that tickles your fancy.^{[8]XResearch source}
- Get as specific as you please. The more information you can hand off to your architect or team of contractors, the closer your finished home will be to your original vision.^{[9]XResearch source}
- As you move onto drafting a floor plan, you can begin sorting the items on your list based on what's practical, what's affordable, and what makes the most sense.
5
Sketch out a rough floor plan. Block out basic areas first—for example, you might include two bedrooms on one end of the lower level, with the master bed and adjoining bath across the hall. Leave some room in the center of your layout for an open family room or study, then fill in the other end with plots for the kitchen, laundry room, dining room, and other important spaces.^{[10]XResearch source}
- To keep your floor plan from getting confusing, focus on completing one level at a time. When you're done with the downstairs, you can move on to plotting the upper floors.
- Keep you and your family's needs in mind and try to devise a configuration that promotes both comfort and convenience.^{[11]XResearch source}
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Finalizing Your Plans

1
Use a 3-D imaging software to clean up your floor plan. Programs like Virtual Architect, Room Sketcher, and Home Designer Suite make it easy for homeowners to bring their pen-and-paper designs to life on the screen. Just use the included tools and features to recreate each aspect of your hand-drawn floor plan. You'll then have a polished, precise model to present to your builders.^{[12]XResearch source}
- Take your time getting your layout just right. Any mistakes you make during the design phase will cost you nothing. If these mistakes carry over into construction, however, they can quickly eat into your budget.^{[13]XResearch source}
- A good virtual home design application will typically run you $50-100. Free versions may also be available online, though these tend to be far less sophisticated, which means you may not have a full range of tools at your disposal.
2
Find a suitable location. Not every style of home will work equally well in a given setting. Though your main task is to conceptualize the broad strokes of how your living space will look, it's also important to gather information about the area where you'll be situated. For example, do you have access to the necessary utilities? Is there a gas station or supermarket within a reasonable distance? How long would your commute to work be? All of these are critical questions that you should ask whenever you view a property.^{[14]XResearch source}
- Keep in mind that it will be more difficult to build on hills or rocky, uneven, or heavily wooded terrain due to the additional excavation required.
- If you have any concerns about how your location might affect the value or comfort of your dream home, write them down and address them with your architect or contractor later.
3
Consult with an architect to discuss your plans. Listen closely as they share their professional input and be receptive to whatever advice they offer. Your part of the design is knowing what you want. It's their job to ensure that your goals for your home are met, and to steer you around common design traps and complications.^{[15]XResearch source}
- Some of the considerations your architect will go over with you include structural integrity, local building codes, suitability of the surrounding property, and other practical matters that you wouldn't know to ponder on your own.
- The average cost of working alongside an architect is roughly $2,000-8,000. If you're paying them on an hourly basis, this translates to a rate of around $60 to $125 per hour.^{[16]XResearch source}
4
Go over your design with a building team. Once you and your architectural consultant have your floor plans looking the way you want them, your work is done. All that's left to do is hand off your completed designs to the pros. An experienced home architect will help fix you up with a capable general contractor, and together they'll break ground on your future.^{[17]XResearch source}
- Be ready to accept last-minute changes of plans in the event that part of your design proves unfeasible.
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Expert Q&A

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Question
How can I design my own house plans?
MacKenzie Cain
Home Design Specialist
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.
MacKenzie Cain
Home Design Specialist
Expert Answer
Use the internet and social media for an endless source of design ideas. You can find websites that showcase homes, design and construction firms, and even materials and fixtures. Then, use that to create your own idea book, which will help you hone in on your aesthetic.
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Is it always expensive?
Community Answer
The costs can be comparable to just moseying up to the latest development and purchasing a new home right in the middle of the neighborhood. The draw to designing your own home is that everything is new, and everything is you, your ideas, your dreams, your aspirations. To be brutally honest, designing your own home can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want it to be, the limitations are if you are willing to do some of the work yourself, or if you just want it to be turn key. Source: Spent $200,000 to build my family's dream home, appraised at $375,000 because we did most of the work ourselves.
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How do I figure out how much it will cost?
Community Answer
Once you start working with the architects, they can give you "cost estimates" on what the home would cost to build. Keep in mind that they have no control over time and labor costs from contractors, but they're pretty solid about prices on their material selections. As you get closer to finalizing your designs, the architects can provide you with a "BID SET" of plans that you can distribute to general contractors so they can bid the construction pretty accurately. After you receive their bids, you may decide to change, add, or remove certain things to make construction costs more affordable. Remember, it's always better to make changes on paper rather than during construction.
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Tips

Taking care of as much preliminary planning as you can before you hire an architect will both make their job easier and eliminate the need to make extensive revisions to your designs.
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Be sure to highlight areas that need to be constructed to accommodate any special needs, such as wheelchair access or a master bed and bath on the main floor for elderly occupants.
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Making paper cutouts of each of the various rooms and moving them around until you land on the ideal layout can make putting together a floor plan funner and less time-consuming.
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Warnings

Double check that your designs fit the guidelines laid out in your local and state or provincial building codes. In addition to standard construction criteria, there are electrical, mechanical, plumbing and fire codes that will need to be met. In order to obtain a building permit, it's vital that your plans are in compliance with the law.
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Resist the urge to change your mind once construction is underway. Drastic overhauls made out of uncertainty can quickly deplete your budget and leave your designs feeling disordered.
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