The Drawing Board

Building a Narrow Lot Home Requires Careful Planning and Creativity to Maximize Space Without Forgoing Style

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Getting the most house on a narrow building lot can be quite challenging but with careful planning and creativity throughout the design process, homeowners can maximize space efficiently without forgoing style.

According to Allison McGraw, client services manager for Iowa-based Ahmann Design, Inc., narrow lots are becoming more of the norm these days. As lot prices keep rising, some developers are decreasing the size of the property in order to keep costs down.

“Most of these lots require a narrow lot design with a front-load garage. The garage certainly becomes...

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Design the Perfect Home Floor Plan with Tips from a Pro

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Building a new home is an exciting, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and selecting the perfect home design and floor plan to meet your family's needs can be daunting, but it's a critical step toward realizing your dream home.

Rick McAlexander, CEO of The House Plan Company, a leading residential plan marketing company based in Oregon, offers four important pieces of advice when choosing the right floor plan for new home construction.

1. Define the Goals...

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Garage Apartments and Backyard Cottages Gain Popularity as Homeowners Seek to Add Living Space and Value to Their Property

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As housing prices soar and land sells at a premium, more and more homeowners are seeking to add living space and value to their existing property with separate dwelling units either over a detached garage or as a standalone backyard cottage .

The concept of a garage apartment , mother-in-law suite or granny flat is not a new one. This type of...

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Gathering Style: Types of Living Areas and How They Live

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You are considering a new home and are stuck trying to figure out what style of living area will best work for you, your family, and the way that you live. Well ponder no further. The House Plan Company has prepared this helpful guide to the three main types of living areas and how they live.

The Vintage Layout: Separated Family and Entertaining Spaces

Formally defined spaces and separation between family and gathering spaces is the traditional approach to arranging the living area of a home. As showcased in the...

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Experience and Personality Factor into Selecting a Design Professional to Customize Your House or Garage Plan

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After searching house plans and garage plans on The House Plan Company website, you’ve fallen in love with a design and while the plan you’ve chosen has all of the key elements, there are some features you’d like to consider to better meet your family’s needs. Perhaps you want the Great Room to have some defined separation of space. Or maybe you want to change the mud room so your kids can store their athletic gear. Regardless of the desired features or floor plan changes, meeting with a professional designer is the next important step in the planning process.

“On the surface, a...

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The Trend Toward Smaller Homes Offers a Simpler Life of Luxury

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For many people, owning a big home with a spacious back yard in a neighborhood of similarly sized dwellings is still the ultimate symbol of achieving the “American Dream”. However, more attention is being given to the small house movement which started in the 90’s and has continued to grow, including the launch of a TV show, Tiny House Nation . With most of the country still crawling out of the recession and billions lost in the real estate crash, the idea of living just as well in a smaller home has great appeal to some.

In 2013, the median size of a new home was about...

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How Homeowners Can Avoid Bad Contractors and Make Good, Smart Decisions

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Picture this: A homeowner wants to update the kitchen in his or her home, and a contractor is called. Without too much quibbling, the details are finalized and the work begins. But then things start to go wrong.

This scenario doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it often gives contractors a bad reputation when in fact the real issue is that the homeowner didn’t do the homework.

“You can do a Google search for contractors in your area, and you’ll get star ratings and reviews of names and businesses, but that’s just one part of the process,” said Rick McAlexander, CEO of...

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