The Drawing Board

Building a New Home? Here’s What Contractors Want You to Know About Design & Construction

Rick McAlexander

Homebuilding offers the unique ability to create a custom living space suited to your needs and design tastes, but the process is rarely a simple one. Knowing what to plan for can ensure the end result is a home that matches your vision and will be a place you will love living in for years to come. But what are the most important things to consider before committing to a new build? What steps are overlooked or often unanticipated by homeowners interested in building for the first time?

The House Plan Company , asked builders to...

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Homeowners Adjust to a Turbulent Year with Emphasis on Adaptability

Rick McAlexander

The year 2020 has brought challenges few could have imagined beforehand. With the coronavirus pandemic changing how we live, work and socialize, the same trends affecting everyday life are also playing out for homeowners and designers.

Despite these unprecedented circumstances, the home design and construction industry has remained strong in 2020 – albeit with some different points of emphasis that reflect the current times.

Spending more time at home than ever before means placing a premium on storage space. To that end, designers and builders have noted record demand for...

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For Young Family Designs, Think Versatile & Functional

Rick McAlexander

The dream of a custom-built home isn’t restricted to the seasoned homeowner.

Newlyweds and younger parents are increasingly eyeing the benefits of a custom design, one that is versatile and can evolve as their family grows.

Home design experts have seen young families create practical, serene starter homes that become the setting for priceless memories – but have also seen them make mistakes that lead to design regrets and resources poorly spent.

“Get the most function out of your livable square footage,” said Kirya Duncan, founder and building designer with Design...

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Pro-Tips: What to Expect During the Design & Planning Phase of Building a New Home

Rick McAlexander

The land and financing are lined up, and the decision has been made: It’s time to build that dream home.

But there’s a lot to consider in the time it takes between choosing to build and starting construction, from an initial site analysis to home design, engineering and eventually permitting. The House Plan Company , a home plan marketing company out of Eugene, OR, has teamed up with a couple of their home design experts to share tips for aspiring custom homeowners, to help them navigate through the process and make it a pain-free...

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What Designers and Architects Want You to Know About Buying Plans Online

Rick McAlexander

Anyone who has searched for or purchased house plans online can attest to how easy it is to quickly become overwhelmed by the volume of plans that are available. Whether building a forever home, garage or investment property, homeowners can successfully navigate the search process when they know where to start, what questions to ask, and how they can most effectively (and efficiently) find what they’re looking for.

Georgia based Design Evolutions, Inc. building designer Kirya Duncan says the online pre-design plan...

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What Designers and Architects Want You to Know About House Plan Modifications

Rick McAlexander

Thousands of home and garage plans exist online that can be searched as future homeowners envision their perfect house design. The odds that one design will include every desired feature a homeowner wants are slim however, and that’s where house plan modifications come in. Architects and designers are often able to adjust and refine plans to make the layout work or the style fit better with what a homeowner has in mind. These modifications, when made prior to the start of construction, can result in one of the most cost-effective ways for homeowners to create and customize their dream home...

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Vacation Homes Evolving to Meet Buyers’ Changing Tastes

Rick McAlexander

The joy of a vacation is universal across countries and cultures. For many, a second, vacation home can add to the bliss of getting away by providing welcoming comfort in an exotic locale.

But as tastes change, so too do the features that vacation homeowners look for when choosing a design.

“We’ve had vacation homes forever, but today people want to have more flexibility because they’re more mobile than they used to be,” said Ken Pieper, owner of Ken Pieper Signature Plans in Evergreen, Colorado.

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