The Drawing Board

Few architectural designs have stood the test of time throughout American history than perhaps the farmhouse. For hundreds of years, the farmhouse has served as a beacon for a simpler way of life, built sturdy and practical to withstand the elements and provide for working farm families. Over the years, the farmhouse style has evolved in some respects while still retaining several classic design elements. Today’s “ modern farmhouse ” style combines a little nostalgia...

As the days get longer and temperatures grow warmer in anticipation of summer, our migration to the outdoors begins—the time when we focus our efforts, energy and money on turning our living spaces inside out.

“One of the biggest trends in home design in the past several years has been the addition of well-defined and often elaborate outdoor living spaces that seamlessly blend with the indoors and add significant value to the property,” said Rick McAlexander, CEO of The House Plan Company, a leading residential design plan company...

The eternal question for any homeowner planning to build a new home is, “How much will it cost?” But asking builders how much a new home will cost, and more specifically, how much it will cost per square foot, will likely elicit a wide range of responses from low to high and somewhere in between. Cost per square foot analysis may seem like an elusive math problem, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

“Cost per square foot analysis is difficult for homeowners to get their arms around because it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison and there always seems to be many different answers....