Blueprints

When first designing a new house or addition, it all starts with the blueprints.  I remember rolls and rolls of them in my dad's office when I was younger and he was a custom builder.  Fast forward to almost twenty years later (eek - am I really old enough to say that?!?) and my husband and I were designing our dream home.  Thankfully, he worked with CAD in an engineering firm for nine years and with my little experience at the time, we were able to come up with exactly what we wanted.  While designing the house, we thought of our current needs and what we expected to want for our future family.  Since we live in the country, I was atimate about having a colonial style farmhouse with a wrap-around porch!

My favorite layout has to be how we have the master bathroom entering straight into our closet and then into the laundry room.  The laundry room has another entrance to the hallway so that one day our kids can lug their own laundry into it!  It was also important to me to have a kitchen that opens into a living area since we entertain a lot.  Little conveniences like this were definite perks of building.

We did have a local architect who was more familiar with our county's codes and regulations redraw our plans to submit for approval.  This definitely helped speed things along and he was able to add structural specifications where needed.

If you aren't as savvy in the design department, you can save yourself a few drafts (and cash) from the architect by searching floorplans online for preliminary ideas.  Be warned, it can be addicting!  Check out these sights for great ideas:

Better Homes & Gardens

Architectural Digest

And just for fun - have any fave movie or TV show sets?

Fantasy Floorplans

What would or did you look for when building a home?  Let's hear the most important features!