If you've already decided to design as much of your home as you can without the help of an architect, this planning scenario takes you through the beginning steps required to gather the information, resources and examples necessary to enable you to design your own home. You will begin to see some of the required knowledge that goes into the planning of the home of your dreams. Whether it's building a new home or remodeling an existing one, both processes are exactly the same. Remodeling folks have additional burdens of starting with a box that limits them, but hopefully this will help!
Steps
Get inspired. Planning your new home is the most critical moment of the process, and the most fun. Capitalize on the magical inspiration every project needs to make a house, a home - yours! Capture the lightning-in-a-bottle that motivates you in the first place to design your own home. Write it all down, keep a scrap book, bookmark pictures in books, take pictures, whatever your preferred method.- Write down every price quote, budget amount, phone number
- Take hundreds of pictures. Digital cameras make it cheap and easy. Shoot every angle of a building you like. You'll find more detail in the photos than you saw in person.
- Keep a scrapbook of magazine articles, newspaper articles, business cards, etc. Begin compiling a list of every detail you like from your various resources. The more information that you can provide to your architect or builder about paint colors, door hardware, plumbing fixtures, counter-tops, built-ins, stair details, appliances, etc. before you begin construction, the more likely you will hit your housing budget.
- Check out other examples of houses you like (friends, family, etc.) and learn about aspects of each.
- Get organized. You need documents that contain information you've gathered which serves to direct your planning efforts. Accurate documents focus attention on facts. Basic information eliminates "Pie-in-the-Sky" dream scenarios which waste time, effort and people's patience. Start with a Requirements List. Make a Wish List separately so that you can add it to your design later, as you find you can afford. Spend approximately 30 days to 6 months on this part.
Find a scheme. You'll want to consider several different designs to find the scheme that best fits your needs. Schemes are freehand sketches drawn to capture the essence of a plan under consideration. They can be as simple as paper napkin sketches or professionally illustrated drawings. All are valid tools and each serves the purpose to convey a concept. This should take you about 3-6 months.
Find a scheme.
4- Develop the design. This is the phase of the process where dimensions are added to the drawings. Everything must be made to fit at this phase. You will develop your scheme into a completely dimensioned drawing. With a conceptual design roughed out, scheme chosen, a theme decided upon and problems on the site ironed out, you are fitting all the pieces of the puzzle together in this step. You know you are done here when you have located on paper the location of every door and window in the house. This should take you approximately 2 months.
- Pay a pro to draw a "Site Plan" of your property, including elevations. This will be helpful in balancing slopes, adding fill or making cuts to accommodate your dream home.
Pay a pro to draw a "Site Plan" of your property, including elevations. - Let the steady hand of an experienced designer take over the process of shaping up the prints. If you've gotten this far on your own drawing skills, you need to delegate now. You have more important duties involved in managing your dream home.
Let the steady hand of an experienced designer take over the process of shaping up the prints.
Draft plans. The takeaway from this step is a fully detailed set of plans that the city and construction workers will use to build your home.
