House Plan Blog

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 experience.

“Put together a solid team to help with your project. Hiring an experienced and qualified designer and contractor to guide through the decision making process will help avoid frustration and disappointment,” said Rick McAlexander, owner of Associated Designs in Eugene, Oregon. “If there are going to be other team members such as interior decorator or landscape designer they should also be brought into the project early.”

McAlexander has helped countless homeowners bring their visions to reality, and seen clients struggle through some of the same trouble spots. Many clients start the process wanting to know exactly how long it will take to get through the planning process and start construction.

Designers like Ken Pieper, owner of Ken Pieper Signature Plans in Evergreen, Colorado, stress patience. It can be typical for six months to pass between a project getting from initial design consultation to the permit application stage. Projects on simple lots may proceed a bit faster, but it is just as likely that the planning phase will take longer. Timelines can also vary by jurisdiction, depending on local regulations.

“Creating a new home, if it is designed from the beginning, will take time, and a very liberal amount of patience,” Pieper said. “Should the client purchase a pre-designed house plan, the construction timing can still become a challenge. I always instruct and advise to expect the unexpected. Patience and flexibility are a must.”

If a couple are planning the project together, being able to express clearly what each person wants to accomplish with the home early in the planning process will prevent potentially costly disagreements or second-guesses further along.

Impatience or distraction can also lead to important design elements being overlooked. That’s especially true when owners are balancing jobs, families and other life distractions with the challenge of designing a new home.

“It is not uncommon to need to gather additional engineering and specifications for your project prior to being able to apply for a building permit,” said McAlexander. “This can add weeks to the project.”

For clients working under a narrow construction window, Pieper advises creating a detailed schedule with key milestones to meet, working backwards from the targeted completion date to the present. Owners investing in a project need to have a clear-headed view of whether their timelines are attainable.

Research at the outset can give owners a clearer sense of who the architects, contractors, planning and building officials involved throughout the process are, as well as the key events to check off along the way. 

“When I meet with my clients, I give them an outline, a schedule of events, individuals and authorities that will be involved during the design and build process of their home,” Pieper said.

While a custom build requires careful planning, the rewards of a truly unique home are worth the challenges. And no owner needs to go through the process alone.

“It’s never too early to bring in any professional who will be working on the project,” McAlexander said. “Their participation may be limited in the initial phase, but their feedback can be valuable and help avoid delays.”

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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 market is great for both design professionals and consumers. Specifically, “consumers benefit because they’re able to browse through thousands of designs and choose a home plan from some of the nation’s top designers, paying only a fraction of the cost of a custom home design.”

Duncan notes that customers looking for plans are best served when they find a site with a diverse portfolio of pre-designed home plans. “The larger the pool of contributing professional designers, the better the chances of finding the ideal home design,” he continued.

Because of the vast number of choices in the online house plan marketplace, Ken Pieper, residential designer at Ken Pieper Signature Designs asserts that “searching through many thousands of plans online can be exhausting without a specific list. Be realistic and educate yourself on cost before starting this journey in order to eliminate many avenues for disappointment.”

The House Plan Company, a house plan marketing firm based in Eugene, Oregon compiled the most important considerations recommended by design professionals for homeowners to better navigate the online plan shopping experience. Here are five tips architects and designers recommend in order to save time and money when searching for the perfect house plans online:

1. Create a concise “wish list.” This should include the family’s priorities for the home, including the architectural style of desired home, the square footage, how many floor levels, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and other design elements that are important to those who will call it home.

2. Establish a budget. Be mindful of the cost before embarking on a new project and be sure the selected plan fits your budget. Keep in mind that just because two home designs have the same square footage, that doesn’t mean they will cost the same to build; the less complicated the design, the less costly the construction.

In addition to construction costs, the budget needs to encompass the lot that will be built on, the purchase of the house plan itself, landscaping and other elements that could arise as the project gets underway. This includes the development of site plans, additional engineering drawings or other plans that may be required by the city or county where the home is being built.

3. Plan for the future. It’s rare to find a perfect home design, but when homeowners are looking, it’s important to consider not only the family’s immediate needs, but potential expansion and lifestyle changes that may be necessary down the line.

4. Match the plan to your criteria. The best sites have search engines that offer the ability to search for plans using pre-defined criteria to quickly find the plans that align with your specific desires. Find a plan that is as close as possible to what fits your needs, or only needs minor modifications. This will save time and can also save hundreds or thousands of dollars.

5. Ask questions. Make sure you understand the complete layout of the selected plan. And, in the event you want to make changes, before purchasing plans online, find out if the design professionals who created them offer plan modification services. It’s also important to find a reputable builder who can bring the plans to life.

“The pre-design plan market offers homeowners tremendous value,” said Rick McAlexander, CEO of The House Plan Company. “This market has made it possible for many people to build homes that are tailored to their needs without spending the time and money that might be required for a truly custom build.”

The advantages of buying house plans online are numerous. In addition to considerable cost and time savings as it relates to creating custom home plans, buyers have significantly more choice and the ability to search plans at their leisure. This affords the opportunity to locate plans by hundreds of architects and designers that appeal to the buyer’s design sensibilities. Online house plans can also serve as a great jumping off point for those who are interested in a custom design. With modifications, plans that are “close” can often be adjusted to achieve the right design elements the buyer is searching for.

“The pre-design plan market is here to stay. This market has made it possible for millions of people to realize their dream of building a home that is custom to their wants, needs and lifestyle,” said Duncan.

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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.

Pieper’s Summerfield #53614 and Laramie #56656 are featured on The House Plan Company with vacation home owners in mind. The two-story Summerfield brings a southern charm to any location, with a wraparound covered porch and wood posts giving the farmhouse design an idyllic flair. But the country lodge-style Laramie plan speaks to many of the trends in vacation homes today. At a bit over 1,300 square feet and with a log sided cabin façade, the plan incorporates all the elements of a classically rustic retreat in a modern, modest-sized design.

“Don’t overbuild,” Pieper said, adding that more and more families in the market for vacation homes are eyeing smaller properties with flexible spaces instead of larger cabins with bedrooms that may be seldomly used.

The same considerations have been taken in many of the vacation home plans designed by Drummond House Plans. The Quebec-based designer has found success by packing modern amenities into moderately sized spaces.

“In the past few years at Drummond House Plans the best sellers are divided between the modern, sleek styles and rustic chic country,” said Jennifer Larocque, designer with Drummond House Plans.

Such is the case in its Lakewood #11215 and Olympe #86940 vacation home plans, featured on The House Plan Company. A contemporary craftsman design, Lakewood boasts a front façade of stone and natural stained wood, highlighted by posts that support a multi-level gabled roof. Olympe offers vertical siding beneath a metal roof, with an open floor plan inside centered around a main area fireplace rising up to meet a vaulted ceiling with exposed beams.

Each fit two bedrooms, distinct living and dining areas into just over 1,200 square feet. Their sizes reflect what Larocque calls the changing tastes of vacation home buyers in recent years.

“Our modern chalets seem to attract a younger clientele to the search for original, clean and minimalist lines,” Larocque said. “The bedrooms are secondary, all attention is paid to common family spaces such as the kitchen, living room and dining room.”

They’re the same trends that Pieper has noticed among younger home buyers, many of whom are bucking the long-held ideal of large, cabin-style vacation homes for extended families to gather. Instead they are focusing on the needs of their immediate family, and using flexible spaces like living rooms and even porches to accommodate any additional guests.

“What I’ve found is that for generations now, like the millennials, those old traditions are falling away,” Pieper said. “The designs, whether it’s a contemporary beach house or a waterfront house, it’s all regionally driven, and driven by individual customers’ tastes. Cost is a big thing, but it also depends on what you’re trying to achieve with the vacation home, what it means to you.”

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A sloping lot can seem like a hurdle to building the ultimate dream home. But the right home plan can unleash the best of what nature throws one’s way. Owners embracing sloped lots have reaped the unique rewards of these distinguished sites: stunning views, light-filled living spaces and adaptable lower levels that maximize a home’s square footage. With a little creativity, builders can turn even a formidable slope into a bright hillside oasis to call home.

To be able to have a finished, light downstairs with all the advantages of a usable space, it helps keep a smaller footprint upstairs and keep a better cost per square foot,” said Allison McGraw, client services manager for Ahmann Design, Inc. in Hiawatha, Iowa.

Ahmann’s sloped lot contemporary ranch house design #23861, is featured on The House Plan Company, a residential plan marketing company based in Oregon. The design highlights all the luxuries of a home built for its surroundings. A hip roofline creates high, two-story ceilings, a vertical feeling enhanced by the eye-catching circular staircase winding down from the entry to a flexible lower level, with bedrooms, common gathering places and a walkout to the backyard. Rear-facing windows on both levels fill each room with natural light.

Rick McAlexander, owner of Associated Designs in Eugene, Oregon, says each sloping lot poses its own unique challenges. Finding a design to fit a specific sloping lot can be a bigger decision than even choosing a lot. But the rewards are worth it.

“Every lot is different when you’ve got a sloping lot, whether it’s a 15-degree angle, a 25-degree angle or even more dramatic,” McAlexander said. “The effect is different if the slope is away from street or towards the street. And then each sloping lot usually has some opportunities to take advantage of as well.”

Such is the case in McAlexander’s Ridgeview #80878 house plan. The three-story craftsman home situated on a hillside boasts more than 2,500 square feet of living space. An exterior of siding, shingle and stone, with a second-story deck and third-story private balcony off the owners’ suite, evokes a palatial feeling. Living spaces are spread throughout the interior, while an open kitchen and gathering room allows sunlight to stream in through windows on all sides.

“The Ridgeview met the specific challenges of that specific lot,” McAlexander said. ”It had a narrow building envelope, and a thoroughly aggressive grade from the street, so we were trying to create the opportunity to be able to take advantage of the amount of living space they wanted to create in a narrow building envelope. That pushed us vertical, and it worked out well because we had some nice views we were able to capitalize on.”

Once a sloped lot home is complete, owners can find as much comfort in the lowest level as in more traditional gathering spaces above, said Ken Pieper, owner of Ken Pieper Signature Plans in Evergreen, Colorado.

Pieper’s Spring Branch #33877 is a three-story, 4,500-square-foot craftsman with prairie school architecture boasts a warm, inviting front facade. But the rear-sloping lot places some of the design’s most alluring features on the other side of the home: three levels of nearly floor-to-ceiling windows, with a second-level rear patio providing stunning views.

“A rear-sloping lot like that affords you the opportunity to create a lower level – I don’t refer to them as basements, because they have 10-foot ceilings, lots of glass windows. Consequently, they’re just an extension of the main level up above as far as their feeling,” Pieper said.

And with an unfinished lower level design, owners are able to customize their home plan to their needs.

“When you do this, you create an opportunity for the rear of the house to be as attractive as the rest, or in many cases more than any other part of the house,” Pieper added.

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