Are you thinking about building a new home or remodeling your existing home? One of the first questions to ask your self is what is the perfect home floor plan for me, my family, and my lifestyle?
The layout of your home is probably one of the most significant choices you will ever make regarding your home. The layout of the rooms and how they flow will largely depend on your family and lifestyle.
The following is a list of questions to ask yourself when thinking about your home’s floor plan:
Single Story or Multiple Story?
1.) Would you prefer a single story or multiple story floor plan? If you choose multiple story floor plan do you want all the bedrooms on the second floor? Or would you like the master bedroom suite on the main floor and the rest of the bedrooms on the second floor? If you would like a single story floor plan or ranch do you want all of the bedrooms grouped together on one side of the home or separated? For instance the master bedroom suite on one side and the other bedrooms on the other side of the floor plan. Many families enjoy the single story for the quietness of no overhead noise. Multistory homes give you the added benefit of view to the outside from a higher perspective vs. looking directly at ground level or into your neighbors home next store. Multistory homes also give each family member their own space and room to have privacy over the single-story floor plan. 
Open Floor Plan?
2.) Does an open floor plan suite your lifestyle? There are many factors you should consider regarding the openness of the floor plan. Factors such as the layout of the rooms with consideration of family size and ages of children are very important. For instance, most families with young children like to have the private spaces of the house, i.e., bedrooms and bathrooms grouped in one area of the home. While families with teenagers and young adults prefer to have bedrooms separated from each other. 
To Entertain or Not to Entertain
3.) Do you like to entertain, or do you rarely entertain? Many floor plans are centered around family living, welcoming guests, and entertaining. From the minute your guests walk in the front door, a wide foyer welcomes them and opens into a great room, dining room, and kitchen area are best for entertaining. Many people that frequently entertain, like the kitchen open to the dining and living space so they can be part of everything that is going on while preparing the appetizers, drinks, and meal. Other people would prefer the kitchen area to be away from the living areas so people cannot see them cooking or preparing the meal. Another thing to think about is whether you would utilize a formal dining room and a casual dining area or if you just want one dining space that can be used for both formal and informal meals? If you rarely entertain, an open floor plan may not be important to you.
How to Stay Family Organized
4.) What is my family’s lifestyle? – Is your family involved in sports and activities? Do you need a space to keep it all organized? For instance, a mudroom area that would help your family function better because t would have individual lockers, a bench, a drop zone for mail, cell phone charging, and family communication calendar. A place for your family to put their briefcase, computer bag, backpacks sports gear, etc. Do you have a pet and need a space to put their kennel or give them a bath? Do you need a large laundry room that has folding space, hanging space and even a skink to soak really dirty items? Does your family play instruments or have a book collection so you may need a music room, space for a baby grand piano or lots of storage space. Do you need a study area or a home office? Do you want a space to watch movies, work out or even a rec room or man cave area for a bar, ping pong or a pool table? All of these questions are about how you and your family’s lifestyle. How do you live? What do you like to do? How do you want to stay organized? 
How Big of a Garage?
5.) How much garage and storage space do we need? – How big should your garage be? How many cars do you own? Do you have a boat, a motorcycle, a snowmobile, a workshop? Where am I putting my lawn mower, snow blower, sporting equipment, etc.?
Deck, Porch or Sunroom?
6.) Do you like the outdoors? – Do you enjoy being outside? Do you want space in your floor plan that either opens to the outdoors or has additional space that helps you enjoy the outdoors more or for a longer time period? For instance, a large deck, or porch, a sunroom or screen room can help you bring outdoor spaces into your floor plan.
Aging in Place
7.) Do you need special accessibility in your floor plan? – Special needs and accessibility to your home are important to consider when deciding on a floor plan, whether you have a live-in family member or a family member that often visits that needs these accommodations. Also planning for aging in place or extra space to maneuver a loved one that requires a cane, walker, or even wheelchair is important. Taking these things into account early on can eliminate remodeling your homes in the future.
Build for an Ever-Changing Future
8.) What does my future hold? – Are you married or single? Are you planning on having more children? Are you an empty nester? Do you have a parent or grandparent that may live with you in the future? Building or remodeling a new home is probably one of the most significant investments you will make in your lifetime. That is why you need to keep your future in mind when selecting the right floor plan for your family and lifestyle. You are not just building or remodeling a home for today, but for an ever-changing exciting future. Try to select a floor plan that will offer you flexibility. Like rooms that could be changed from a bedroom to a home office, music room, playroom, etc.
Ann Rodrigues is one of the owners of David & Goliath Builders and DG Remodeling. Learn more about Ann Rodrigues and David & Goliath Home Builders and DG Remodeling.
