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All Just about Your BedroomPart IV: What are the most popular floorplan features?
by:
Mark Mathis
One of the most popular questions that folk ask once
searching for that “perfect” home plan is “What are (currently) the most requested floorplan / home features that folk are looking for”?
This particular question is one that is quite difficult to answer, in absolute terms, since each person/family can be in a altogether some stage of life (senior vs. younger, families vs. individuals, etc), can have some livability needs, and can have unbelievably
diverse tastes in home style, building materials, etc.
As such, I’ll try to provide you with some general trends, as they are, for today’s current crop of stock home plan.
#1: Livability – The 1st key feature is that of Livability. Today’s home buyer/builder wants a homeplan that fits the way that they conduct their daily lives. For many an younger families, that can mean a re-purposing of a formal ingestion room into a children’s play area or much-needed home office.
Another livability sweetening strength
be that of incorporating an open floorplan layout that better facilitates the interaction and close relative proximity of the family unit. Large amounts of storage space and large walk-in closets are likewise a feature that most home buyers are looking for in their next house.
#2: Floorplan Flexibility – Many an of the more progressive stock plan design firms have completed the inherent need of floor plan flexibility, and have met those of necessity
by including a number of multi-use type spaces in their floorplans, including flex-spaces and bonus rooms.
Generally speaking, a “flex-space” is exactly as its name implies. A flexible-space which can be used for a intention most required by the individual / family living in the home at the current time. The room’s function strength
change over time, due to the family’s current needs, but typical uses include an children’s playroom, home study, extra storage, and/or an extra bathroom.
Conversely, a “bonus room” is ordinarily created (by designer’s intent) due to an inherent feature of the particular design style. For example, a home with a traditional style strength
utilize a comparatively
high-pitched gable over the garage area of the home. The “unused” space created by the gable and the relative location of the “bonus space” in the overall floorplan, can create a usable space that, if fitly available via stairs in the floorplan layout, can create a extremely useful liveable
space, which would-be unremarkably have been enclosed
as part of the attic.
This type of space represents a extremely nice value in a cost per square foot regard, as its comparatively
bargain-priced to in addition build since the core structure of the space has already been built (the floor via the roof of the garage, and the ceiling via the domed interior roof of the house).
#3: Split-Floorplan Layout – There are two basic types of floorplan layouts, which are primarily differentiated through their inherent treatment of the master bedrooms suite vs. else bedrooms vs. public space (i.e. great room, den, kitchen, etc.).
The 1st type of floorplan layout is a traditional layout whereby the master bedroom/suite is ordinarily settled on the same side of the home as the else bedrooms. The logical grouping of the home’s chamber spaces, inside
a relatively-contiguous location in the floorplan, lends itself to some some design styles of homes, and may be an alternative for particular groups of home-owners, including families with infants / small children and/or retired couples with little need for multiple bedrooms, who utilize the extra space as a small home office which is handily
located.
Both the primary advantage and disadvantage of this type of layout relate to the location of the master chamber vs. else bedrooms. For example, if you prefer more privacy in the master suite OR you have teenage/college children in the home OR “name your specific condition here…”, the traditional floorplan layout would-be probably not be the better select for you.
Alternatively, the split-floorplan layout addresses the shortcomings of the traditional layout by physically separating the master suite from the else bedrooms, and many an times, from the more highly-trafficked public areas such as the kitchen, great room, and ingestion area. It is this feature that has ready-made the split-floorplan layout progressively popular with today’s home buyers.
The primary advantages of this type of layout is that of its relative privacy and sound-deadening benefits that such a physical room arrangement can provide. The side
to this floorplan layout can be that it is sometimes a little more difficult to implement in the home design, especially on narrow lots, since certain floorplan spaces and features only lend themselves to positioning in a comparatively
small number of locations in the home.
For example, a entrance hall is unremarkably settled off the front of the house…the great room is ordinarily (though not always) positioned in the rear center of the home to provide views of the property….the additional bedrooms are ordinarily settled in close-proximity to one another since they unremarkably share bathrooms, etc, etc..
The combination of all these type items increase the complexness of developing a solid split-floorplan home plan design that meet all of the livability features of today’s home buyer. Regardless of these type items, the split-floorplan layout continues to enjoy olympian quality
with today’s group of stock homeplan purchasers.
#4: Ease-of-Maintenance – The relative time constraints of today’s family unit is at an all-time high. Many an families now include two full-time working parents, additional outside activity commitments, professional commitments, family commitments, and 2.5 children of variable ages. Time is a extremely precious goods
for which home maintenance is hierarchic right below doing your taxes and going to the medical man for a root canal.
Today’s homeowners want a home that is, not only, esthetically
pleasing and functional, but likewise includes modern building materials and design features that utilize the most current research developments and minimize the figure of maintenance (i.e. cleaning, painting, replacing, etc) required over time.
One example of these type low-maintenance building materials is hardy board, which is a type of exterior covering similar, in look, to wood siding but ready-made from an extremely durable concrete base. Hardy board/plank is the trade name for one brand of concrete fiber siding, however there are many
else similar brands.
The product makes not rot or deteriorate, and with proper installation and maintenance, appears to last for really long periods of time without deterioration. Additionally, the hardy board siding makes need to be painted or re-finished, as any dirt, etc. can just be washed away with least effort.
These type products can help to improve the quality of life of the home owners by minimizing the time and related cost associated with maintaining a home.
The floorplan trends and “most-requested features” listed in this article convey the general interests of today’s current stock home plan purchasers. It should be noted that certain parts of the country wish include construction practices / demographic profiles / disparate geographical characteristics which is in stark contrast to those same characteristics evident in a some part of the United States.
In these instances, you can be assured that a designer has already developed a stock home plan design to fit your needs. A design that provides an superior
value, all the features, and a lower cost than that of a fully-custom set of houseplans.
Find your perfect home plan today!!
Just about the author:
Mark Mathis is a building designer and publisher of some stock home plan websites and informational resources including http://www.HousePlanCentral.com,
http://www.HousePlanGallery.com, and http://www.moneytalks-bswalks.com. Be sure to visit each site and subscribe to our eNewsletters to obtain special offers, promotions, and subscriber-only features.
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