Are you thinking you might want to design your own house? Anybody can sit down and draw a rough floor plan. But this book tells you to think in terms of how you use space rather than rooms. That simple piece of advice makes you think differently about what you want in a house and what you need. If you are thinking of building, GET THIS BOOK.
Even if you're going to a contractor or architect, get the book and sit down with your whole family to make plans. You'll find out about personal privacy issues, how your rooms and spaces should flow, how to make your house more efficient not from an energy standpoint, but from a "how I use my house" point of view.
This book retails for $26.95 but you can get it cheaper right here - How to Design and Build Your Own House
How to Design and Build Your Own House
House Design Starting Tips
If you want to design your own house, it can be a bit overwhelming if you start completely from scratch. If you are reading this, it means you have access to the Internet and with it, thousands of free house plans.
Rather than starting from nothing, you can quickly search on the Internet and pull up as many different house plans as you can imagine. Some sites even have 3d models and videos of different floor plans that you can easily and conveniently view from your home. This is a great way to get started and gather ideas about what types of features you want in a house.
Many times, by looking at different floor plans and house plans, you will be able to decide that you like this feature from this design plan and that feature from that design plan. You can also find thousands of great pictures of different houses from the outside as well on the Internet. Looking at these pictures will give you ideas of what type of house design you want and give your family a starting point for discussion. If you are going to design you own house, you might as well take advange of every tool available and the Internet can be a very valuable tool!