"Home Plan Design Tips"

We encourage our clients to sketch out their ideal floor plans in any manner they see fit. We will take those ideas and sketch them into floor plans prior to putting them into CAD.

Or, if it is more comfortable, you may set up a meeting with us and we will work together on the sketches, and develop the plans as we go along through the initial design process.
 

The following is a brief overview on getting started.
Be sure to see
"Jumpstart home design with 6-step program"
and
"Understanding home styles"
 

MATERIALS

Graph paper should be used to help you keep your spaces accurate. We suggest using ¼ squares, or quarter scale graph paper with at least an 11” X 17” pad size. A ruler, mechanical pencil, good eraser and some quite time. These tools can be found at most local department, art or craft type of stores.

Before you begin there are some things to consider. For example, when using graph paper the best way to get accurate room sizes is to use the ratio of (1 square = 1 or 2 square feet depending on overall size).  This is a good starting point for our plan design process but room sizes may very according to interior wall thickness and exterior materials used. As well as any over all building size parameters that may need to be considered.

Don't worry too much about the drawing details or sketch qualities as this is our job, all we need is a starting point for your layout, room locations and as mentioned, approximate room sizes and notes on finish materials as you would like to see them used in your project.
 

"Have a meeting planned with us? "
First and foremost we would like to thank you for choosing Holley & Associates design. We love what we do and want our clients to feel that our relationship is open and trustworthy, as the clients comfort and satisfaction is one of our top priorities.

To ensure a productive first meeting, we suggest you bring the following materials to eliminate major questions we will have concerning your project.

Plot plan- if you have already purchased your lot, or know which lot your building your home on, this information may be crucial to the design process. This information is generally provided by the developer/seller of the property or can be found on file at your local planning commission.

Pictures and Ideas- any exterior or interior pictures or sketches of "Home Styles", floor plan sketches, outline drawings and ideas with notes for necessities and desires that you bring will help to provide us insight on how you would like your home to look and feel when it is complete. Be prepared to discuss your likes and dislikes, and ideas of choices of materials. We will discuss the placement and use of these materials.

Cost- how much are you going to spend on your new home? Having a price range in mind helps budget the cost into the design of your new home.

Builder Selection- Holley & Associates design is proud to have worked with many quality builders in Greater Indianapolis, Indiana Metro area and would be happy to help you select a builder. If you have already selected a builder for your new home, please bring their contact information. The design process requires good communication between the client, the builder and the designer.

We take great pride in our relationships, both new and existing and are always willing to work with quality contractors.
 

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
 

03/04/2005 - by Arrol Gellner

Have you seen those motivational speakers on public TV – the ones who can fix all life's troubles with few simple guidelines? The things they say make absolute sense. You know they do, because the camera is always cutting away to the audience, who either smile knowingly, nod in rapt agreement or have tears glistening in their eyes. As for me, alas, I soon switch back to reruns of "The Simpson's," and life goes on as before.

Until now, that is. I'm now a fully empowered architecture columnist. If those TV lecturers can turn lives around with a few simple rules, by thunder, so can I. Herewith, my six-step program for anyone designing a home or addition:

1. Start out sloppy. Neophyte designers always want to jump in and start drafting long before their plans are fully worked out. Architects don't just sit down, think for a minute, and then start drawing up detailed plans.

The real design work gets done in rough sketches – sometimes hundreds of them. Drafting is the final stage, and in many ways, the least important.

Computer-aided drafting (CAD) programs are a particular danger for amateurs, since they make half-baked ideas look polished long before they're ready. If you don't do enough hard work at the outset, CAD won't help you – it'll just give you a flawless-looking set of lousy plans.

2. Embrace restrictions. You face almost infinite choices during the planning process, and you literally couldn't make them unless you had some kind of guidelines to hem you in. Therefore, don't think of physical or monetary restrictions as an encumbrance. Consider them your greatest aid in decision making.

3. Design from the inside out. Don't regard a floor plan as a big sheet cake to be carved up into the right-sized pieces. Start planning with the principal rooms, and let things accrete outward. Don't worry about walls lining up at this point – you can always tidy things up a bit later.

4. Establish a hierarchy. Rank the importance of each room beforehand, so you can decide which rooms deserve the best view, the most expensive finishes, and so on. Typically, major rooms such as the living room, family room, and master bedroom top the list, but it's your call. If cooking is your big passion, for example, maybe your kitchen should get dibs on having access to the garden, a fancier ceiling, or some other special feature.

5. Let old Sol help you out. Adhering to good solar orientation will once again make many of your planning decisions for you. Face living areas toward the sunny southern exposure, and have utilitarian areas (garage, laundry, bathrooms, etc.) face north. Make sure rooms have sunlight at the time of day that they're used most: the breakfast room facing east for morning light, the dining room facing west for afternoon sun, and so on. Orient bedrooms according to your preference for morning or afternoon sun. Not every site can accommodate these ideals – but the closer you get, the better.

6. Lastly, if you get stuck on a design problem, don't just fizzle out and leave well enough alone. Instead, quit for a few days, and then come back to your plan with a fresh eye. Repeat this cycle until every problem – and I mean every problem – is solved. In architecture, as in life, creative success demands an attention to detail.

Hey, wait a minute – are you watching "The Simpson's"?

Copyright 2005 Arrol Gellner