Home Blog Page 12

It’s time to watch football

0

Well, the football season is finally upon us.  Everyone is getting ready for the big games.  The teams look healthy and ready to get on the gridiron.  I could spend all day trying to be an analyst of how the season will turn out but I’m writing this blog about houses.  More specific, I’m writing about houses that would be great to watch the football games.

The house below is the first floor plan that I would include on my Super Bowl party place list.  I like this plan because of the open spacing in the family room and kitchen area.  You could fit a big HD TV the fireplace and it would be seen from all angles.  The deck outside the nook is perfect for halftime.  You could head out there and catch some fresh air, that is if it is warm enough to be outside.  If you wanted to get extra stylish you could set up a TV in the upstairs bonus room and then you could have the game going on one side of the room and a nice view from the balcony on the other.  This home actually has two party locations.

115-1245 Floor Plan - First Floor

115-1245 Floor Plan - Second

115-1245 Floor Plan – Second

I know you wouldn’t build a house just so you could watch football for part of the year so I was looking for a home that could be of use the other seasons too.  The house design below may just be your answer.  This plan has an open area much like the CD 2805 plan but it also has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.  It is a home that could suit almost any family.

The main party features of this home are another big great room and a kitchen that is mostly exposed to the TV viewing area.  The exterior of this plan is perfect for a pre-game barbecue.  The big grilling porch is a place to converse and cook during any downtime.  There is lots of space around the house that could be occupied by people that want to get together but could care less about football.  You know there is always at least one person that complains the whole time during the game.  This home has a secluded living room on the front that divides them from the rest of the group so everyone can stay happy.

153-1210 Grilling Porch
The grilling porch is right next to the action

There are probably lots more plans that would make for great football viewing.  If you take some time right now you could have the perfect home for viewing.  A good choice now could have you being the perfect host and then you don’t have to go to the hassle of heading over to another house every game.

Budgeting for your Dream Home

0
Being realistic about your dream home

Being realistic about your dream home

Building a home can be on of the most exhilarating experiences in one’s life. Unfortunately, it can be one of the most frustrating experiences too. The main reason is the gap between the dream and reality of home building. Here are some simple tips to help you avoid that frustration.

Develop a realistic Budget. This must be your available savings and the qualifying financing you can afford for the entire project.

Get a idea from your local builders about the costs of land, site development and foundation work. Site development should not be overlooked when developing a budget. Most cost estimation services on line do not include that significant cost.

Find out from local builder the approximate cost per square foot to build a house based upon the number of stories. Also, have them take into consideration the level of quality of the siding, roofing and fixtures.

Pick a house based upon the square footage you can afford. This will avoid finding a house and trying to shrink it to meet your budget. Dramatically, shrinking a house can change the appearance and appeal of a home.

If modifications are needed, budget at least $1,500 for the purchase of working drawings and modification fees.

For the house selected, add up all the estimated costs and add about 15% to 20% to account for unexpected issues. Then compare the total estimated costs to your Budget.

If you’re on Budget, then feel comfortable to order your dream home’s plans.

If you’re over Budget, work with you local builder to see if you can make changes to get back under budget or find a similar design within your budget.

In closing, by following these tips, you will have a great experience building you dream home.

Country Beauty

0
Plan 153-1877
Southern style house design with wraparound porch (Plan 153-1877).

 As usual, I was looking through house plans and I found one that jumped out at me.  This time it was this Southern / country style house plan.  It’s a bigger country style house plan with a huge wraparound porch on the outside.  I was mostly drawn to the plan by the big porch.  I have always dreamed of having a big porch and this is the biggest one I’ve seen yet.  You could do so many things with a porch like this one.

When I was younger, all the neighborhood kids used to meet up at the house on the corner to play.  We would spend hours creating stories and playing them out.  I have lots of memories at that house.  One of the things that we spent a lot of time on was building ramps to jump on our bikes and skateboards.  That was my favorite pastime as a child.  The best was the year that the family decided to add on to the rear of the house and had a big pile of dirt sitting in their yard all summer.  We packed that down and had a couple dirt jumps that were ridden at all hours of the day, everyday.

We were always looking for the next big thrill and one day we noticed that we had never built any ramps around their porch.  We built a ramp that lead up on their porch and then we had a jump that dropped off the porch on the other side.  We thought this was a great thrill until it started to rain and the ramps that were exposed became too slippery to use anymore.  We decided to modify our course a little.  Instead of jumping off the porch, we laid two pieces of plywood next to each other in the corner and we had a jump that took us around the corner and we could continue riding under the protection of the porch.

The revolution of a covered skate park was a big hit.  We were so proud of ourselves.  Now we could ride on our ramps whenever we wanted, rain or shine.  We continued making porch skateparks for years after that.  My friends and I have all grown up now but I still drive by every once in a while and see the younger neighborhood kids playing out on that storied porch.  The legacy of the first all porch skate park will live on for years, I believe.

I bring this up because NDG-715 could be just like that.  With all the space that this porch has, the kids would have an limitless amount of creative space.  Maybe they won’t be making jumps on your porch but there are lots more adventures that can be explored under the cover of a porch.  If you don’t have any kids and just want a place to relax this porch still works for you.  A big swing could be placed either on the front or rear of the house and you could pass the summer evenings watching the sunset and nature do its thing around you.

The house house has lots of open living space on the inside.  There is a two car garage on the side of the home, as well.  I think this could be a realistic dream home for me.  My family would be able to live comfortably and it isn’t just filled with things that look cool but has no use.  I thought this would be a nice plan for you to look at, both to remember the good old days of childhood spent with your friends and to see the great memories that could be yours in this house. Enjoy.

Plan 153-1877
Southern style house design with wraparound porch (Plan 153-1877).

 

 

Home Savings

0

I was surfing around the net today and found a cool website that has a few blogs going about energy saving in the home.  You can save money and the environment if you build a green home but it loses all the its benefits if you stop there.  You need to keep up on your home.  The Home Renovation Guide website has both written articles and video blogs of house maintenance and upgrading.  I found a lot of helpful stuff that I hadn’t considered before.  There was one article about toilet sweating and its remedies.  I could spend hours reading the information on the site.  You can find an answer for just about any question you have about your home.

Victorian Resurgence

0

It’s been a long time since I wrote last.  Last week was a wild week.  There was a lot of running around and I never could find time to write any blog posts.  But, I’m back this week, rested and ready to continue this search for the latest and greatest house plan news.  Let’s sit down and get to it.

Eldredge Manor is a beautiful Victorian style reception center

I was recently looking around to find a good place where we could have a luncheon for a wedding coming up.  We considered a lot of different places but we had our heart set on a Victorian manor from the later 1800’s.  I know we were there to plan out our wedding luncheon but you can’t send someone like me there without me checking out the architecture side of the place.  The exterior was very pretty but I loved the inside even more.  The building used to be a large Manor owned by a prominent family.  The family room was expanded to make room for a ball room and there was an additional made on the side to house the luncheon area.  The middle of the home was left in its original form and most of the woodwork and other decorations have gone unchanged.  I tend to learn towards the looks of modern design but this house caught my attention.  There was something about the layout and decor of the home that I liked.

Victorian house plans may not be as bad as I previously thought.  I always pictured them as a haunted house up on the hill.  I was left surprised when I saw that the owner of the manor had mixed modern technology with olden styling.  I started thinking to myself, “maybe I’ve been pinning Victorian houses all wrong this whole time.”  I gained a new respect for the Victorian style.  I am sure it will be the same for you if you put any biased ideas aside and really give them a chance.  As always, I’ll let you do your own research and check out some Victorian house plan options that you have.  You might be surprised how great these house plans really are.

  • Categories