Choosing the right floor plan is arguably the single most important decision you make when building a new home. There are so many varieties of homes styles and floor plans to choose from, so it can get pretty overwhelming if you don't know where to start.
In this article, we'll offer 4 questions you should ask yourself before deciding on a floor plan for your new home. Ready? Let's get started!
1. What Is Your Lifestyle?
Are you married? Do you have children? If so, what age are they? Consider your lifestyle first when looking at floor plans. Parents of smaller children often like to have all the bedrooms on the same side of the house, so they can be close by to fetch a glass of warm milk or slay the monsters under the bed.
Parents of teens generally prefer to have the master bedroom separated from the kids' rooms, so they have a retreat from the loud music or other distractions, as well as to give their kids a little added privacy.
This will also often determine how many stories you want your home to be. If you have kids or young adults running around the house, you may want bedrooms upstairs and a family room or den downstairs. Conversely, if you are getting older you may want to keep everything on the same level so you don't have to navigate stairs. Think about your life and how you will use the house, and allow those needs to determine the layout.
2. Do You Entertain Often?
If you're a fan of entertaining friends or hosting family gatherings, an open floor plan is a great general design to start from; the whole house seems to open up as you flow from foyer to kitchen to living room and even out to the back deck. You can keep conversation going as you work in the kitchen or tend to the fire in the fireplace.
However, if you'd prefer to keep most of your house "off limits" to the rest of the world, you may prefer a more formal sitting room close to the front entrance. This allows for a place to entertain, but without having to open your entire living space to others.
3. Do You Have Accessibility Concerns?
If you or one of your loved ones has difficulty walking or navigating stairs or is in a wheelchair, this should be a top consideration when choosing or designing a floor plan. Not only will it help to determine where certain rooms should be situated, but also may include extra wide door frames and ramps to make getting around as easy as possible.
Most modern floor plans can be modified to accommodate wheelchairs or other accessibility concerns, but it's best to talk to an expert to make sure you don't forget something.
4. How Much Time Do You Spend Outside?
There's a reason our state is called "Wild and Wonderful" - West Virginia's great outdoors is a magical place to spend time, and many of us want to incorporate a touch of nature into our daily lives. If this sounds like you, then you may want to pay special attention to the outdoor living spaces in your home. This could mean including a back porch, deck, outdoor kitchen, fireplace, hot tub, or just a privacy fence around your yard to let your pets roam freely.
Many plans come with recommended porch designs, but these - like most other options - can be altered, expanded, or removed to better fit your needs.
Putting It All Together
Modular homes are surprisingly customizable - in fact, you can create almost any floor plan using modular construction as you can using traditional stick-built construction! If you'd like to learn more about the customization of modular floor plans, click HERE.
If you're ready to talk about your options, stop by Paradise Homes to chat with one of our experts. We have a variety of model homes at our sales center that you can tour, all with different options, floorplans, square footage, and styles. You can walk through our models and discuss what features are important to you, where you'd like to build, and what your home will cost. We'll customize a floorpan just for you, and walk you through every step of the home buying process.
We're open 6 days a week for your convenience, so stop in today and let's talk! To learn more about the process of buying and building a modular home, download our FREE guide here!
