help building house!

[Maxlee]

It looks like we are going to be building a house! I haven't researched much at all but we were tossing the idea around and DH wants to do it - construction should start in the next couple of weeks - so my questions are . . .

What do you love about your house?
What are the must haves?
Anything to avoid?
Any great websites for ideas, tips, etc.?

Thanks in advance!!

[octmom]

There was a great thread on this a long, long time ago.

http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=235171&highlight=Dream+house

If you do a search, I'm sure you will find others, but this one has some good ideas.

[Maxlee]

Thanks! i will check out that older thread :)

[lhafer]

Are you starting your blueprints from scratch or going with a basic floorplan and expanding on that?

I would say (if you can) visit new neighborhoods around your area. Visit all the model homes - how are they laid out? What do you like/dislike? It's sometimes a lot easier to modify the wheel rather than completely reinvent it.

Also think about how you would really use your home. Do you entertain a lot? Would you really use formal areas (dining/living)? And never under estimate how many bedrooms you will need!

We have a 2 kids. We have a 4 bedroom house. I sometimes wish I had a 5 bedroom house because I would like a craft room - just for me! I love our 3 car garage. We have 2 cars, and use the 3rd space for tools, bikes, ladders, storage, etc. We have a separate study - this is DH's room. He loves it and is in it every single day. We have a gameroom - but we turned it into a media room because we are movie watchers. We live in a 1 story and I am so happy about that. I don't want to have to deal with stairs. No basement here in Texas, but we have a HUGE attic. It's big enough that another story could be built up there - a gameroom/bathroom.

[GvilleGirl]

Gardenweb also has a entire forum for building a house. They also have forums that are room specific which are helpful.

[Maxlee]

we already have the plans (rebuilding a model house) - can make changes (but don't want to change too much because it will increase cost . . .