Custom Home Floor Plans: Our Best Advice and Most Popular Layouts

Once you’ve made the decision to build a custom home—or even when you’re just dreaming of one—you get to start the process of choosing a floor plan.

It’s exciting, but it also might seem a bit overwhelming if you’re combing through house plan catalogs and researching local architects. We try to make this part simple for our clients and we’re here to guide you through every step of the process. Here’s how it works:

Figure out how much space you need.

First thing’s first: you need to think carefully about how much square footage you and your family will need. Not every prospective homeowner wants a 5,000-square foot space to maintain, just as not everyone will feel comfortable with less than 3,000 square feet.

Take the time to jot down a wish list of things you want in your new home, such as how many bedrooms and bathrooms, whether or not you want a mudroom or a formal dining room, which floor you want your laundry room to be on, and so forth. Knowing all of these things will make it easier to choose the right floor plan.

Consider the lot.

So, you’ve decided that you want a sprawling home with a three-car garage, butler’s pantry and first-floor master bedroom. Does that plan coordinate with your proposed building site? If the lot is narrow, that may limit the type of floor plan you can choose.

The land actually dictates quite a bit in terms of the layout of your home. Think about the orientation of your lot and how to situate your home to take advantage of features like a gorgeous view, full morning sun, and wooded areas that can provide privacy.

Another consideration: In some areas, zoning and regulations may limit the height or size of a house. That’s one more reason to hire a builder who’s familiar with not just the community where you’re building but also with the folks who manage building codes and permit applications.

Open concept or defined spaces?

Everyone has their own specific needs, desires and tastes. If you tend to be more traditional and you want lots of wall space to hang art and family photos, you may consider a more traditional floor plan with walls that define each space. If you want something more modern and entertain often, an open concept floor plan would probably suit you better.

How we help our clients:

We have an extensive project section on our website and we ask our clients to browse through the homes on that page and pick the one they like the best. Once we have an existing floor plan to work from, we can make changes from there based on the individual client needs.

One thing we always tell our clients is to pick out a floor plan based on the first floor only, because the first floor is the limiting factor. Focus on that first-floor layout and then go from there.

Don’t worry about the outside of the house. We can make the front of the house look traditional or modern based on the finishes you choose and the pitch of the roof.

Some of our more popular floor plans look like this:

2,800+ square feet

Includes a one-car garage and five bedrooms (four on the second floor and one in the attic)

3,200+ square feet

Includes a two-car garage and five bedrooms (four on the second floor and one in the attic)

3,500+ square feet

Includes a two-car garage and five or six bedrooms (first floor master, four on the second floor and an optional one in the attic)

4,000+ square feet

Includes a two-car garage and five or six bedrooms (this could mean a first floor master, four on the second floor and an optional one in the attic) as well as space for a butler’s pantry

5,000+ square feet

Includes a three-car garage and five or six bedrooms (you can get really creative with the extra features in this space)

We’re here to help.

Are there specific customizations that you have questions about? Just give Jerry a call. He’ll be more than happy to discuss how we can make one of these plans yours.