It’s tempting to put square footage and number of rooms at the top of your wishlist when you’re searching for floor plans. That would certainly make it easier to search floor plan websites like this one, where the possibilities feel endless. However, home designers agree that – as counterintuitive as it seems – those numbers can misrepresent what you actually get. The most important factor for choosing a floor plan when building a house is livability – the ease of living in your home. That means the number one question to ask yourself is How do I use my home?

If you have school-age children in the State College or Bellefonte areas, most likely you have routines for morning, after school and bedtime. Before you choose a floor plan, think about where you spend the most time during these periods of the day. Brewing coffee, making lunches, and filling backpacks rules your morning. A custom floor plan could allow your family to carve out designated areas to achieve these tasks away from an already crowded kitchen and family area.

Eliminate the wrong plans immediately by knowing what you don’t want. Make an itemized list of what you don’t want alongside what you do. Be sure to note which items are so-called deal breakers when building your custom home in Centre County or Clinton County – the features you can’t live without – and stay focused on determining the answer to the question, how much space do I really need? Writing everything down so you have a visual reference is key to seeing the big picture.

Get out the crystal ball and picture your family’s life in 5 to 10 years down the road. If you have school age children who will be moving on to independent adventures beyond State College and the surrounding communities in that timeframe, house plans with a large footprint might not make the most sense. Think about how much home you want to take care of as well when you envision life in the future. A modest floor plan in your State College home might just be the best in the long run.

Dive into the details of modern house design with a virtual walk through of any home floor plan you’re considering. Whether you go the old-fashioned route of using the plan like a map for your “walk through” or you have access to a 3-D floor plan that will visualize for you, be sure to assess the flow before committing to a plan so you aren’t waylaid by things like less-than-ideal room placements or too few or many hallways.

For most people who are building a home, functional spaces aren’t the most exciting rooms in your floor plan, but they’re arguably the most important part of the infrastructure that allows the rest of your home to shine. Without those functional spaces like storage areas, laundry nooks, and mudrooms, the detritus of daily life would take over the main spaces. Choose a floor plan with plenty of substantial closets and built-in storage situated in optimal places and you’ll be set for comfort as well as growth in your Centre County dream home.

It’s impossible to know what challenges might come your way when you choose a lot for sale. Building costs can fluctuate with the changing economy; family income can change over the duration of a home building project. Decide up front what you’re willing to do with and without and you'll have fewer unpleasant surprises choosing your home lot.

Whether the question is about how much house or how much help, it’s important to lay the groundwork for your budget and recommit yourself regularly to its limits. A Budget Calculator can help to answer questions like, Is hiring an architect an option to save you money, or an extra you can do without when choosing your floor plan? If made to choose, do you prefer size or amenities? 

Diligently tracking your spending will ensure that you stay on target. For the inevitable contingencies, consider setting aside at least 10 percent of your overall budget to cover unforeseen costs and avoid falling into a financial hole over the unexpected.

The great architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed and built every home to play to the strengths of the land on which it was built, calling his philosophy organic architecture. In paying attention to factors like sun exposure, terrain, and the environment itself, including trees, outcroppings and other natural features, you can create a home that sustains its own warmth and coolness, offers the most beneficial light at pivotal times of year, and keeps disturbances, like artificial light, to a minimum. 

When it comes time to choose a building lot near you, you’ll want to note not only the land and light, but also study the planned or existing roads and consider how the flow of incoming and outgoing traffic will affect you. No homeowner wants to be subject to headlights glaring in your home every time a car passes. 

Another important factor to consider early in the process of choosing a lot near you is the sun exposure. Each direction your house faces offers a different, albeit complementary effect – southern exposure equals the most light and warmth in winter and summer, while northern exposure does not get the heat needed to melt icy sidewalks in our Central Pennsylvania climate. Both eastern and western exposure take advantage of morning and afternoon sun respectively. With careful planning and research, you can choose the right lot for you in Bellefonte, Boalsburg or State College PA based on these factors and more. 

Perhaps you simply haven’t been able to choose a floor plan, even after altering existing house plans with professional designers and builders to try and make them work for you. It’s time to consider a custom floor plan – a design plan from scratch created just for you and your needs. Triple E Homes Amish home builders specialize in custom floor plans for your Centre County home building project and can help you achieve the home of your dreams, starting with the floor plan of your dreams.

There’s no shortage of fantastic house plans to choose from but that doesn’t mean you have to settle. The right floor plan is out there and Triple E Homes can help you discover it or create a custom floor plan just for you. With our team of experts by your side, you can find a floor plan that works for you. Call us at 814.424.4775 or email us at tripleehomes@sle.email to get started today.