Starting house plans - where to get ideas?

Put outlets on all your walls.

If you put up holiday decorations, have outlets on outside walls and soffits controlled by a switch.

Fire the arichetect just buy plans online it’s a better deal arichetects are worthless you will spend 10-15k on that silly stuff when you can get ready plans if you look hard & save 14k

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Beginning on preliminary house plans right now

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Why didn't you hit a brotha up? I used to do house plans.

You've already said first floor meaning multiple floors. Text me with other info.

Pinterest is really the best place.

We spent a lot of time on cabinet designs for kitchen, pantry and laundry room.

Think of things like pots and pans are hard to store. We built a drawer in the kitchen specifically for pots and same but pans in the pantry.

We also built shelves vertically in the laundry room that hold 5 laundry baskets. So there’s a flow. Washer, dryer folding table with an outlet then the basket that it goes in for certain rooms in the house.

Also for outlets outside have them put outlets in the eaves but split the outlet so half is in a switch and half is hot all the time. So if you need a camera or something you always have a hot also.

The best thing is wandering through other houses looking for things you like and don't like and taking notes/pics. Lots of stuff can be added as you go, but it's nice to have them on the plans just in case that craftsman happens to look at them.

We had a theme style, but tried not to lock floor/countertop colors in one group so that wall colors could be changed in the future to accomodate trends that could keep up with the decade.

Looking at real estate pics on the internet can help you get ideas.

Pay close attention to door sizes. Taller ceiling and taller doors make spaces feel larger than they are, but taller does cost. Consider your age/health, will you ever want to squeeze a wheelchair through a bathroom doorway?

Pay close attention to window sizes, especially their appearance from the exterior. Many people really screw up the exterior of their house just by settling for the wrong sizes that the "architect" was lazy in selecting.

Shop for your windows, learn how a few extra $'s can really enhance the form and function. Don't settle for the cheapest. And order them early in the process.

Start noticing baseboards and crown, so when you're asked you have a clue about what you like. Take pics of what you like.

Start noticing cabinet details. Take pics!

Solid core doors feel more substantial and help contain sounds. Compare costs.

We also put our laundry room adjacent to our master bath/closet.

Notice exterior finishes. Outdoor ceiling areas are tough if you don't like the vinyl stuff.

Details will increase the wow factor and separate your house from the one down the street.

Enjoy the process, and while you're relaxing, be reviewing EVERY dimension on your plans!

Madden home design out of Denham springs

Thanks for the replies.

I'm happy with my architect, not looking to replace them.

Ive considered putting the laundry room adjacent to the master, just don't know if I want to deal with the noise. We put laundry on before going to sleep lots of the time.

We arent building anything crazy, house is going to be around 3,200sqft. Hoping to keep it around 150/ft. Able to go up to around 175/ft if needed. Thats for house only.

I just saw the link listed for houzz. I saw someone talking about it in a youtube video. I'll have to check it out.

Are most people putting in fixtures and finishes from big box stores in this price range? Should we be looking at lighting stores, cabinet stores...

I'm sure I'll get more input on that from the builder once we get to that point.

That brings up another question, any recommendations for builders on the north shore? Property is in Folsom.

I did two outlets next to front door and two in soffits all controlled by a switch in foyer for Christmas lights.

Also, gfi by toilets for bidet with heated seats…..your welcome.

I’ve used my Hot water hose way more than I thought I would.

Solid core doors were 100$ per door upgrade and worth every freaking Penney.

I wish we would’ve thought to do 8’ doors instead of 6’8” doors. Just makes the house look nicer especially if you have 12’ ceilings.

Put can lights everywhere you can.

Make back patio as big as you can afford

Run cat 5 and coax everywhere and have house wired for cameras with POE.

Oversight was builder didn’t put heaters in bathrooms to save money and I didn’t catch it. I’m still pissed about it a year later. Not a big deal to some folks but it is to my family.

If you build a shop out twice as many outlets as you think you’ll need.

Also, insulation is cheap, put it between interior walls by bedrooms and bathrooms. Our master bath shares a wall with my daughters room and I’m pretty sure she’s heard me and the wife banging in the shower.

Put 2x6 or whatever scrap wood the framers leave between studs where TVs will go. Makes hanging TVs way easier.

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If you have above stove microwave…

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Fire your architect.


No architect worth a crap designing a custom home would even think about doing this. That is for apartments and starter homes.

Covered pathway from vehicle to kitchen (house)