Home-Design - Let's Go Back to the Beginning

The first human buildings were very much a matter of trial and error - using whatever materials were available, people built shelters, and then other people copied the ones that worked. You might not realise it, but most of the world is still full of these kinds of buildings, especially outside urban areas in less developed countries.

Ancient cultures like the Egyptians and the Romans made home-building from oral traditions into written practices, and were able to formalise architecture to build incredibly complex buildings, like the pyramids and the Coliseum. They also built many more everyday buildings, such as universities, hospitals and the Roman baths. It was from this that architecture evolved through the centuries.

Twentieth-century architecture built on these centuries of building experience, but wanted to simplify and mass-produce buildings as technology got better and populations rapidly grew. This gave rise to modernist architecture, a very minimalist style where every unnecessary detail and adornment was removed, leaving only the building itself - basically, a big box. These buildings can still be seen (and lived in) today, and are perfectly functional, but many people consider them to be incredibly ugly.

In the later part of the century, post-modern architecture reacted against this, putting back the flowery touches and drawing on all of history to find different ways to design interesting buildings. Much postmodernist building is still being done, but mainly big towers in large cities or buildings like museums and galleries that want to be a little more distinctive than the average building.

When you're considering how to design your home, you have to consider that where we are today in house building is a kind of post-post-modern period, focused on designing for people. The newest houses are built with the people living there in mind above all else - all sorts of studies on people's behaviour and preferences are constantly being done, and used in the design.

Hiring a Home Designer

It is finally the time you have been looking forward to. You have given it quite a bit of thought and planning, made all the sketches and gathered photos and are now are ready to build your new home. The problem is that most builders will not work from sketches and photos. And to aggravate the matter, not only does your local building inspector require specific technical working drawings, but so does the subdivision planning review board.

The solution is to hire a home designer. These professionals are trained to take your ideas and hopes and put them to a working drawing. Not only drawing the plan, but also helping you to put the right design elements into your home to give it a beauty and charm that reflects your personality and taste. A home designer, also known as an architectural designer, is trained with the skills needed to make sure your home meets codes and is functional.

Once you have found a designer, there are several things you will want to discuss with him or her. The first is your budget. An experienced designer will know how to keep you within your spending limits. I personally have met with clients that had elaborate kitchen designs which went well beyond the expected amount of money allowed for its construction. The solution was that we found a cabinet builder who made the same type of cabinets the clients were wanting at a fraction of the cost that the national brand asked for theirs.

Another thing would be your sketches of the proposed layout of the home. Some people do not realize that the single line drawings they made of their plan will loose four inches or better when the wall thicknesses are properly drawn. Space, among many other things is sometimes misunderstood or improperly account for.

For instance, you may be expecting a ten foot by ten foot room but after the wall thickness is added, the room ends up something like nine feet four inches by nine feet eight inches. The designer will posses the skill to gain this lost area back to the planned size but rest assured, it will be at the cost of some other room or area of the home. Make sure to spend time discussing the layout so that you are happy with the finished product and its dimensions.

There are many other things that will be involved in the final design of your home that I am sure your designer will mention. Always try to be available to your designer should they have questions as this will make things flow more smoothly to a finished product.

Top 5 Green Home Design Tips

A green home design combines environmental decisions and resource efficiency into each step of building and development of an entire home to lower environmental impact. For a home to be considered 'green' it must focus on energy and water efficiency in the design, building and operation of the home. A green home design has to take into account the kind of impact the home has on the environment.

1. Build a home that is just the right size.

There is not necessary for a home to be any larger than what a family needs. Smaller designs use fewer materials, are easier on the environment and less expensive. It also costs much less to heat and cool a smaller house.

2. Use solar energy for heating water and electricity.

Both photovoltaic panels and solar water heating panels can be used for these. This is renewable energy that is effective, saves money and is better for greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.

3. Design a roof that will collect rain water to be used around the home.

It is very easy to design a roof that gutters the runoff to a central location to be collected. This water can be used for irrigation, washing clothes and flushing toilets.

4. Consider the type of building materials used in the design of the home.

Find local sources for materials and choose materials that are natural and gone through less industrial processing. The more natural the material, the less toxic it will be.

5. Use sunlight to provide light into the home.

Money can be saved if skylights, windows and light tunnels are used to provide lig