Many of us tend to tour different houses and browse through the different room layouts while dreaming of the day when we can build our own home. It can be beneficial to know what are some of the most common home plan flaws that can be detrimental to life in a building and what you can do about them.
- The most common design flaw is in dead-end, single-use spaces. These spaces can block a natural flow of traffic in the home and essentially create a bottleneck. How to fix it: Open a wall or just add a door so you can walk through this space without needing to turn around.
- There is not enough integration from the inside to the outside. How to fix it: Add doors that open to a porch or patio. This connection will connect the building to the landscape and prevent it from feeling utilitarian.
- Front porches that are too small to sit on. How to fix it: Make sure the front porch is at least eight feet deep to allow room for furniture.
- An island in the kitchen is great, but it can also be too big to work with. How to fix it: Determine how much space is needed for your normal preparation and eating and plan accordingly.
- The size of the room is not proportional to the height of the ceiling. How to fix it: Large, airy rooms should have a slightly higher ceiling which will add to the spacious feel of the room. Low ceilings can definitely make a room feel smaller and narrower.
- Lack of natural light due to not enough windows or all windows are on one wall. How to fix it: Don’t make a room that has only one window. You may also consider expanding it to make a bay window. Another solution is to add a skylight.
- Bad progression from garage to kitchen. How to fix it: Shorten and straighten the path from the kitchen to the garage.
- Sculptural bathroom sinks that have lots of nooks and crannies that will make cleaning difficult while leaving little room for a countertop. How to fix it: Use full-length or under-mounted sinks to get as much counter space as possible.
- Cheap glass or plastic shower doors that can cause a feeling of claustrophobia. How to fix it: Swap the bath / tub combination for a shower or replace the doors with shower curtains.
- Roof configurations that are complex or too high and have too many bumps, hips, and gables. This is not only aesthetically unpleasant, it can also lead to leaks. How to fix it: Keep the roofline and silhouette simple.
Hopefully, by reading these common flaws and how to fix them, you can avoid making these mistakes on your own home plans and end up with a home that feels and looks good.
