Ok, so we’ve chosen a school district, then decided on our lot.  Now it’s time to pick the rest of the details for the floor plan for our new construction.  With an infinite number of choices, we were only limited by our imagination and our budget.

I would recommend that you make a list of “must haves” and a list of “nice to haves” when it comes to the features for your new house. Then, DO NOT compromise on anything from your “must have” list.  If it really is a “must have,” don’t build a house without it.  You’ll find that it’s best to have many of these decisions made before you meet with your builder so you can get a good estimate of what it costs to put into the house.  The base price listed for most new construction houses could easily be doubled if you want to add a lot of high end luxuries.

Here’s some of our “Must Haves”

• 3+ bedrooms total, 2 + baths.  Must have a master suite.
• Master bedroom must be large enough for king sized bed
• 1 other bedroom should accommodate a queen sized bed
• Full basement with walkout
• 1st floor master bedroom
• Laundry room NOT in basement
• Open floor plan
• Good lighting and good use of natural light
• 3+ car attached garage
• Good curb appeal

We were lucky to find a standard floor plan from our builder that met all of our needs (and we really liked it).  This was very nice, because it saved money on architect/design fees.  Even with this basic floor plan, our builder was willing to move interior and exterior walls as we wanted, so we went with it.  It was actually nice to find a pre-made plan that we liked.  It REALLY sped up the decision  making process.   One walk-through a house with this plan was all it took to decide.

Some of the other upgrades we chose (“Nice to Haves”)

• 4 car garage, with bonus room above garage (extra storage!)
• 9′ basement ceilings, 9′ 1st floor ceilings
• 42″ tall cabinets

In the end, it will look something like this!