Home Building Trends - Open Floor Plans (Part 2)

Balance Privacy and Togetherness

Home building trends will assist in the relative placement of rooms that play a major role in how a home lives. Do you really want your children's bedrooms directly above (or adjacent to) the master bedroom? We all love our children, but even the closest of families need their privacy. Ideally, the master bedroom shouldn't be too close to your home's media room or main television set. With the popularity of surround sound, TVs have become louder. The best plans keep the master suite at a comfortable distance from other activities in the home — ideally in its own wing, with nothing above or below it, and few common walls.

Not all room adjacency issues deal with privacy. Sometimes it's about togetherness. For example, kitchens should not isolate the person preparing the meal. Eat-in kitchens are great places to bring families and friends together. By combining food preparation and dining, you can create wonderful opportunities for conversation and closeness.

Home Building Trends - Open Floor Plans (Part 1)

As you plan your new home, one of the most important home building trends is selecting the floor plan. The arrangement of rooms, the flow from one room to another and the use of space help determine the feel of your new home.

Builders have long recognized the vital role that floor plans play in determining your opinion of a home. That's why many builders create furnished model homes that home buyers can walk through, to better experience a new home before purchase.

However, like many buyers, you may be considering a floor plan that's not available for tour as a model home. If so, there are several simple tips that will have you reading a two-dimensional floor plan like a pro.