A great home isn't easily accomplished unless you are organized.And to do so effectively takes a few essentialhome planning tools and techniques. So...
Comeon, Let's GetOrganized!
Whetheror not you are building a home for the first time, the followingsteps are certain to be a greatasset for the entire planning and building stages of your new home:
#1- Designate a planning area.
Ifyou are constantly having to move stuff around,irreplaceable informationcan get lost. Therefore, it is vital to set up an area in yourcurrent residence specifically for planning your new home, but not onyour dining room table!
The best place to plan your new home is a home office with a computer that has internet service. However, if you don't have an office area you'll want to create one that can stay put throughout your home's entire planning and building stages.
Choose a quiet location. If your computer area is currently located in a family room or organized living area of your home, you may want to consider moving it to prevent distractions.
A guest room or area in your bedroom can work quite nicely. Spaces that are rarely used is a great option to organize and set up a planning area.
Whereverthis office area is set up, make sure it can stay put throughout yournew home's entire planning and building stages in effort to staybetter organized.
Settingup a Planning Area is quite simple.
Allyou need is the following:
A Desk or Table - If you have neither; a flat door propped up on two-drawer file cabinets will do nicely. You can get old desks or doors and file cabinets inexpensively at flea markets or salvage yards - just make sure the door is solid enough to hold your computer.
File Drawers - You will be collecting all kinds of samples, brochures, and information - from building products to fabric swatches. Unless you enjoy total chaos, it is wise to organize a file system to store this information in a place you can easily find it.
Shelves - In order to keep your desktop neat, it is a good idea to have either a bookshelf or wall unit next to or above your desk for storing your books, scrapbook, and other binders.
Organizing Containers - if you don't have a desk with drawers, you will need to gather some containers for keeping your writing and drawing tools contained. Be creative and use items such as small flower pots, wicker baskets, or even small buckets to keep your desk neat as well as decorative.
Electrical Outlet and a Phone Jack - Make sure that there is an electrical outlet with a surge protector and a phone line nearby to plug in your computer, printer and any other needed equipment such as a desk lamp or digital camera recharger.
Computer with Internet Service and Printer - you will want to have the capability of printing off information that you find via the internet.
Thefirst order on the menu is to obtain materials and items for puttingtogether a scrapbook,whichis one ofthe most fun as well as importantprojects of planning a home. We'll show you how to keep everythingorganized within your scrapbook so that you are more inclined to stayon target with both your home's plan and its budget.
ValuableInformation Won't Get Lost
Havingone specific place to store all your home planning ideas will notonly keep you organized, but it will also preventvaluable information from getting lost in the shuffle. We'll show youhow to begin organizing your homeideas right now - at no cost to you!
Afew home planning tools are necessary for anyone building orremodeling their home. Keep these items handy in your home planningarea at all times. Clickhere for a complete list of home planning toolsto find out what you already have on hand and what you mayneed to collect.
Resourcesfor Inspiration
Home and Garden Magazines - There are a number of home and garden magazines available on the market that offer inspiration to the most un-inspirable. If you don't already, subscribe to at least three different magazines that offer a breath of fresh ideas in your family's design tastes.
Home Design and Interior Décor Books - Other great inspiration rich resources are found in books. Now, don't go out an buy a ton of books right off the bat. However, if there is a specific design style that you are wanting to incorporate into your home, then choose a book that best features your family's taste.
FEATURED DESIGN AND DECORATING BOOKS:
We have organized a great list of books that filled with wonderful ideas for your home.
BuildWisely's Home Planning Guidehelps you focus on issues that are uniquely important to you and your family. Our guide takes you step by step and room by room to help you plan a home specifically to your ideas, wants, needs, and especially, dreams.
In order to help you do just that, included in this guide are printable lists, worksheets, tables, templates, scale conversions charts, and so much more for your added convenience. Just these items alone are worth the low cost to purchase this valuable book.
Rememberthat we share all this with you here at BuildWiselyor you can download it in pdf formatfor easy reading and printing.
Digital Camera - If you already have one, you know that you just can't live without it. Using a Digital Camera while planning and building your home will make your camera more invaluable to you.
We have found that a digital camera that will hold at least 150-200 pictures is a must and for some cameras. And to do so requires a memory of at least 64MB. However, we have found that a memory card of at least 128MB is optimal when touring several building sites and/or homes in any one day.
You will quickly find that a digital camera is a valuable asset and that having extra picture storage is a must to take the following photos for your scrapbook:
Architectural Details - that give you inspiration for the design of your beautiful new home.
Furniture and Accessories - that you already own and will be using to decorate your new home - what a great reference tool for mixing and matching items during your shopping trips.
The Land you have or are considering purchasing. Land photos are a great asset when trying to choose between properties to purchase and also when planning your landscaping.
Before, during and after photos of your new home's construction.
Don'thave a great Digital Camera? We've foundsome great deals on Digital Cameras that you're going to like.
Home Building Software - There are a number of software programs on the market to help you plan and design your newhome.
Drawing Tools - When considering a floor plan of a home's design, it is wise to draw out each room to a scale where ½" = 1'. Make furniture, cabinetry and accessory templates in the same scale to accurately plan each room's layout. Following are some essential tools to help achieve just that:
Templates - are an quick way to draw-in room features. Whether it's to represent a piece of furniture or accessory, door, ceiling tile, or bathtub, having the proper size template can help you pull a room together.
BuildWisely's Home Planning Guide offers printable furniture templates as well as conversion guides to easily convert furnishings and accessories to scale.
Graph Paper - Paper marked with gridlines in 1/4" squares to use as a reference guide to reduce the size of a room to exact scale of the original room's dimensions. If you have a working printer, ink, and download our free graph paper, you can print off as many sheets as needed to help plan your new home! Click Here to download and print FREE Graph Paper!
#4- Make a List and Check it... as often as necessary!
Listsare a necessity - whenplanning and building a homelists can be a real home-saver. If you expect completesatisfaction with your new home, it is wise to create lists to markoff items as you plan, purchase, and install them in your home.
WithoutLists, Important Elements Are Often Forgotten.
Notsure where to begin?
Ourhomeplanning guide can help youdefine your priorities in order that nothing is left out.
