It depends on the architectural structure of your house floor plan. A homebuilder, who is experienced at updating house floor  plans can provide you with the accurate information. For an accurate response, grab your home’s original blueprints. It will help an architect determine if there are any plumbing electrical or other infrastructure limitations.

We live in an Adobe style home. Although, we love the layout of our house floor plan, we’d like to update the exterior. Can you recommend ways to modify the exterior of our home?

Not all house floor plan updates call for a total renovation.

The home design ideas for updating the exterior of your home are abounding and not restricted to renovating the entire house floor plan. We’ve included a short list of design ideas to consider:

• Replace or add an awning over the entrance
• Change exterior shutters
• Paint the home a new color
• Install bricks or stones to create a patio
• Change the landscaping (shrubs, grass, flowers, vegetable garden)
• Add exterior lighting

Aside from changing our house floor plan and a room expansion renovation, are there any other design ideas for making rooms appear larger?

There are three design tips for giving a small room the illusion of spaciousness:

Opt for lighter walls.

Paint the walls a light paint color, avoiding dark hues, which tend to make spaces feel smaller.

Create reflections.

2) Mirrors, glass and other reflective wall furnishings make spaces appear larger.

Furnish it right. 

Select furniture that harmonizes the room’s space, omitting any pieces that are disproportionately sized for the room. (Organize and de-clutter the space)

Which other website(s) maintain a comprehensive catalog of home floor plans and design ideas?

At House Plans and More, there’s a complete database of home floor plans, builders, terms, an online calculator and a wealth of home design tips articles.

• Replace outdated or broken kitchen fixtures with new updated, eco-friendly appliances and products.

• When it comes to the floors, use the refresh, repair, or replace rule. Maintaining the floors on a regular basis alleviates the changes of making any major repairs or replacements. However, if there is any damage, taking care of it now will prevent investing in a replacement– later.

• Prior to making new furniture purchases, give the room a space-lift. There are five easy fast-fixes for renovating a room, without hiring a contractor:

• De-clutter – Discard unused, outdated or useless furnishing accents. Relocate any objects, which belong in another room.  Discard worn out items.

Home design tip: Remove each decorative accessory. Then, examine each piece to determine if all components concur with the rest of the design scheme.  Recycle or donate any hodgepodge decorative items.

• Dust baseboards and walls.

• Caulk any holes, gouges or dents in the wall.

• Paint any wall space needing a touch up or complete refreshing

• Reorganize and reset all decorative objects, creating a sense of symmetry among decorative items.

• Punctuate the exterior of the home with a decoratve mailbox that maintains the design scheme and the façade of your home  plan.

• Shuffle artwork. Instead of investing in a new collection of artwork, innovate new ways to showcase framed photography and masterpieces. For additional decorative ideas, visit House Plans and More, where there are more than 17,000 house plans and project ideas to put to work.

We’ve been looking at home floor plans and determined that we don’t need a new one. We have an extra bedroom.  The space serves multiple purposes. When family visits, it becomes the designated guestroom. My husband uses the room to catch up on reading. Meanwhile, my son entertains his guests in the space. Do you have any home design tips for our extra bedroom?

Beatrice Holmes – Kansas City

Greeting BHKC!

Thanks for posing your question. You’re right, designing is not limited to obtaining a new floor plan. Based on the multiple tasks of your extra bedroom, it sounds like you’re in need of home design tips for creating a flex room.

Given all the purposes that your room currently serves, consider how this room is used today and its future functions. Then make note of how your spouse, son and guests utilize the space in terms of lighting, temperature control and electrical outlet requirements.  This will allow you to synchronize the aesthetics with the space’s functionality.

To accommodate the bedroom’s various purposes, consider your color alternatives. At Home Floor Plans and More, a succinct article details how different colors influence the mood. Try to opt for a color scheme that pleases all audiences. For instance, a canary yellow enhances a feeling of happiness. (Light, creamy yellow hues tend to elevate the mood).

In traditional bedrooms, the bed is the virtual focal point. Since the flex room quells a number of purposes, select a bed that blends in like a chameleon. Futons, pullout sofa beds, and Murphy beds make for seamless furnishing alternatives.

As for other decorative accents, remember that an oversized mirror reflects the appearance of an expansive space. Shelving features organization. Armoires divvy up space.

Finally, to minimize future design necessities, remember to create a theme transitional enough to accommodate your lifestyle, down the road.

For additional home design tips in the bedroom and around the home read:

•    Design Facts
•    Décor Facts

Be sure to post your home design tips and questions here and we’ll respond as soon as possible.

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Flex Rooms

The Guest Room / Office

Flex Appeal – Multi-Purpose Guest Rooms

On our first stop, we checked into the House Floor Plans and More. It was here, that we learned about the fundamentals of designing with curtains. Below are a few highlights of the information we gleaned from our interior design research:

Luminosity and privacy
Curtains, blinds and other window treatments should be sheer enough to ensure privacy without compromising luminosity.

Aesthetics and style
As style is a subjective issue, for obvious reasons the best home designing tip with curtains should be in congruence with the rest of the room’s décor. Organic materials, simplicity, luxury, grandiosity and eco-friendly characteristics topped the list of style alternatives.

Function
Regardless of aesthetics, it’s important to consider who uses the room and how. For instance, a home office with western sun exposure might require darker curtains or window treatments to prevent a computer glare.

At the oh, so popular HGTV, we found two easy DIYs. One of the home design tips instructed how to make the most from the remainder of curtain material. The technique is so easy that a 10-year old could pull off this design technique.

We found another home design tip to be even simpler. The concept substitutes regular drapery hardware for the hobbyist’s tools. For example, in a golf enthusiasts bedroom or den — rather then hang curtains, using a standard rod, the end-user would use a golf club in its place or whatever instrument that concurs with the room’s theme.

In the next installment of home design tips, we’ll be reviewing how to select a design theme for the bedroom. Until then, have a splendid time designing with curtains!

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