Posts Tagged ‘home floor plans’

Hot Design Ideas for Any Home Floor Plan

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

Hot design ideas are those aesthetic furnishings and artwork that exude a sense of timelessness. Best Home Floor Plans went exploring new hot design ideas for any home floor plan. Here are the findings:

Certain hot design ideas begin with the path leading up the walkway, incorporating an eco-lighting solution. Using the Hampton Stainless Steel Solar Walk Light as an example, the outdoor light source is a high efficiency LED, defined in a stainless steel slender form, with clear, fluted plastic lens (for only $3.88).  For additional, eco-friendly, walkway lighting, Home Depot has a slew of energy saving (green) outdoor lighting fixtures.

Makeover the kitchen with lucid counter space. Give the kitchen an easy facelift with tinted-glass countertops. These hot design ideas are the latest trend in kitchen surfaces. From the cut of the countertop to its color, counter-space is a customized order for any home floor plan. To ease the schematics of the new workspace, three critical steps are essential to the selection process: 1) Measure current counter space dimensions. 2) To determine which surface space best serves the needs, create a list, describing the various uses of the kitchen workspace.  2) Set a budget and shop.  (Don’t forget to update kitchen fixtures to match the new countertops).

Garden Tubs | Garden Tub

Garden tubs accessorize the restroom

In the restroom, garden tubs are just one of the hot design ideas, making a comeback. To take this restroom to another level, add an alcove and /or canopied space.

Don’t let an outdated deck/patio deter outdoor time.   A peeling deck, rickety railings, and drab patio furniture are a call for an exterior restoration. Also, excessive splits and soft spots in the wood may be a sign of rotting wood or the need for a complete new deck replacement. For those ambitious do-it-yourselfers, ample hot design ideas on deck floor plans are featured at Home Floor Plans and More.

For additional hot design ideas, please visit Home Plans and More.com.

Window Ideas for any Home Floor Plan

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

Windows are the accent for any home floor plan, color and design scheme. Windows have a tendency to do double duty shedding light and punctuating a room’s features. But selecting the right window replacements entails several considerations. 

Double hung window replacement design ideas for any - home floor plan.

 

Best House Floor Plans sought window advice from Home Plans and More.com. Here’s the information that we gleaned. 

In older homes, (in example, Victorian home floor plans, Tudor) picture windows are a charming façade. Available in numerous sizes, shapes and various glass formats, certain brand picture frames are manufactured to enhance a home’s green energy and efficiency.

Maintenance: Window cleaning requirements vary, according to the homeowner’s preferences.

Reminiscent of pre-war architecture, double-hung windows work in almost any home floor plan. In Alaska, the double hung windows may not offer the best climate efficiency during the winter months because they have a tendency to enable air to escape between the sliders. However, in milder climates, double hung windows are adequate.

Maintenance: Since fine particles become trapped in the sliding mechanism of the window, they require cleaning at least twice a year.

As an option that never goes out of style are the casement windows.  Common in windy cities like Chicago and engineered with a crank, these windows swing outwards. When the casement window is shut, it acts as its own shutter, preventing air from leaking in the house. 

Maintenance tip: Casement windows, unlike the double hung window, call for more repairs and gentle care. Crank, seal and hinges are prone to loosen, requiring regular maintenance (for safety and stability).

Green windows shopping tip: Energy efficient windows, brands and other information is available at the federally sponsored ENERGY STAR Web site, where windows are rated by the National Fenestration Rating Council. Also, House Plans and More features a wealth of window replacement plans for any home floor plan.

Construction Loans For Building a New House Floor Plan

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Financing the cost to build a new house floor plan requires special financing, referred to as a construction loan. Far more stringent than the conventional home mortgage, the construction loan finances the labor, equipment and building materials to architect a house floor plan.  The proceeding shortlist includes rudimentary facts and requirements pertaining to the construction loan:

When it comes to building a new house floor plan, or customizing a building project, landowners and homeowners have two financing alternatives: the one-time closing loan and a construction-only loan.  The one time closing loan finances both the build and the home loan–whereas the construction loan is for architecting the house plan.

With the one-time closing loan or the “all-in-one construction loan,” it  eliminates the extra step  process of shopping around for a mortgage or home loan. Most borrowers opt for the one time construction loan to have one closing, ultimately reducing closing costs. Prior to opting for the one-time closing loan, make sure that the lender will not require interest payments while the home is under construction.

To calculate the cost of building a new house floor plan, House Plans and More.com has an easy to use House Design Estimating software, click on house plan estimation to calculate the cost of a construction loan and review the download details. 

Upon the house floor plan’s completion, the construction loan transitions into a long-term home loan.

In general, construction loans range in duration from six months to a year, requiring a “draw schedule.” The draw schedule acts as an outline of when specific tasks are to be completed, and the corroborating terms of releasing funds to the builder.

A construction-only loan is a two part financing process. The first closing begins with the construction. A second closing is necessary to refinance the construction loan, transitioning the mortgage into a permanent home loan.

Review other home buying tips.

Although the one-time closing loan saves on closing fees, it inhibits the borrower from shopping around for a home mortgage with a lower interest rate.

On the contrary, the construction loan tends to incur upfront costs, offering more flexibility and an opportunity to recuperate the savings over the mortgage loan.

 

Read more about obtaining a construction loan to build a new house plan.

Guest House Floor Plans Destined to Elude the Company

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

Have you ever opened your home to a guest to realize that elusion was the key to warranting a pleasant visit for all parties involved?

Now that the real estate bubble has popped, and financing is at an appealing rate, we must turn our attentions to shopping for guesthouse floor plans. They are the type of dwellings where one can entertain without compromising one’s privacy.

As the summer months approach, guests and unexpected visitors are as prevalent as flowers in bloom. Entertaining, out of town company, is like running a bed and breakfast. It comes with great responsibility. There are the accommodations, continental breakfast offerings, separate bathing quarters and much more to consider.
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