Design Your Own House

Create Your Own House: The Epic Adventure of Designing and Building a Home!

Calling all self-builders and dreamers! Are you ready to embark on a thrilling quest to design your very own house? Brace yourself for a demanding yet exhilarating journey that will transform your wildest dreams into a concrete reality (literally!).

If you haven't already, please take a moment to explore our comprehensive guide on Architectural Design. It provides valuable insights and information that can greatly enhance your understanding of this fascinating field.

First things first, let's remind ourselves why we're diving headfirst into this adventure. Think about your deepest desires and aspirations for your dream home. This will be your guiding light during the darkest, most challenging moments that lie ahead. And trust me, there will be plenty of those. But fear not, for you are a brave soul!

Now, let's break down this epic journey into bite-sized chunks:

Step 1: Preliminary Research - Unleash your inner Sherlock Holmes and gather all the knowledge you can about designing a home. Research, read, and explore until your brain is bursting with ideas.

Step 2: Site Analysis - Become one with your land. Understand its quirks, its strengths, and its hidden surprises. This knowledge will help shape your grand design.

Step 3: Concept Designs - It's time to let your imagination run wild! Sketch, doodle, and create concept designs that bring your vision to life. Don't hold back—let your creativity soar like a majestic eagle!

Step 4: Design Development - Refine your ideas, polish your concepts, and make them shine brighter than a disco ball. Seek feedback from experts and incorporate their wisdom into your ever-evolving masterpiece.

Step 5: Final Design - Drumroll, please! You've reached the moment of truth. Select the crème de la crème from your designs and declare them as the chosen ones. This is your final blueprint, your architectural magnum opus!

Step 6: Council Approval - It's time to face the bureaucratic beast. Seek the blessings of the mighty council and obtain the sacred planning and/or construction certifications. Fear not, for you have the power of your amazing design on your side!

Step 7: Design Detailing - Sweat the small stuff, my friend. Fine-tune every nook and cranny of your design, from the tiniest doorknob to the grandest staircase. It's all in the details!

Step 8: Blueprints - The master plan is complete. Transform your visionary ideas into tangible blueprints that will guide your construction crew towards greatness. Let the builders marvel at your brilliance!

Step 9: Build - The moment you've been waiting for has arrived. Witness the birth of your dream home as the construction begins. Grab some popcorn, sit back, and watch your creation rise from the ground like a phoenix!

But wait, before you set off on this heroic quest, let's ponder a burning question: Should you start from scratch or go the renovating route?

Well, my dear adventurer, there's no definitive answer to this conundrum. It all depends on your circumstances. Consider your budget, time constraints, and the resources at your disposal. Renovating might seem tempting, with its room additions and trendy kitchen makeovers, but building anew has its perks too.

Imagine demolishing the old and erecting a brand-new marvel in its place, utilizing the fabulous block of land you already possess. It may be a short-term struggle, but the long-term rewards could be legendary—both financially and logistically. It's like trading a rusty sword for a gleaming Excalibur!

So, my courageous friend, are you ready to take on the challenge of a lifetime? Grab your creative tools, summon your inner architect, and embark on this unforgettable adventure. Design your own house, and let your imagination roam free. The quest awaits!

Unleash Your Inner Architect: Why Designing Your Own Home is the Coolest Thing Ever!

Hey there, future home designer extraordinaire! Imagine having the power to create a home that is tailor-made just for you. You get to call the shots, from choosing the perfect location and land to designing every nook and cranny of your dream abode. It's like being the boss of your own HGTV show!

Let's dive into the awesomeness of designing your own home:

Freedom of Choice:

Picture this: No more settling for cookie-cutter houses that lack personality and fail to capture your unique style. When you embark on the adventure of designing your own home, you enter a realm where freedom knows no bounds. Gone are the days of conforming to someone else's vision; now, you hold the reins of creativity and innovation.

Imagine strolling through a majestic backyard, carefully crafted to reflect your wildest dreams. Lush gardens, cascading waterfalls, or a serene pool oasis - the choice is yours to make. Let your imagination take flight as you envision the perfect outdoor sanctuary where you can relax, entertain, and immerse yourself in nature's embrace.

But it doesn't stop there. As you step into your dream home, an exquisite open-concept kitchen beckons, designed to cater to your culinary aspirations and create a space that seamlessly integrates with your lifestyle. Picture sleek countertops, top-of-the-line appliances, and a layout that encourages socializing and gathering with loved ones. Prepare to be the envy of your friends and family as you effortlessly host unforgettable gatherings and showcase your culinary prowess.

In this realm of self-expression, you become the master of your own domain. Every nook and cranny of your home can be tailored to your preferences, reflecting your personality, values, and aspirations. From the layout and architectural details to the color schemes and material choices, every decision is an opportunity to shape your living space into a reflection of your unique identity.

So, my friend, embrace the power that lies in your hands. Say goodbye to limitations and embrace the freedom of choice. Design your own home, where imagination knows no boundaries, and every corner bears your personal touch. Let your dreams come to life, and bask in the joy of a home that is truly and unequivocally yours.

Personalized Perfection:

Your home is an expression of who you are. By designing it yourself, you can infuse your personality into every corner. Whether it's funky wallpapers, secret hideaways, or a room dedicated solely to your extensive collection of cat-themed memorabilia (no judgment here), the possibilities are endless. Welcome to the realm of personalized perfection! Your home becomes a canvas for self-expression, reflecting the very essence of who you are. When you take charge of its design, you open the door to a world of creativity, allowing your unique personality to shine through every nook and cranny.

Imagine stepping into a hallway adorned with funky wallpapers that make a bold statement, setting the tone for what lies beyond. Each room becomes an opportunity to showcase your individuality and quirks. Picture a hidden nook tucked away under the staircase, where you can escape from the world and indulge in your favorite books or hobbies. Let your imagination soar as you envision a dedicated space, entirely dedicated to your beloved collection of cat-themed memorabilia, displayed proudly for all to see.

But the magic doesn't stop there. Every detail, from the color palettes to the furniture choices, becomes a reflection of your unique taste and preferences. Want a vibrant, eclectic living room that embodies your free spirit? Go ahead and mix patterns, colors, and textures to create a captivating space that exudes energy and life. Or perhaps a serene and minimalist bedroom is more your style, where simplicity reigns supreme, and a calm ambiance envelops you every night.

The beauty of designing your own home lies in the freedom to explore uncharted territories. Experiment with unconventional layouts, embrace unconventional materials, and take risks that make your heart skip a beat. It's a journey where you become the curator of your own sanctuary, crafting an environment that nurtures your soul and celebrates your individuality.

So, let your imagination run wild! Dream big, and let your personalized haven become a testament to your unique spirit. Your home will be a place where you can truly be yourself, surrounded by elements that bring you joy and inspire you every day. After all, when it comes to designing your own home, there are no limits—only endless possibilities for personalized perfection.

Grants Galore:

If you're a first-time homebuyer in Australia, listen up! The government has your back with the First Home Owner Grant. It's like winning a lottery, but without the scratch-off tickets. Take advantage of this sweet deal and give yourself a head start on your home design adventure.

Attention, first-time homebuyers in Australia! Prepare to be pleasantly surprised because the government has a delightful offering just for you: the First Home Owner Grant. Consider it your lucky charm, a stroke of good fortune that doesn't require any scratch-off tickets or lucky numbers. With this generous grant, you're given a golden opportunity to kickstart your home design adventure and make your dreams a reality.

Imagine the possibilities that open up before you. The financial support provided by the First Home Owner Grant gives you a head start in creating the home you've always envisioned. It's like having an extra boost of confidence as you embark on this exciting journey towards homeownership.

With this grant in your pocket, you can turn your attention to the features and elements that will transform a mere house into your dream home. Envision the perfect layout that suits your lifestyle, with spaces designed for relaxation, productivity, and connection. Create a kitchen that inspires culinary masterpieces, a cozy living room where memories are made, and bedrooms that offer serenity and comfort.

But wait, there's more! The First Home Owner Grant can also be a valuable asset when it comes to adding personal touches to your home. It might be that enchanting backyard oasis you've always longed for, complete with a tranquil garden, a bubbling fountain, or a welcoming patio for entertaining friends and family. Or perhaps it's the opportunity to incorporate eco-friendly features, such as solar panels or rainwater harvesting systems, to make your home more sustainable.

With the First Home Owner Grant, you have the freedom to bring your unique vision to life. It's a chance to infuse your personality into every aspect of your home, from choosing the perfect color palette to selecting fixtures and finishes that reflect your style. Whether your taste leans towards contemporary chic, cozy rustic, or vibrant bohemian, this grant empowers you to create a space that truly feels like your own.

So, my friend, take advantage of this remarkable opportunity. Seize the First Home Owner Grant with open arms, and let it guide you towards the home of your dreams. Embrace this stroke of good fortune and embark on your home design adventure with confidence, knowing that the government has your back. It's time to make your mark on the world of homeownership and create a space that reflects your unique personality and aspirations.

Quality Assurance:

Picture this: everything in your brand-spanking-new home is shiny, pristine, and untouched by anyone else. No weird stains, no funky smells—just pure, untouched bliss. With a new build, you get the guarantee of top-notch quality and the satisfaction of knowing that everything is fresh and fancy.

But hold on, my friend. Before you grab your hard hat and blueprint, let's address a vital question: Is it worth enduring the chaos of builders roaming around your castle?

If you're a busy bee with a full-time job or a parent raising a family, the idea of living with construction chaos for an extended period might make you want to scream. While a renovation may seem like a tempting alternative, the added disruption could make you question if it's truly worth it. Consider the pros and cons, weigh your options, and choose the path that brings you the most joy and minimal headaches.

So, my fellow design enthusiast, are you ready to embark on this epic journey of creativity and self-expression? Get your creative juices flowing, gather your team of experts, and let's make your dream home a reality. It's time to unleash your inner architect and create a home that's as unique and awesome as you are!

P.S. Don't forget to include a secret room behind a bookshelf. Every cool home needs one!

How to Design Your Own House Online for Free

A Step-By-Step Free Guide To Designing Your Dream Home. How to Design a Complete House? A Rich and Rewarding Journey Starts Here!

How do architects design a house? Do you wish to learn how to sketch like a pro architect? This is the best free online architecture and Interior design full course you can find. We provide completely free design fundamentals courses that teach you everything about designing homes from scratch - Learn everything about designing a home free of charge here. Designing your own house online for free can be an exciting and rewarding experience. While the process may seem overwhelming at first, there are numerous resources available to guide you through each step. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you embark on your journey of designing your dream home:

Table of Contents:

Part 1

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4

How Architects Design Houses?

How do architects design houses? Designing a house involves a meticulous process that architects follow to ensure functional and aesthetically pleasing results. While architects undergo specialized training, there are resources available online that can provide guidance for designing your own house.

Designing your own house online for free can be an exciting and fulfilling journey. While architects typically have specialized training, there are resources available online that can guide you through the process of designing your dream home. Here is a step-by-step guide to get you started on your free online design adventure:

Research and Inspiration:

Begin by gathering inspiration for your house design. Explore architectural styles, browse home design magazines, and visit websites and platforms that showcase house designs. Create a collection of images, colors, textures, and styles that resonate with you and reflect your vision for your dream home.

Choose an Online Design Tool:

Select a free online design tool that suits your needs and level of expertise. There are various user-friendly platforms available that offer features to create floor plans, design rooms, and even visualize exteriors. Some popular options include RoomSketcher, Planner 5D, and HomeByMe.

Create a Floor Plan:

Start by designing the layout of your house. Consider the number of rooms, their sizes, and the flow between spaces. Begin with a rough sketch or use the tools provided by the online design platform to create a basic floor plan. Pay attention to room placement, functionality, and the overall spatial arrangement.

Design Each Room:

Once you have the floor plan, focus on designing each room individually. Consider the purpose of each room and how it aligns with your lifestyle. Experiment with furniture placement, colors, textures, and lighting to create a cohesive and visually appealing design. Take advantage of the online design tool's features to add furniture, fixtures, and decor items to visualize the space.

Experiment with Materials and Finishes:

Explore different materials and finishes to enhance the aesthetics of your design. Play around with flooring options, wall treatments, cabinetry styles, and other architectural elements. Use the online design tool to experiment with various combinations and see how different materials can transform the look and feel of your house.

Visualize the Exterior:

Move beyond the interior and focus on the exterior design of your house. Experiment with architectural styles, rooflines, windows, and doors. Consider the overall curb appeal and how your design blends with the surroundings. Use the online design tool to visualize the exterior and make adjustments until you achieve the desired look.

Seek Feedback and Refine:

Share your designs with friends, family, or online design communities to gather feedback and suggestions. Consider their input and make refinements to your design as needed. Iteration and feedback are essential parts of the design process, allowing you to improve and enhance your initial ideas.

Remember, designing your own house is a creative process that requires time, patience, and attention to detail. While online design tools can be a great starting point, they may have limitations compared to professional architectural software. However, they offer a valuable opportunity to explore and refine your ideas before consulting with an architect or professional designer.

Enjoy the journey of designing your dream home! Embrace the free online architecture and interior design courses available to enhance your knowledge and skills. Immerse yourself in the world of design fundamentals and learn from the wealth of resources available online. With passion, dedication, and a willingness to learn, you can create a home that reflects your unique style and aspirations.

We will show you how architects design houses with an easy to learn step-by-step method. We are registered architects and we enjoy teaching people how to design their homes, kitchens, and even patios. This complete guide, therefore, offered free of charge to all those who wish to learn.

We are going to teach you how to design your dream home, for free. Are you wondering how to design and even build a custom home? You've come to the right place. This is a detailed beginner's guide for anyone wishing to design their own place. It’s a well-documented step-by-step guide. We also have another guide to how to build a custom home, also free. We will walk you through the whole process of designing your dream special place. You will be designing like a Pro in no time.

We will discuss how to brainstorm ideas. Most importantly, we will teach you the most effective ways to generate house ideas and concepts like the way architects do.

We will also talk about the best free home design tools you need to design and where to find them. We will tell you all about the floorplanner free design programs, and we will teach you how to create 2D & 3D floor-plans and other plans. We will be using only free and very easy to use sketching and designing softwares. You can also completely design your own house online for free, including designing in 3D and for free. We will show you how.

So, if you are wondering how do I start designing my own house? Here is a 5 easy detailed steps guide for you.

Introduction: 

Can You Really Design Your Own House Without Being a Trained Architect or Without a Formal Education?

Yes, absolutely, nowadays, with all the great free online designing tools and softwares available online, it’s very possible.

You just need to understand and learn a few designing roles and principles - which we will also be going to teach you for free.

Understanding the Principles of Design and their importance before you learn how to design a house is essential. It’s very easy and it doesn't take you long to learn those principles.

What You Need to Know Before Designing a Custom Home

As architects, we draft a lot of sketches and designs, and when we do, we adhere to a list of design key principles. The reason that design principles are important is to learn how to design the right way and to make informative design decisions.

You can’t stay true to the main objective of a house design concept without first understanding clearly what it’s in the first place. Don’t worry about it for now, we will get to that later. But first let me state some reasons why you might wanna design a place by yourself.

Is it Worth it to Design Your Own House?

There are many great benefits of designing your home. The first and most important reason is that you get to have exactly the dream house you always wanted. It’s a very rewarding journey. This is going to be a rich journey, well beyond any of your expectations for a simple reason: designing in general is truly fun. This experience you will have will be incredible, you will learn so much during these days or weeks you are going to spend designing your special place. Another important thing is that you get to see how much you loved this special designing experience. So what are the benefits of designing your home?

What Are the Benefits of Designing Your Home?

If you realized that you wanted to learn something new, and to have a feeling of accomplishment, and your curious little voice kicked in again, then, believe me, you will spend the best weeks of your life doing it. You will feel so energized to see and realize the number of awesome fun things that architects feel while designing things. Which brings us to the next point, do you need to be an architect to design a house?

Do You Need to be an Architect to Design a House?

The short answer is no. We, providing for you all the study materials needed, and also teaching you how to use all the free online designing tools needed to design a house: that alone defines very much how easy and incredible it is to find online opportunities nowadays to do anything. Having the right mindset, learning attitude, and connecting with the right people who know the how-to, are what’s needed for you to do it yourself. The rest is easy, we will teach you how to design like an architect.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire an Architect to Design a House?

Another benefit to doing it yourself is that it's cost-effective. Architect fees are very high and usually range between 5% to 15% of the total project cost. Therefore, If you hire an architect on an hourly basis, you could end up paying a lot of money.

What Are the Residential Architectural Service Fees in 2023-2024?

Architects' Fees to draw plans & designs vary widely, depending on the project. For instance, an average 2,850 square foot home with a build cost of $400,000, would cost you anywhere from 20,000 up to 90,000 depending on the architect's experience. Most architects set a certain percentage of fees for their services depending on their reputation and how much they are in demand.

Some architects,however, charge an hourly rate that ranges between $150 and $300, instead of a percentage. But again, that depends on the size, complexity, and the requirement of your project which could cost you anywhere from $2,500 to $90,000.

The huge price difference is because architects charge less if you just want them to draw basic plans. These basic plans, however, and again depending on many factors, can cost you anywhere from $1,500 to $25,000 or even more.  For full house design and supervision they charge a lot more, the sky's the limit. I personally know architects who charge up to 80,000 for average size custom homes. The average architect's fee is around $6,500.

How to Design a Custom House Online?

Today, we are so proud of this long journey we had ourselves as architects. We have had a wonderful career as architects. We consider ourselves lucky to be architects, and we want to teach people how to design their own houses for all the fun it brings.

Learning attitude, however, is self-initiated. In other words, your wish of designing must be a voluntary attitude stemming from your natural curiosity to design. Also, it must come from the right motivation to learn and do things on your own.

Want to have some fun? Let us teach you how to design your own home, then. So, get ready, and let's do it.

Can You Design Your Own House Completely Online and For Free?

Yes, you can. We are professional architects and we love teaching people how to design free of charge. It's easy, fun, and anyone with a little passion for design can do it. You can design as much of your home as you want without the help of an architect. We will guide you through the whole process step by step.

This section is a set of complete instruction sets from A to Z about how to design your own house. You should start reading from the very first lesson as all the lessons are connected. To reach this section, you just need to click on the "design" button on the top menu. This section currently covers these subjects:

Before we start teaching you, we strongly recommend that you first familiarize yourself with a few important design principles. We have written two articles about these principles: Design Elements and Design Principles.

Architecture Design Elements - This course is about design elements. Design elements are things like line, color, shape, etc. Understanding design elements is fundamental. It’s extremely important to understand the ideas about the practice of good visual design in order to be able to design a house or anything else for that matter. Design elements are the basis of all intentional visual design strategies.

Design Principles - This section is about the principles of design and house designing. Principles of design are very closely related to the design elements. In other words, how good we are in applying principles of design determines how successful we are in creating and designing a good house or any piece of art in general. We will discuss the principles of design elements such as balance, gradation, harmony, contrast etc in house design. We must thoroughly understand these terms before we start designing a home.

 

Part 2:

  • Home Architecture Design Courses

  • How to Design a Complete House?

Learn How to Design a Douse Like a Pro Architect

How do architects design a house? This section is dedicated to people who want to learn how to design their own house. ArchitectureCourses.org and all of its information and courses consists largely of written material provided by architects, designers, and builders.  This section will teach you how to design your own house and will give you a reasonable idea about the work an architect does.

Questions regarding this section should be directed to the architect using the contact form.

Home Design 101

How to Design a House

Helping You Design Your Special Home

You will find all the required information, resources and examples necessary to enable you to design your own home. Before we get to the part where we literally show you how to design a complete house using a popular free and open source 3D software, we must first learn some designing techniques. Using a very easy to understand language, we will guide you through the whole process of designing a house. We will start with general design issues that architects learn at the varying schools of architecture which they apply at work.

The intention is not to make you an architect, but to help you design with confidence and to help you make informed decisions. We will discuss the process of creating a good Home Concept. Then we will talk about the Housing Scheme. Also, we will explain how to develop a design. We will also explain in detail the important phase of making a construction document. Then finally we will be actually designing a home using an extremely easy yet powerful and free 3Ds program.

Reading carefully and following the steps we suggest, which are normally used by architects for residential houses, you will be able to understand the required knowledge that goes into the planning of a house.

The Home Design Process

First Step: The Process: Understanding the fundamentals of the design process is the most important when it comes to designing your own home.

Designing a house is the process of shaping the experience and feeling of exterior and interior spaces through the manipulation of spatial volume and surface treatment. It’s a creative practice, so before you start, you first analyze the programmatic information. Then you establish a conceptual direction and refine the design direction. Lastly, you produce graphic communication (rendering of exterior and interior spaces to study the design before you build it) and construction documents for those who are going to build it for you and also for legal purposes. We will cover all these things in detail.

Some of the topics include but not limited to:

  • How to Plan and Draw/design Your Dream Home
  • Understanding Home Building Process
  • How to Make Blueprints

How To Design A Home in Only 5 Steps?

The five steps of the home design process are:

  1. Housing Scheme: Draw and design the housing scheme
  2. House Concepts: Come up with house concepts
  3. Design a Home Using a Software: Use a free program to design the home in 3D
  4. Develop the design
  5. Prepare construction papers

How to Draw and Design the Housing Scheme?

Drawing a home scheme is the very first step you need to draw in the home design process. We are going to create a program and design a home with Bubble Diagrams. The first step in the process of designing a residential house, or any type of building, consists of starting with what we architects call "bubble diagrams".

What Are Architectural Bubble Diagrams?

Bubble diagrams are a useful tool in the beginning stages of designing your own home because before you define the spaces, such as walls on the floor plan, windows locations, doors, etc, you need to understand the relationships between the spaces. That's why, architects begin the design with a bubble diagram.

Bubble Diagrams and House Design:

I recommend you do them with a pencil and paper rather than a computer. BD allows you to explore a number of different possibilities of the relationships between spaces ( spaces refers to things such as room, office or living room) very quickly without too much detail yet. Look at the example below.

Now you need to understand something called "Program" in architecture. Programming is to write down everything you need to know about your house or site. For instance, how many rooms do you want? What size? Do you want the master bedroom with a separate washroom? Do you want an office and how big? Do you want a theater room? How big and where exactly? How many levels do you want your house to be? Is there a view you want your living room to face? Or a view you want to frame?

You need to understand that you are following a design process which is the most important when it comes to designing a house; therefore, in this design phase you don't need to know anything about materials or fixtures or other details yet. Before you start defining the spaces i.e, rooms, with walls on the floor plan, you need to understand the spatial relationships (relationships between each and every space) as you picture them in your mind

So,for now you need only to focus on spatial requirements. However, it's always a good idea to think ahead, so knowing the size of furniture and Fireplaces, for example, helps in determining the size of spaces you need, and here comes the next step when drawing bubble diagrams; the size of each bubble and what it represents. The first thing you are going to do is to come up with a list of the following:

  • How many rooms you want in your house
  • Do you want an office?
  • How many dining rooms?
  • How many kitchens
  • How many bathrooms
  • Other

Now determine the following:

  1. The size of each space i.e, the size of the master room, living room, kitchen, etc...
  2. Calculate the subtotal or the area total of your house.(The total area for each space combined.

Note: Depending on the size of the home and the complexity of the circulation between spaces when you calculate the total area of your house, you should allow between 15 and 25% added to the total area of the house. This extra space is for things such as elevators and walls. This is called the dead space; you might think that you have a handle on how big your house will be based on your calculation, but you might forget to include the dead space in your design. Making sure you have space for the dead space is crucial. As a general rule; there is always going to be at least 15% for walls and other circulation areas.

After you have your areas totaled, the next step is to choose a scale such as 1/8" = 1'-0" for larger homes and 1/4" = 1'-0" for smaller homes, but don't worry much about the scale yet. However, You will want to keep your site considerations in mind as you are drawing your bubbles. Keeping these bubbles tight as we are going to be looking for ways to incorporate them into more refined sketches and plans later.

Now back to bubbles, if you want your living room to be bigger than your master bedroom, then make the bubble bigger (Larger bubbles mean larger space), that's for the size of space.

Now you need to consider spatial relationships, so if you want your master bedroom to have a separate bathroom, then draw a small bubble next to it and make it overlap with the edge of the master bedroom to indicate that it will be accessible from the master bedroom.

Also, consider the location of the bathroom; for example, if you want your bathroom to have visual access to a certain view make sure it's located where you would have this visual access, the same goes for the rest of the spaces. For instance, where do you want your kitchen to be in relation to your living room space, next to it, or maybe at the other end? For spaces that are far away from each other, especially exterior spaces, you can let every bubble float free and draw connecting lines to indicate access and flow.

In short,planning the spaces with bubbles helps you get a better feel for the spaces you want and how they should relate. It is easier to do this with the abstract tool of a bubble rather than try to sit down and begin defining spaces with walls and the technical relationships between rooms, access and flow.

This fun exercise of drawing and arranging bubbles to represent spaces will save you time and money as you will be able to see errors before you get to the formal space planning. Therefore, this is important as it is cheaper to make mistakes here than in more advanced stages. This exercise will help you clarify how you want spaces to relate and flow and will be very helpful when floor plans are drawn. Unleash your imagination, there is nothing in architecture called wrong.

So in this lesson we learned two things:

  1. How to make a list of rooms needed and figure out the approximate sizes desired.
  2. How to create a list of the relationship between a room/space to one another one and how it relates to the outside using bubble diagrams to show the spatial relationship of rooms and exterior views/sitting.

Next step before we get to the part where we start designing the house using a free 3DS home designing program is to refine a floor plan. We will start by the first floor layout then a second floor. Then, preliminary plans and exterior elevations,then we will start the process of material selections.

II. House Concepts

What is a house concept? What are the 2 types of housing? How do you make a house concept? Let's find out, our mission is to help people visualize and create architecture the easy way.

So what is an architectural design concept? Well, the second step of the design process is to find Housing Concepts. First collect your design ideas and organize them in a file folder as a starting collection of personal ideas. This is essential in order to create a satisfying house design project. Even if you have a certain idea in your mind about the perfect design for your house, you should consider several different designs to find the Concepts that best fit your needs and ideas.

So What are Housing Design Concepts?

Well ask yourself..what kind of a house do you want? A modern house? Traditional? Or maybe a Victorian style house? That's called finding house concepts. When architects start designing houses, they tend to start by doing sketches drawn to represent the essence of a project or the design under consideration, and they call that concept. Concepts can be as simple as hand-drawn paper sketches or professional illustrated drawings, all are good ways to convey an initial concept.

We will help you choose your unique housing concepts. Modern housing concepts are easy to find if you can’t come up with your own, and we will provide many of them for you free of charge. We will talk about generating  housing concept ideas later throughout the course.

So, an architecture house concept is a broad abstract idea or something you thought or imagined and it will serve as a guiding general principle which will determine how things are perceived. It's the most basic understanding of home design. We will add a free photography course to the tutorials to further shed some light on concepts. Photography techniques help you understand better home concepts.

Examples:

  • Mediterranean Style House
  • Mediterranean Style House 2
  • The Indian Bungalow Style
  • The Victorian Home Design
  • The Modern House Design

III. Design a Complete Home in 3D

Putting It All Together: Design a home, the Complete Step by Step Guide Using the Free Designing Tool SketchUp.

Before we start, by now you should have carefully studied all the steps we discussed before. There are two sections: the first is about general design elements and principles, and the second is about designing the actual house.

Modern House Design: You will be able to design houses better than the following if you want to !

First, you have studied the very basic Design Elements where you learned about the fundamental issues used to create any design work such as lines and shapes. And you also learned Design Principles where we discussed the principles of home design such as the principles of Unity and Balance.

For the second section, you first came up with a good Housing Scheme which is, as we discussed, the very first step in designing a home. You learned how to create a program using Bubble Diagrams. Then you learned about Home Concept and as we explained it's the second phase of any building design process. Then we moved to the third phase of the design process Developing the Design. Then finally we discussed the last phase Construction Document where we learned how to prepare our final designs for constructions.

Now comes the fun part, designing the house, so let's start step by step using the free SketchUp to design your dream house. Please be patient: Let's start designing the house in 3D.

We agreed in our previous lessons that designing a house involves more than just a dream in your head. In order to be able to design a perfect house that can be built, we must design it using the same method architects follow. We must follow a certain procedure and think as architects.

We also agreed that this is not impossible and anyone with enough passion can do it. I’m an architect and I can assure you that. I hope that you just might feel a little bit lucky that an architect is going to show you how to do it. So please follow my instructions carefully and I promise you, you will impress yourself and everyone around you very soon.

We've talked about "the designing process", now before we start designing, let's do our homework. What do we need? I’m going to show you how to design a house using SketchUp, but also I’m going to teach you everything else you need to understand about designing your house at the same time. We will be talking about creating balance and harmony between spaces such as rooms, living areas. etc. Also, we will talk in detail about The Seven Elements of Design that we have discussed before, but this time we will talk about these rules in practice (by designing an actual house).

As we learned so far; we first need to come up with a Home Concept. So we need to understand what we are going to design. Ask yourself, what kind of a person are you and then you will have a better idea of the kind of house you want for yourself. For example, for our project that we are going to design now I’m assuming that I’m going to design a work-live house for a creative liberal arts professional fully immersed in a computerized environment and married to an avid swimmer who trains at home. Both are greatly concerned with ecology, self-sufficiency and gardens, and want this building to be in tune with nature, by minimizing its impact on the natural context of the site and surroundings.

Now I have good information about those husband and wife and what kind of a house they want to live in. Now as we discussed, I need to come up with a program for the house I’m going to design for them.

 

The Custom Home Design Program

Let's assume those people have a small land that does not exceed 120 square meters:

Using only this space they want to build a house that has:

  1. Living/Dining/Kitchen
  2. Bath
  3. Bedroom
  4. Work Area
  5. Parking for 2 cars
  6. Pool
  7. Service/Laundry
  8. Guest Bedroom + Bath

Now the next step before I even start thinking about design is to study the site.

The Site:

Ask yourself, where you think your house is going to be built? This is extremely important and has great influence upon the design decisions you are going to make for your house. See, it’s not enough to just know how to design, so keep reading.

For our purpose here, we will assume the site is located in a remote rural area, 1 acre minimum size, likely rectangular, with interesting natural features (sloping contours, water course or lake’s edge, island setting possibly, mature woods and/or bog). We will discuss while designing why knowing this information is important.

Think of this project we are going to design as an exploration of the role that Architecture plays as a link between the human body and nature. This exercise will not deal only in “building” a home, but more in interpreting a series of complex and meaningful interrelationships: husband and wife, work and leisure, built and natural, country and city, inside and outside, light and darkness, etc.

So now we are going to make some preliminary design of the preferred alternative. Emphasis will be on the fine-tuning of aspects of general importance such as ‘parti” ( we will explain what “parti” means in depth, not to be confused with “party“- there is no party here :), sitting, overall circulation, and an understanding of structural and constructive approach to the building.

The objective is to produce a communicable number of drawings as a first step. We agreed that we start doing this by simply making bubbles diagrams.

Now I agree this is overwhelming for someone who is planning to design her or his own house for the first time. However, this is going to be our house project in the advanced lesson section, but I only mentioned it here so you have an idea of what's involved in designing a house and how architects think and work. For now we are going to first design a simple house where we also consider all the design and environmental factors we mentioned. Our simple house will consist of the following:

  • Number of levels:2
  • Bedrooms:3
  • Potential Bedrooms:4
  • Baths:4
  • Garage Stalls:2

So let's make some bubble diagrams based on the information we have so far.

The House First Level Bubbles Diagram:

We made this bubble diagram using the computer, but you don't have to use the computer. In fact, it's not recommended at all. Use a pen and a piece of paper, it's much better. We only used the computer because our office scanner is broken...sorry!!

Alright then, so we have thought about how we want to arrange spaces and the interrelationship between them. If you remember, we discussed that overlapping bubbles means that they are accessible to each other. Refer to the Housing Scheme for more information.

Now based on this bubble diagram, we are going to quickly draw our first level floor plan. I'll soon teach you how to draw this floor plan yourself, but for now just copy what I did if you want to practice.

First Level Floor Plan

Of course there are no bedrooms here yet because we don't want any bedrooms in the first level.

And here is the second floor plan with the bedrooms. Please based on this second floor plan make a bubble diagram, and if you want send it to me. But remember, bubble diagrams must be created before you draw your floor plan, but I just want you to practice here.

The House Second Level Floor Plan

 

Part 3: Using Free Sketchup to Design Your House

Now comes the fun part! We are going to learn how to use a free online design program to create our first house, hopefully the first of many. Let's start designing your house using the right tools.

Free Sketchup 101 to Design Your House

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