How to Plan a Dream Home

Research, develop and enhance your dream home's design style. The library and the Internet offer an abundance of resources for getting background information on design features and perusing photographs and plans. Take a drive and photograph architectural features that make the list for your home.

Engage homeowners in conversations, if possible. Their first-hand experience with the features you admire is important information for you. Remember, your dream home is your home--feel free to mix and match across design themes to get the house you really want.

Design the outside appearance of your dream home. This may be one of the easiest steps in your dream home design. Determine what architectural features you want the facade of your house to have--its style and its overall size and shape. Once the details of the outside of the house are finalized, the inside plans can be worked to fit into the design of the outside, and vice versa.

Sketch the preliminary floor plan of the first level of your dream home. Do not worry about accurate measurements at this point--the architect will plan those details. But you can decide how large, or small, you want your rooms to be. Place everything where you want it positioned in your dream home, and design the flow of the floor plan, from one space into another.

Plan the layout of the other levels of your dream home. Think about how many bedrooms, bathrooms and closets you want to have in your plans. Will your home have bonus rooms for lounging, office space or hobbies and crafts? In a lower level, will there be a family room, laundry and storage space? Make your plans incorporate the rooms and spaces that you need for yourself and your family. If you have companion animals, keep their needs in mind. Homes are designed all the time with designated built-in places for litter boxes, indoor/outdoor dog runs, aviaries, wall-sized aquariums and indoor fish ponds.

Add extensions to your dream home's space. If you have the land, space and budget, use it to extend your home to include a garage, a workshop, more storage space, a guest house or even a pool house. If your budget does not allow such add-ons now, keep them in mind for future planning and build your house accordingly.

Add decorative architectural features and accents throughout your home's design. Define your cultural expression with distinctive architectural features. Include wall niches, moldings, specialty lighting, columns, brick and natural stone and tile work to reflect the style of your dream home. Architectural features work well in the main foyer and in many rooms in a house, including the living room, dining room, family room, bedrooms, bathrooms and especially the kitchen.

Consider light and movement, (colorfully illuminated waterfalls or fountains) as well as texture and color when putting the finishing touches on your home accents. Think of unusual accouterments such as a widow's walk, fireplace, sun room or built-in barbecue pit.

Hire the professionals needed to complete your dream home. Incorporate sustainable architecture, renewable resources, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly elements into your dream home's construction. Xeriscape your yard for maximum benefits with minimum interference.

With all of your background research, planning and design ideas, architects, designers and builders have a head-start translating your work into professional plans and developing a building schedule.