Planning your dream home in the mountains, or at least sketching out rustic house plans, is an exciting venture. Seeing your vision become a reality is something few homeowners get to fully experience, but it takes a lot of know-how and diligence.
There are key aspects to consider when designing a home from scratch, and several mistakes to avoid. This is article is here to help you see your dream come to life by offering valuable tips from top architects. Here’s your step by step guide to creating mountain style house plans.
Start with the Brief of your House Plans
What exactly is a brief, and why do you need one? A brief details crucial design elements for your mountain home plans that you decide on before ever speaking with a design team. It is a list of the wants and needs for your dream home, and a valuable tool that will help you obtain accurate fees and quotes.
Your brief should contain information about the rooms and their sizes in accurate measurements. It showcases the layout and structure of the home. Don’t forget to include outdoor spaces as well.
Since your style is already chosen, the part of your brief will include things like which views you would like to see from individual windows. You might want to overlook a lake or position the house so that it receives an ample amount of natural lighting.
Finally, the brief should contain the heating and cooling systems along with your budget. These aspects are vital to the energy efficiency of your home as well as how you will handle the cash flow at different stages of the design.
Drawing Your Brief
You will probably make multiple drawings of your home before you end up with the perfect idea. A good rule of thumb is to start with the exterior walls and work inward. Begin with the outline, then include where you would like the doors to be located. Don’t forget to add space for double or sliding doors, as well as space for them to swing inwards if need be.
From there, begin mapping out where your rooms will be. Ideally, you should start with the central living area. This is usually the largest room in the house, allowing you to plan other spaces around it more efficiently.
Give yourself enough room for the kitchen, bedroom, and any bathrooms you would like included. Save space for closets, keeping in mind that they require space in the wall, and make sure to draw in anything that stands up off of the floor such as a kitchen island.
Once you’ve finished the first floor, move onto the second. Using a piece of tracing paper can help you from drawing the second story too large. Afterward, include a basement if you would like one.
Finally, include all of your outdoor spaces and little details built outwards from the interior or exterior walls. You may want to add a deck, a fireplace, or bookshelves built into the wall. These details won’t come into play until later, but they are crucial pieces of information that your design team and architect will need.
For fun, draw in where you would like a couch, chairs, or any other furnishings in your house. This gives the architect an excellent idea of what you’re looking to create. Remember, they’re still artists even though they have degrees in engineering.
Speaking with the Architect
Next, you should choose an architect for the project and discuss any additional information about the home. Maybe you would like a bar in the basement or a particular type of mantle above the fireplace.
Don’t be afraid to draw a few sketches for the architect, even if your artwork isn’t that great. It will help them visualize what you see in your head. You can also use picture sites like Pinterest to show them exactly what details you are talking about.
At this stage, you should ask them to help you finish any details of your brief left unfinished. The roof is an area that many homeowners can envision from the outside, but have a difficult time drawing on an aerial sketch of the home. You may want to ask them about skylights, window styles best suited for the area, or the type of wood you might want to use in construction.
Your architect is about to become your best friend, so to speak. The two of you will become partners in this project, so stay as open and honest with them as possible about what you want in your mountain house. They’ll help you create a home that will last a lifetime and beyond.
The Next Steps
Your plans might seem finished, but there’s a lot of work to be done yet before the building process begins. You’ll need your brief at each stage of this endeavor, and some tweaks might need to be made in order to make the more exquisite details of the home come to life.
Choosing Your Team
Now that your brief is completed and your architect is on the same page, it’s time to select your design team. The first member of this team is a land surveyor who can help you find a plot of land suitable for modern mountain homes. They will ensure that your house can have access to proper drainage, water, and other utilities as well.
Either your architect or their technician should be involved at this stage, as well as an engineer. Each should understand the lifestyle you want to live in your new home, which will help them visualize the final product at this point in time. Finally, a structural engineer needs to present in order to acquire the proper building warrant approval as well as test the soil for both building and drainage purposes.
Depending on your goals, you might also want to consider a project manager and an energy consultant. Energy consultants will help to make your home eco-friendlier, while project managers can handle aspects such as heating design if you don’t plan on making this a DIY project.
Getting Started
With your A-Team assembled, it’s time to move onto the vital design stages. The first is the initial design of your mountain house plans. You will be heavily involved in the first stage, reviewing your brief often to create an initial timeline. Once the groundwork is laid, and your rough sketches are hammered out into reality, it’s time for things to get moving.
Proper Planning
At this point, everyone is on the same page. This is when specialists come into play to make proper proposals for your build site such as flood prevention, preserving the natural ecosystem, or the safe removal of trees.
You’ll need to do a lot of talking and even more waiting at this stage, but it is an essential part of the process. Keep in close contact with your design team during the planning phase to ensure your mountain style house plans are sticking with the brief you’ve created as closely as legally possible.
Depending on the location, your designs will have to be approved by different committees that govern the area of land you plan to build on. Approval usually takes about four to eight weeks, but can take up to four years if multiple objections arise during the planning process.
Once approved, your team can begin acquiring certifications stating that the process follows all regulations in the area. This involves choosing the construction method you wish to use, which is then handed over to your design team for them to integrate into your drawings. When they’re done, you will review every nook and cranny of your home on paper to ensure your dream is about to become a reality.
This includes socket locations, lighting layouts, finishes and more. Make sure to discuss all of these subtler aspects of your home so that the end result is exactly what you want. For instance, you might want an outlet on each side of your bed for nightstands or a dimming switch installed in the living room for watching movies.
Leave no stone unturned during this part of your home’s design. Consider absolutely everything you want your home to feature from every rustic detail to antlers hanging on the wall. The more specific you are, the more likely you are to be satisfied with the end result.
Your Perfect Mountain Home
This is just the beginning. It will be a long time before your house is move in ready, but taking the time to create your mountain style house plans the right way will make the wait worthwhile. Just think, all you had to do was envision it and sketch it down on paper!
It isn’t every day that a homeowner gets to see their dream house become a reality. With the proper planning, you can watch as every last detail falls into place to create the exact home you’ve been dreaming of for years.
