Picking the Right Floor Plan for You

Between Edgewater’s three builders — Coventry Homes, Gehan Homes and Highland Homes — buyers currently have 40 floor plans to choose from! While variety is awesome, where do you start? How do you choose the right floor plan for your family? Here are some tips:

Make a Wishlist

Before you start looking at home designs, you should make a wish list. What does your new home have to have? Start by taking a look at your current home. What would you keep and what needs to change? Maybe you wish your utility room was closer to the primary bedroom. Perhaps you will be permanently working from home and need dedicated office space. Once you’ve made a list, go back and mark off the must-haves from the nice-to-haves.

Make a Budget

If you know how much home you can afford, you won’t be tempted to look at floor plans out of your price range. Consider any structural options you might want to add such as a media room or bonus room as that will add to the base price of your home.

How Much Home Do You Need?

A floor plan is a two-dimensional drawing of a three-dimensional home. Even with the square footage clearly marked it can be difficult to understand how much home you are buying. Think about the square footage of your current home. Do you need more space overall or just another bedroom? If you are lacking enough room to entertain, you might need a bigger home or a home with an enlarged great room and smaller bedrooms. Many builders offer 3D tours of their floor plans online so you can easily see what you are getting.

One Story or Two?

Have you always dreamed of a sweeping staircase, or do you hate climbing stairs with a basket of laundry? Your answer will determine if you should be looking at single-story or two-story floor plans. A two-story home can give the illusion of more privacy as most of the bedrooms are located upstairs. A single-story home may be more convenient when it comes to entertaining since guests won’t be trapsing through the house to get to the game room.

Think About Flow

“Flow” is a term used to describe how you move from room to room. Some homes are awkwardly designed, making it difficult to move from the kitchen to the dining room or the bedroom to the laundry room. Other things to consider include how easy it would be to get to the nursery in case of an emergency, whether or not the game room is located over the primary suite (which could be noisy) and if the kitchen will cut the cook off from the rest of the party.

Walls, Windows and Ceilings

Floor plans show you where the walls and windows are located. If a floor plan shows windows on two sides of the breakfast nook, the area is likely to be sunny. A bay window in the primary suite means space that can be used as a reading nook. Knowing where the walls are helps you decide if you are going to like what’s in your line of sight. For example, do you want to be able to see the kitchen from the family room or would you prefer not to see the clutter?  Floor plans also give you a feel for how high your ceilings will be. Most plans will tell you that the family room is “open to above” which means the walls rise to the roof.

What are Your Options

Floor plans also tell you what is included and what is optional. Sometimes that is done by using dotted lines, sometimes the plan will mark something as optional and sometimes a structural option such as a media room will be shown off to the side of the standard plan. Consider whether or not these options will help you enjoy your home more.

See the Model

If you are still having a difficult time imagining life in your favorite floor plan, visit the model home. While the model may not be the floor plan you are considering, you can still get a feel for how the builder designs homes. Often, builders will have a move-in ready home that is the floor plan you want. If so, you can ask for a tour.