Building a Family Home: How to Design the Ideal House Size and Layout

If you can’t settle on the size and layout of your future family home, designing it and building it can be a hard task. Luckily, the internet offers not only a lot of photos to look at for inspiration, but you’ll also be able to find useful written advice such as this text! So, if you need some tips on how to settle on ideal house size and layout for your family, continue reading.

Think about the bedroom-living space ratio

Sure, the size of family homes is getting bigger and bigger every year, however, size is not everything. A bigger home is not always better, and the size of your home should depend on the way your square footage is used. The most important size aspect is to come up with a good bedroom-to-living space ratio. The ideal solution is to design a home that can accommodate one bedroom for each family member, one master bedroom for parents and one bedroom for guests. Essentially, parents with one child will need a three-bedroom home and so on.

Strike the right number of bathrooms

The unwritten rule is that every bedroom should have a private bathroom. Unfortunately, not all of us can afford a home big enough to accommodate such a layout, but if you make room for one bathroom downstairs and one bathroom upstairs, you’ll be happy with your design. This solution doesn’t require too much space and construction, yet you won’t have to wait in line for the bathroom every morning.

Consult with professional home builders

When it comes to the layout of your home, your safest bet is to consult with builders and discuss all your needs and desires. No matter where you’re building your new family home, you can always find experts willing to offer their advice. For instance, people who live in an area that is rich in different house styles, like South Australia, tend to find experienced new home builders in Adelaide in order to get some professional tips on the best layout, size and type of construction for their future home. After all, building companies and experts have a lot of experience working with families and know how to steer them in the right direction to avoid any mistakes. You can also take a look at their finished home designs for inspiration and find good solutions you didn’t even consider.

Place your bedrooms well

Ideally, bedrooms shouldn’t share walls, especially if you value your privacy and peace and quiet. If you’re building a one-story home, you can design bedrooms on each side of the house (if the rooms need to be close together, buffer the noise with bathrooms or closets). If you’re settling on a two-story design, your best choice is to place two bedrooms in the front of the house and the rest of the rooms in the back of the house. It’s best to locate your master bedroom at the back of the house to ensure maximum privacy and noise control. Planning to have another baby? Place the nursery next to the master bedroom to keep your baby close.

Don’t forget about the adult space

It’s normal that parents always put their kids’ needs first, but don’t neglect your needs as well. Busy, working parents deserve to have a beautiful and relaxing place where they can retire after the kids go to sleep. So, make sure to include an adult space like a cigar lounge or wine room into your layout. You can use this space for spending one-on-one time with your partner, catching up with your friends or hosting parties.

Re-think your outdoor area

It’s safe to assume that your home will have some sort of outdoor area for relaxation. No matter if you’re designing a porch, a deck or a backyard spa, make sure to assess how much time you and your family will spend time in such a space. Just like large gardens, outdoor living spaces require a lot of care, otherwise, they become major eye-sores. If you’re ready for extra responsibility, go with a large outdoor living space, but if you don’t want to spend too much time maintaining your big deck or patio, go with something smaller.

Designing a house for your family requires careful planning—it’s not an easy task. However, if you settle on a good size and choose a good layout, you won’t regret the decision to build a home. A home that’s filled with all the necessary amenities, yet not too big or too small will serve you for years without losing any comfort and style.