Archive for the ‘Estate Home Designs’ Category
Home Designs – Entrance Hall And Living Room Choices
May 20th, 2011 | 
Author: When looking at home designs, whether designing yourself or choosing one, two important parts of you home are the entrance and the living room. Both should be carefully planned.
Entrance
Did you ever drive up in a car and wonder where the front door is? The entrance to a house deserves special consideration. It should be set off with some very attractive feature: a bright color, a different material, a wrought iron railing, or other special feature to identify it definitely as the front door.
Some kind of door bell or chime is often desirable. Or if you want to go all out, a telephone by the front door is a good thing. When people ring the doorbell you can ask them through the phone who it is and what is wanted. Then you can make up your mind whether or not you want to open the door. When a woman and her children are often alone in the evening, this is a good safety measure, which aids in keeping out undesirables.
Many good housekeepers feel that an entrance hall is of vital importance to a complete house. If people come right into the living room with their muddy feet, with no preliminary place in which to get ready to make their entrance, a happy result is difficult.
The entrance hall should have a good durable floor that can take a beating without a murmur. A floor of quarry tile, ceramic tile, slate, stone, or marble will be found very durable and can be a beautiful part of the entrance hall. Snow, mud, water, and hard usage can’t harm it.
Carpet is hardly the best material for the entrance hall floor, unless you have a special piece, different from the living room carpet, that can be changed every two or three years, or as necessary. But to have it a part of the living room carpet can be to invite disaster.
The entrance hall should be warm and cheerful, to give the guests the proper welcome to your house. It need not be large, but should be at least 5′ wide, and perhaps 1‘ long, and of course, a larger size will be more useful. Planning a house is largely a matter of finding the best use for the space. Whatever you use for the entrance, beyond the bare minimum, is just so much space taken from some other part of the house that may need it worse.
The Living Room
Another question to ask when looking at home designs is the following: when you pass from the hall into the living room, what kind of room do you like to be in? There are almost as many types of ideas as to the size, shape, colors, and uses of the living room as there are people. Some have the idea that a living room is similar to the old-fashioned parlor that was shut up all week and was opened only on Sunday, was usually musty, and generally unused and uncomfortable.
Others go to the other extreme and think of the living room as a place where the children study, where people lounge and read the paper or the latest magazine. A living room is to be lived in, isn’t it?
If a quiet corner can be found for a writing desk or if a well-lighted alcove with an easy chair and a bookcase can be managed, the livability of the house will be greatly enhanced.
The living room must not be the principal hallway through the house, although careless planners often make it just that. Every living room should have a point of interest aside from the television set: a fireplace, a picture window, a mural, an interesting grouping of elegant furniture, a music center, or something that reflects the tastes, personality, or interests of the owner.
The living room should be spacious, well-lighted, well ventilated, with durable floors and walls that can stand hard usage and still look presentable. This fact should be kept in mind at all times in selecting carpets, furniture, drapes, and wall finishes.
Proper consideration to the entrance and living room will make your home stand out from other home designs.
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Planning Your Custom Home
In total, there are literally thousands of details to consider when planning out custom homes. From the layout and design to curtain rods, the entire process involves a huge amount of effort and discipline, encompassing a span of months, sometimes years. But by having a set plan and choosing a professional, qualified team of help you through the process, the possibilities regarding your custom home are virtually limitless. In this article, we will walk you through the steps of building your very own customized abode.
Step 1 – Start with a dream binder. This binder will hold your notes, magazine spreads, flyers, brochures and contact information. A good sized binder will have roughly 20 tab dividers to help you stay organized. A few examples of possible tabs include: Interior, exterior, lighting, plumbing, mill work, paint, and flooring. Alongside your binder, you should invest in a large basket to help store bigger items such as carpet and tile samples.
Step 2 – One option when designing the layout is house planning software. Online, you’ll find a variety of free computer programs the help you through the design process. If none of these programs meet your fancy, you always have the option of seeking out paid software, which may offer ease of use and added tools.
Step 3 – A wonderful way to obtain ideas and visualize your dream home is by touring as many model homes as possible. Bring along a note book and write down any ideas that come to mind. Inspect every nook and cranny; opening doors, closets, shower doors and curtains. Pay attention to the general layout and the materials that were used in the building process. If you enjoy the way that the model was decorated, consider obtaining the decorator’s contact information.
Step 4 – In total, you will need to find yourself an architect, interior designer and builder to realize the results you’re after. These three individuals or companies will need to work side by side in the design process. Talk to friends, family members and co-workers in hopes of obtaining referrals. You can also get in touch with your local area building association to obtain additional recommendations. Make sure to be thorough in your search and ask for references from any contractors that interest you.
Step 5 – Perhaps, even before you’ve gotten this far, you’ll want to plan out your budget. Having a solid budget will help you in the decision making process throughout the build. It’s not uncommon for custom houses to go a bit over budget, but if you can stick to a number you can afford, you’ll be much happier in the long run. Be sure to keep any new window treatments and furniture items in mind.
Step 6 – Once you’ve got your budget, you can begin really digging into the design and feel of your home. Try to have as many ideas and selections decided on prior to breaking ground. The more thought out your plan is, the less likely you will be sidetracked. Make sure to communicate all of your ideas and plans to your building team.
Choosing the Right Builders for Property Developments and Unit Developments
If you’re interested in using property as an investment device, there are many benefits, provided that you go about things in the right way. When you work to choose the right builders for your property developments and unit developments, you’ll be ensuring that you’re satisfied with the final result.
Basically, you want to make sure that in the end, the property fits the exact specifications that were agreed upon before the building process even started. However, be careful not to do things in a haphazard way, because the last thing you want to do is fall into the endless trap of coughing up more money than necessary during the building process. After all, property development is all about saving money so that you’ll see a lasting return on investment, and there’s no need to get off to a bad start by not taking the time to select proven building brokers who’ll help you every step of the way.
Rely on Proven Expertise When Selecting Builders for Your Unit Developments and Property Developments
When you choose to use the right building broker for your property development needs, you can use their expertise to your advantage. Trying to navigate the tricky world of drawing up building plans and finding the best builders for your project can seem impossible if you try to do it without help. Of course, ideally, you’ll be able to get builders to bid on your project in such a way that the price is something you can afford, without you having to compromise on any part of the building process. This is easier said than done though, because even if you’ve recruited builders before, it can be very difficult to get a competitive price for your project, simply because you don’t have the same level of access on your own without the help of building brokers.
Builders Can Turn Your Plans and Dimensions for Unit Developments and Property Developments into Reality
If you want the maximum return on your investment, your efforts should begin long before construction gets underway. If you’re dealing with a unit development, consult the right building broker to draw custom design plans to your exact dimensions. This will ensure that you use the space available to you in a smart way. Although pre-designed plans may look good on the surface, there’s a good chance that if you use them, you’ll be throwing valuable square metres and ultimately reduce your return on investment. That’s why before you even begin to evaluate builders, you should let building brokers help you design plans for your unit developments and property developments.
Estate House Plans
Award Winning Luxury Estate Floor Plan Designs That You Will Prize And Others Will Desire.
Archival Designs is renowned for our modern adaptation of classic estate homes. These extraordinary residences gracefully provide all the requisites for your privileged lifestyle. Many of these luxury estate home plans have won awards for their creative amenities and efficient use of space, which makes them function as if they were much larger homes.
We consider “estate homes” as those over 3000 square feet, but not exceeding 6000 square feet. Our estate home plans range in size from 3247 s.f. up to our 5699 s.f. luxury estate home plan.
What sets our custom estate home plans apart from most other designers’ or other suppliers of home plans is that all our estate home designs are based on the grand homes of Europe — including the great French chateaux, English manor homes, Tuscan villas and other classical residences — plus the grandest estate from America including Colonial styles, mansions, and Southern plantation estate homes. We feature the most elegant estate home plans from throughout history and throughout the world
You will note many classical elements and classical proportions in our estate homes plans, and will enjoy the opulent sense of luxury our estate luxury home plans provide even with modest square footages.
Isn’t it time you reward yourself and your family with an heirloom estate home?
Please scroll through our estate home plans below and choose the one that most appeals to you.
“When I was a student at the University of London, I would often take day trips to visit English country houses that were open to the public. The 18th Century houses, such as Chiswick House, often had the same Palladian elements that David Loftus drew on. It’s wonderful to have this tradition available for 21st Century homes.”
–Rev. James Siddons
Estate Home Design Elements
All our estate home plans deliver a high level of luxury and elegance no matter their size. Particular attention is given to kitchens as an important area for entertaining. Since estate homeowners enjoy feeling pampered, our luxury estate home plans place great importance on the master bedroom as well as the master bath. The bedroom often includes large mirrored closet and dressings areas; and the master bath usually features an oversize spa soaking tub and sensuous showers.
Although our estate home plans offer a range of diversity, contrast and variety, many have these elements in common: 4 or 5 bedrooms, 6 or 7 baths, multi-car garages (accommodating 3-4 cars), “great” rooms or “grand” rooms with floor-to-ceiling-glass to maximize natural light, two-and-three-way fireplaces; game rooms, multi-purpose media rooms providing the optimum in home theater experiences including surround sound, kitchens with brick oven insets and large walk in pantries, formal dining rooms, breakfast rooms, butler’s pantry, exercise room, music room, computer room, hobby center, laundry, and much more.
Notable design elements of our estate home plans include a variety of ceiling treatments, distinctive staircases and two-and-three-way fireplaces. Exterior elements often include steeply pitched roofs, covered front porches and rear verandas, and balcony walkways.
While size alone does not guarantee luxury, estates houses are more expansive than average because it takes more space to include more amenities. However, with a creative use of space, scale and volume does not have to be huge to give the feeling of a grand scale. ADI designs can trick the eye and create the impression of a much bigger home than the square footage would indicate. Often, the difference between a grand estate home and an ordinary home isn’t size at all, but is the attention to scale, proportion and detail, such as ADI estate home plans provide. To the craftsmen who will build it, this shows up in exterior ornamentation, especially windows, cornice-work, and entry details, and also includes a high degree of fine interior work and details as well.
Now it’s your turn. Scroll through these estate home designs to see which speaks to you as your own dream home. Choose from our estate home plans below.
