It is important to understand the layout of your lot as you design your new home. Is it sloping? Do you want to have a walk out basement? Which direction will the front door face? The kitchen? Where will the sun hit the house and at what time of the day and year? How does all of this correspond with the building envelope?
Important questions indeed. But what about how you intend to utilize the whole space? Not just how your house will sit on the lot but how you will access the back yard or front yard or whether you want designed outdoor living space?
Outdoor living space, whether specifically planned or a just simple backyard, is defined on site at the beginning of building a home. So having a good plan ahead of time can make all the difference in making it all come together in the end.
Suppose you want outdoor living space that accesses the backyard. Pay attention to how your home design is oriented in relation to the sunniest and warmest parts of the day so you aren’t either roasting or freezing at the times you intend to use the space. Make sure it is easily accessible from the main living area of your home; that it’s an extension of that inside living space.
Think about more than one access point and how that all fits with how your home sits on the land. If the outdoor space is multi-purpose, entry and exit points that tie into those uses will be key. For instance, if you plan to have a deck as entertainment and outdoor eating space, think about an access point from the kitchen as well as the living room. If entering the house from the backyard via the deck is going to get a lot of use, especially by kids or pets, consider it accessing a mudroom or utility space.
Sterling Homes helps guide you as you design your new home taking all of these things into account; your desired house features, your land, and your lifestyle. 40 years of designing and building homes offers us the experience of how to create public spaces and private spaces on various landscapes with various home designs. We are with you every step of the way; making some of these overwhelming and often over-looked details fall right into place.