Edmonton Spring Summer 2018

A Layman’s Guide
to Home Design
Article Provided by Debbie Titus - Home Planning Centre
HOME DESIGN requires important considerations
regarding functionality, efficiency and lifestyle.
The Site must be considered when deciding on a house
plan. Often home planners will put the largest/widest house
allowed by zoning bylaws on your lot. Consider directionality,
especially if using passive solar heating.
Traffic routes should be kept short, reducing wasted space.
Avoid routes requiring passage through rooms. Determine
traffic patterns by tracing over the plan with a pencil, following
your daily routines. Time, space and even maintenance
can be saved with efficient design.
Homes have three basic activity zones; sleeping, service and
living areas. Try to keep them separate from each other.
The main entry should lead guests directly to living areas.
Consider visually separating the main entry from the living
area for privacy. First impressions are good impressions.
The Kitchen’s efficiency is optimized when the refrigerator,
range and sink form a 12 to 20 foot “work triangle”. Kitchen
and eating areas should be close.
Living rooms are multi-functional, serving as recreational,
study or occasional dining areas, and situated adjacent to
the entrance and dining room; areas most frequented by
guests.
Bedroom sizes are determined considering bed types and
additional furnishing; have two walls free from doors and
windows to allow a flexible furniture layout.
Bathrooms can be used for dressing, exercising and laundering.
Full bathrooms should be accessible to all bedrooms
and must be minimum 5’-0” x 7’-6” to accommodate all
fixtures.
Stairways, properly sized, average 14 to 16 risers and are at
least 3’-2” wide.
Planning aides to help you design your home can be as
simple as graph paper and pencil or a more complicated
home design computer software.
Remember when choosing or designing your home plan,
there is no perfect plan for everyone. The most important
factor is incorporating your lifestyle into the plan.
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