Have you ever sketched your dream home on a piece of paper and wondered what it would look like as a professional floor plan?

Perhaps you've found several house plans you like, but none of them are quite right. You might like the kitchen from one design, the bedrooms from another and the façade of a completely different home.

That's exactly why we've introduced our Custom House Plan Design Service.

As part of our Ask the Builder series, I want to explain how you can take a simple sketch, a collection of ideas or even a rough list of rooms and turn them into a professional concept house plan.

You don't need to be an architect or draftsman to get started.

Start With Your Sketch – It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect

One of the most common things people tell me is:

"I'm no good at drawing."

That's fine.

Your sketch doesn't need to look professional. It only needs to help us understand what you're trying to achieve.

Draw the approximate position of the rooms, write down what you want and add notes wherever necessary.

You could send us:

• A hand-drawn sketch
• A marked-up existing floor plan
• Photos of homes you like
• Screenshots of design ideas
• A list of required rooms
• An existing plan you want modified
• Ideas you've collected from several different houses

We can use that information to start developing your new home.

What Do We Need to Know?

Before starting your design, we'll normally ask for some basic information.

How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you need? Do you want a single or two-storey home? How large would you like the house to be?

Then we can look at the features that make the home yours.

Perhaps you'd like a walk-in pantry, large kitchen island, home office, media room, parents' retreat, outdoor kitchen, large verandah, workshop, double garage or additional storage.

Also tell us about the architectural style you prefer.

It could be modern, farmhouse, country, ranch, cottage or something completely different.

What Will We Create?

Our standard Custom House Plan Consultation Set includes:

Custom Floor Plan – developed around your requirements.

Front Elevation – showing the proposed appearance of your new home.

Room Dimensions – helping you understand the actual size of the spaces.

Basic Roof Design/View – appropriate to the concept design.

Metric or Feet & Inches – suitable for Australian or USA customers.

Digital PDF Plans – easy to save, print and send to builders.

Up to 2 Rounds of Minor Revisions – giving you an opportunity to refine the initial concept.

The standard service is suitable for homes up to approximately 230 m² / 2,500 sq ft. Larger or more complex designs can be quoted separately.

Ask the Builder: Why Start With a Concept Plan?

Having spent many years in the building industry, I've seen how expensive changes can become once a project has progressed too far.

During the concept stage, moving a wall or changing a bedroom is relatively straightforward.

Once detailed documentation, engineering and other work has been completed, substantial changes can become much more involved.

That's why I prefer to get the basic house design working properly first.

Look carefully at the room sizes.

Think about where your furniture will go.

Consider how you move from the garage to the kitchen.

Look at the relationship between the kitchen and outdoor entertaining area.

Think about storage.

Consider where the sun will be at different times of the day.

And importantly, start talking to builders about your proposed home and likely budget.

Use Your Concept Plan for Preliminary Builder Discussions

A professionally prepared concept plan gives you something tangible to discuss with builders.

Instead of saying:

"I'm thinking about building a four-bedroom house with a big kitchen..."

you can show the builder an actual proposed layout.

That can make early conversations much more productive.

Your concept plans can help you discuss the design, investigate preliminary building costs and identify potential changes before progressing to more detailed documentation.

What Style of Home Can We Design?

You aren't restricted to the example designs shown on our website.

We can develop concepts for many different types of homes, including modern houses, farmhouses, country homes, acreage homes, ranch homes, cottages, granny flats, ADUs, tiny homes, shipping container homes, holiday homes and duplexes.

You can also combine different ideas.

If you like the floor plan of one house and the façade of another, send us both.

They can help us understand what you're looking for.

Australia & USA House Designs

We can prepare your custom concept plan using either:

Metric – millimetres and metres

or

Imperial – feet and inches

This allows us to work with customers in both Australia and the USA.

However, building regulations, engineering requirements, planning rules and approval processes vary considerably between locations.

Your concept plan will therefore need to be checked and developed as required for the actual property and local regulations before construction.

Can I Make Changes to My First Design?

Yes.

The standard custom design package includes up to two rounds of minor revisions.

Once you receive the first design, take some time to look over it.

Print it out if that helps.

Mark up the things you'd like changed and send your notes back to us.

Minor changes might include adjusting room dimensions, moving doors or windows or refining sections of the layout.

If you decide you want an entirely different design or substantially change the original brief, we can provide a quotation for the additional work.

What Happens When I'm Happy With the Design?

Once your concept is finalised, you can decide whether you want to progress to more detailed documentation.

Depending on the project and location, the next stages could include detailed construction drawings, structural engineering, foundation design, energy assessments, surveying, site plans, certification and building approvals.

The exact requirements will depend on your property and where you intend to build.

Important: Concept Plans Are Not Construction Plans

Our custom consultation plans are intended for design development, preliminary planning and early builder discussions.

They are not automatically site-specific, engineering-certified, permit-ready or construction-ready plans.

Before construction, the design needs to be reviewed and developed as necessary to comply with the requirements applying to your site and location.

Ask the Builder: Have a House Idea? Send It to Us

Don't worry if all you have is a rough sketch.

That's often enough to start the conversation.

Write down your ideas, sketch the rooms, collect a few pictures of houses you like and tell us what you're trying to achieve.

We'll help turn your ideas into a professional custom house plan.

Start Your Custom House Design

Australian Floor Plans – Custom House Plans & Designs

Chris Morris | Project Manager
Australian Design Services / Australian Floor Plans
Email: admin@australianfloorplans.com