Home Design: Interior Design Ideas for Contemporary Homeowners

Coming up with a good home design does not happen overnight, especially since this concept requires specification and time in order for you to achieve the look that you want for each corner, ceiling, wall, and other important nooks in your home. In this modern world, you can find various home interior design ideas, especially on the Internet. Most of these ideas can be easily accessed for free for you to use and implement so that you can successfully design and decorate your home with both elegance and class. Your home is one of your biggest possessions so it is just right that you want it to look best. Each corner will need proper concentration and in order to help you out, here are several interior design ideas that might be of help to you should you decide to give your house its much-needed touch-up.
Different Folks will Need Different Strokes
Spinsters and bachelors would certainly have different home design needs as compared to families, whether there are kids or none. There are many home interior design ideas that are suitable for bachelors and married individuals. Meanwhile, self-employed individuals and those who are working will also have different needs when it comes to house spaces. Since different people also follow varied hobbies, this should also be taken into consideration when coming up with a home design. Simply put, home design will practically depend on the status of the person who owns the house, as well as his or her way of life.
Setting and Furniture
As far as interior design ideas are concerned, the type of furniture that should be chosen will depend on the number of individuals living in the house and their particular age group. The kind of room should also be taken into consideration when coming up with a home design in order to identify the if there is a need to add or move fixtures in order to make the living area more comfortable, convenient and stylish. There are different color combinations that can be chosen for ceiling and wall in the different rooms in your house and if you want, you can also pick a particular theme that will best suit your home design.
Ask for Professional Advice
If you want to achieve the best home design, you always have the choice to get the expertise of a professional interior designer or home decorator. However, you should take note that you might need to spend some money in order to get expert recommendations and suggestions. Take note that good services will always call for equal compensation. It only goes to say that if you will be spending money on a classy and stylish living arrangement, you are assured that you will have a really worthy cause. But at least, you are given the assurance that even the tiniest details will be given attention and your dislikes and preferences will all be taken into consideration.
A good home design can definitely change the way your home looks and by choosing the best home interior design ideas, you can certainly create your very own personal haven Author Vishal Saraf explained above how one can come up with various interior design ideas while approaching any new home design.

Home Design Floor Plan - How To Purchase A Home Design Floor Plan?

Regardless of whether you are building a new home, adding to an existing home, or remodeling your current home; you will need to have a home design plan. If you have experience in architectural design, you can easily design your home design floor plan. However, if you are like most, you will need to hire an architect to plan your home design or purchase home design floor plans from a reputable organization.
Home design plans are available in hundreds of designs. You can find everything from Beach House plans to Victorian House plans. Homes range in size from 900 square feet to more than 10,000 square feet and most plans can be customized to further suit your needs.
Some companies offer full-service packages, which include home design floor plans, cost estimating services, and referral service to quality home builders in your area. Other companies provide discount services or bundle packages, which allow you to purchase a set of three or more home design plans at a reduced rate.
When purchasing home design plans, make certain they are designed by professional architects who are NCARB certified. Home design floor plans need to meet nationally recognized building codes and should include the following elements:
1) Exterior elevations of the front, rear, and sides of the house
2) Interior elevations showing details of fireplaces, cabinets, built-in units, and other special interior features.
3) Detailed floor plans showing the placement of interior walls and dimensions for rooms, doors, windows and stairways.
4) Cross section detail, which show construction details of the home, insulation, flooring and roofing.
5) Roof plans showing details of the layout.
6) Foundation drawings for a crawlspace or basement.
7) Schematic electrical layouts showing the detail of light fixtures, outlets, and switches.
8) General specifications plan which outlines details of the home and property where it will be built.
Home design magazines such as Architectural Digest and Interior Design, provide many time- and money-saving resources. Oftentimes, you can locate unique home design plans by perusing the classified section of home design magazines.
Your local library can also provide you with information on every aspect of designing your own home. Oftentimes, libraries offer "Do-It-Yourself" videos on a wide range of topics, which can be exceptionally helpful if you plan on building your own home.
Plan to spend a considerable amount of time researching home design floor plans before investing any money. The Internet provides easy access to hundreds of unique ideas and beneficial information that can make your home building experience easier.

The Secrets of a Good Home Design: Moving Beyond the Obvious

This article is not your basic primer on selecting your "dream home". Nor does it contain the list of "items to ask your designer" - these things can be found on any designer's website or Google search. As important as those items are, what we are going to do here is drill-down into the design a little, bypass the fan-fare and talk about some specific concepts that will really make a difference in your life.
Matching your house to your lifestyle begins with an exploration of your needs and wants. Most home designers will have some type of "discovery process" that will help identify the basics for your home design. It will start with the configuration of your lot and proceed through items such as privacy requirements, work areas, outdoor spaces, etc. Although this process is critical to your project, it rarely drills down enough to transform your design into a home that will serve your needs for a lifetime.
Here are two keys of good home design that must be addressed up-front: a) assessing the homeowner's current needs; and, b) anticipating the future needs of people living in the home. Before you say "Yeah, yeah...I've heard this all before!" let's take a closer look at what "current needs" entail.
Almost all "discovery processes" used by home designers focus on the use and space requirements of the rooms in the house. This is good, but too little attention is given to the personal needs of the people actually living in the home. Without performing a comprehensive assessment of the client's functional abilities, identifying areas of the home where modifications are necessary is often overlooked.
For example, the needs of a child and his / her ability to live comfortably in the home are rarely addressed at the design stage. It's necessary to evaluate the child's current abilities and design an environment that works and grows with the child. Some easy adaptive design elements would include adjustable shelves and rods in the closet. As the child grows, the shelves and rods can be moved to better accommodate their reach. Appliances present a similar situation as it is necessary for the controls to be accessible. Front mounted controls on washing machines and dryers enable their use. Safety also comes into play. A child trying to use a microwave placed overhead is a recipe for disaster!
Of course, the above example is very simple, but it illustrates the point that design needs to be done from the perspective of the individual and his / her ability to carry out daily routines in the home. This is why a good designer will perform an assessment of the client and specify the needed design modifications.
There are a couple of tools that a designer can use to evaluate the needs of their clients. One of those tools is the Comprehensive Assessment and Solution Process for Aging Residents (CASPAR). CASPAR was designed for healthcare professionals to evaluate their client's ability to carry out routine activities in the home. This is also useful in determining the requirements of people who have disabilities.
Anticipating the future needs of individuals may prove a little trickier, but we can start by understanding the process of aging. Whether we like to think about growing old or not, it is inevitable, and people's functional abilities diminish over time. A well designed home will easily adapt to these changing needs and allow people to stay in their homes longer.
Fortunately, "universal design" is beginning to take root in modern home design. Ron Mace, Founder and Program Director of the Center for Universal Design (NCSU), give us the following definition of UD: "The intent of universal design is to simplify life for everyone by making products, communications, and the built environment more usable by as many people as possible at little or no extra cost. Universal design benefits people of all ages and abilities." Because the principles of universal design are inclusive for people with disabilities, the application of UD in home design is appropriate and addresses many of the needs of people who wish to "age in place".
Adaptable design is different in concept from universal design. Where universal design benefits people of all ages and abilities, adaptable design allows the home to be modified for a specific need. An example of adaptable design would be designing a two-story home with "stacked closets" (a closet on the first floor directly below and aligned with a closet on the second floor) so that a residential elevator or lift could easily be installed in the future. In contrast, a universal design item might be the installation of lever door handles that are easier to use for people who have lost the ability to grip a standard round door knob. These lever handles also benefit anyone who may have their hands full with groceries and want to release the door latch by using their forearm or elbow, for example. Children also have an easier time using lever door handles.
Distinguishing between universal and adaptable design may seem difficult at first, but when one realizes that these principles have less to do about the installation of specific items and are more about a designer's perspective, it all begins to make better sense. And the designer's perspective is heavily influenced by a thorough client assessment.
Does this level of service cost more? Yes, probably. But a couple hundred dollars up front to hire a qualified designer who will accurately assess your lifestyle and evaluate your future needs, pales in comparison to leaving your design to chance. The number one secret to good home design is to avoid cutting costs at this stage of your project and find a home designer who is an expert in assessing your needs and applying the design criteria that will make your house a home for a lifetime.