How to Choose the Right Floor Plan for Your Budget

The right floor plan doesn’t have to be the largest one. It doesn’t have to be the one that has every feature under the sun. It’s the one that suits the way your family actually lives, within the budget you’ve set.

Choosing the best floor plan for your home, your family and your budget is at once one of the most exciting and one of the most challenging parts of the home building process.

You’ve got to imagine how your family will actually use your new home while you make decisions about square footage, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, storage vs. entertaining space, kitchen vs. seating space, and hundreds of other details. All the while, you have to keep your overall construction budget in mind.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be the largest possible square footage; it just has to be the right combination of space, function, and features for you.

Key Takeaways

• The right floor plan doesn’t have to be the largest, it just has to suit your family’s way of living
• Square footage isn’t the only way a floor plan can affect cost, the way the plan is modified or adjusted can make a huge difference in overall construction cost
• Starting from proven UBH plans and making your own adjustments is often much easier than trying to design from scratch
• You can also bring your own plan that you’d like to use with us, and we’ll be happy to price it and work with you on adjustments to fit your budget and your lot
• Your lot, size, access and more should be taken into account along with square footage and floor plan
• The goal is to help you get the most value for your money by spending it on the things your family will actually use, rather than trying to get every feature available

Start With What Your Family Really Needs

Before you even start to think about square footage, consider how your family will actually use the home.

How many bedrooms will you really need? Do you really need a home office? Do you need extra storage? Would you prefer an open floor plan or more division between your various living spaces?

It’s important to write down what will really matter to you so that you can separate your needs from your wants.

That can be particularly important if you’re trying to stick to a budget when you build your custom home.

Before you even start comparing floor plans, ask yourself these questions:

• How many bedrooms will we actually need, as opposed to just wanting?
• Would we actually use a home office, or would it just sit empty most of the time?
• Do we need extra space to entertain, or would an open kitchen and living area suit us just fine?
• What extra storage do we need that we don’t have now?
• Would we rather have another bedroom, or would we rather have a larger kitchen and more outdoor space?

Think Beyond the Square Footage

When it comes to floor plans, it can be easy to get hung up on square footage, thinking that more square footage always equals more space. However, that’s simply not the case.

A well-designed floor plan can make smaller square footage feel much larger, and the way that square footage is divided up can make a world of difference as well.

For instance, an open kitchen, dining and living area can create a much larger space than you might expect, without having to have a bigger square footage. Additionally, storage space can allow you to use the square footage you have more efficiently.

Rather than thinking, “how big of a house can we afford to build?” try thinking, “how can we make the most of the square footage we have?”

What to Look for in Floor Plans

It can be difficult to envision a floor plan as a real-life home, so here are some things to look for before you fall in love with a certain layout:

• Follow the path that you take through the house every day. How many steps will you have to take from the garage to the kitchen? How many steps from your bedroom to the bathroom? How many steps from the kitchen to the dining area? Try tracing a daily route on the plan
• Rather than just looking at the square footage in a bedroom, think about the furniture that you would put in that room. A 12×12 bedroom may not be big enough for all the furniture you want, based on the layout. Ask your builder about the kinds of furniture that would fit well in different areas of the house
• Where are the windows and doors located? How will that affect furniture placement? Remember that furniture placement affects traffic patterns through the house as well
• Which rooms are near noisy areas, such as your main living area or your laundry room? Those rooms will be much harder to make soundproof
• How many stairs will you have to climb on a daily basis? If you’re building a two-story home, think about how often you’ll have to climb up and down for laundry, groceries or things you forget

Some common floor plan mistakes to avoid:

• A great room that is larger than it appears on paper, leaving little room for furniture once windows, doors and other features are added in
• Pantries or closets that are too deep and narrow to actually use
• Powder rooms that are right next to your main living or dining area
• Laundry rooms that are too far from the bedrooms

Understand How Floor Plan Choices Can Affect Your Budget

While square footage is an obvious factor in determining the cost of constructing your new home, it isn’t the only consideration.

It’s important to think about what you’ll spend your money on, as certain adjustments to certain floor plans will cost more than others, depending on the specific structure and construction of the home you’re going to build.

That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make adjustments; it just means that you should know what’s most important to you before you start.

If an extra bedroom is a priority, for instance, you might be willing to sacrifice some other square footage to get it. On the other hand, another family might prefer a larger kitchen or a covered outdoor space.

What You Prioritize May Determine What You Sacrifice

If You Prioritize…	You Might Sacrifice…
An extra bedroom	Square footage elsewhere in the home (or another feature)
A home office	Guest room flexibility or more storage
An open-concept living area	Defined, separated rooms with more privacy
A larger primary suite	Square footage elsewhere in the home (or another feature)
A three-car garage	Interior square footage or upgraded finishes

For instance, a family that entertains often might sacrifice some square footage in the primary bedroom to accommodate a larger kitchen island and an open dining area. A family that works from home might sacrifice a dining room in favor of a private office. Neither choice is necessarily better than the other; it just depends on what matters most to that specific family and how they spend their time.

There are no right or wrong choices when it comes to home design, only choices that make more sense for you based on your priorities and your lifestyle.

Start With a Proven Floor Plan and Make It Your Own

It can be overwhelming to start completely from scratch when designing your home, which is why you can begin with a proven floor plan.

United Built Homes has a wide variety of home plans to choose from that will serve as a jumping-off point for your own personal adjustments and modifications.

Maybe you want to tweak a room, or maybe you want to make bigger adjustments to the design. Either way, starting with a proven design can be much easier than staring at a blank page.

Already Have a Floor Plan You Love?

You can also bring your own plan to use.

While we have lots of options for you to choose from, if you already have something specific in mind, bring it with you.

As long as the size, design and features fit well with the kinds of homes we build, our team will be happy to work with you to price the home, make adjustments and finalize the plan to suit your budget and your lot.

Consider Your Land, Too

When you build on your own land, you don’t just have to think about what goes on inside the home; you also have to think about your land itself.

You have to consider the size of your lot, how you want to orient your home on it, and how you’ll approach property access, among other things.

That’s why it’s important to start thinking about your land, home and budget together, rather than in isolation.

The Best Floor Plan Is the One That Works for You

It’s easy to get caught up thinking in terms of square footage, but the reality is that the best floor plan for you isn’t necessarily the one with the largest square footage. It’s the one that gives you what you need in terms of space, function and features, and that fits within the overall budget you’ve set for your new home.

At United Built Homes, we can work with you to take your ideas, your land and your budget and turn them into a real home plan that suits you perfectly.

So if choosing the floor plan for your new home sounds overwhelming, remember that you don’t have to do it alone. Start with your needs, find a floor plan that gets you most of the way there, and then make your own adjustments to make that plan perfect for you.

Ready to find the plan that’s right for you? Explore UBH’s home plans or find your nearest Design Center to get started.

FAQs About Choosing A Floor Plan

How do I know how big my floor plan should be?

Think about how your family will actually use a home rather than getting hung up on numbers. A smaller square footage can often feel much bigger than a larger one, depending on the layout and how the space is used.

Do floor plan changes affect construction cost?

They can, and some changes have a bigger effect than others. It’s important to know what you want and need before you make any major changes to a floor plan.

Can I bring my own floor plan to UBH instead of using one of theirs?

Yes. If the size, design and features match well with the homes we build, our team will be happy to work with you to price the plan, make adjustments and finalize the details to fit your budget and lot.

Does my land affect which floor plan will work?

It can. The size and shape of your lot, along with access to the property and how you want to orient the home on it, can affect which floor plan works best, which is why it’s a good idea to think about them together rather than in isolation.

What’s the best way to start choosing a floor plan?

Start with your needs, not with square footage. Think about what matters most to you, then find a plan that gets you most of the way there before making big changes. It’s always easier to build off a proven plan than to start from scratch.