Building designs consist of the number of floors, architectural style, square footage, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Optional factors in home design are mud rooms, formal dining areas, decks, patios, family areas, landscaping and entertainment rooms. A homeowner can see which items are part of a home design by viewing the blueprint. A blueprint of the house also shows where each area is located.

Before a person can decide on a home design, he needs to be aware of the square footage available to him. Plots of land usually have specific features that need to be planned around.http://www.toptenreviews.com/home-design-software-review/ten-tips-for-smart-home-design.html Also, a person has to pick a home design that has the proper dimensions and layout for the land.http://www.toptenreviews.com/home-design-software-review/ten-tips-for-smart-home-design.html A builder needs to be aware if the home owner plans to expand on to the house in the future.http://www.toptenreviews.com/home-design-software-review/ten-tips-for-smart-home-design.html Some designs are more difficult to expand than others.

A one-story house has just one floor above the ground. Therefore, it can include a basement. It is a plan that can benefit people with a large building plot, the elderly and the physically disabled.http://www.ehouseplans.com/single_level_house_plans_home/ Another benefit of a house with one level is energy efficiency.http://www.homeplans.com/1-story-home-plans Because only one level of the home needs to be heated and cooled, owners tend to have lower bills in these areas.http://www.homeplans.com/1-story-home-plans One-story homes can be found in the ranch and pueblo architectural styles.

Two-story homes have a complete first and second floor.http://www.thehousedesigners.com/two-story-house-plans.asp They allow a person to build on a smaller plot while still gaining vertical space with the second floor.http://www.homeplans.com/2-story-home-plans Therefore, the cost of building is less per square foot.http://www.homeplans.com/2-story-home-plans These homes can provide young families with a separate general area for children and adults.http://www.homeplans.com/2-story-home-plans Victorian, Gothic revival and French country are examples of two-story architectural designs.

Multi-level houses (also known as split-level houses) do not have a continuous upper level. The designs tend to have low-pitched roofs with an entrance that can lead upstairs or downstairs.http://www.homeplans.com/default.aspx?ct=r&shp=1&q=split+level This floor arrangement originally appeared around the 1950s.http://www.homeplans.com/default.aspx?ct=r&shp=1&q=split+level At that time, some homeowners wanted to expand their one-story ranch homes.http://www.homeplans.com/default.aspx?ct=r&shp=1&q=split+level A benefit of this design is that it can provide extra storage space in areas where a fully buried basement would not be possible because of flooding.http://www.theplancollection.com/house-plan-styles/Multi-Level Today, numerous architectural styles are made as split-level homes such as Victorian, modern and country.http://www.theplancollection.com/house-plan-styles/Multi-Level