Sustainable Architectural Design

Sustainable Architectural Design by German Architects

“Modular,” “sustainable” and “transportable” – these are three words used to describe this sustainable architectural design from Germany’s Studio Aisslinger. The Fincube is a low-energy house characterized by its horizontal slats of locally grown timber enclosing a transparent, glass wall structure. Packing a great punch in 47m2 of living space, these eco homes boast a clean, contemporary style to match the clean method of design and construction in these small CO2-footprint homes. Interiors are minimalist in look and maximalist in feel and function, with every modern convenience at your fingertips, wherever that may be (these modular homes are easily dismantled and reassembled). This compact home design is small but sweet – the way of the eco-friendly future!

Modern Loft Living in Australia

Modern Loft Living in Australia - oriented strand board charm!

Living in this modern loft must be fun! Australian architecture firm Edwards Moore designed this cool, contemporary loft extension in Fitzroy, Melbourne that can only be described as "shabby-chic". The largely open-concept home features decidedly high-end, luxurious-looking elements like concrete and reflective surfaces juxtaposed against the exposed oriented strand board furniture and built-ins (which takes on its own unique charm in this creative context), making this compact home literally the definition of shabby-chic. Throughout, one quick look and you’ll understand why it’s called the Cubby House – a collection of built-in shelving and cubby units offer plenty of stylish storage – a must in a small home. And bringing multi-function to this space, we love the bathtub in the master bedroom!

Exteriors and Interiors in Japan

House with Wood Exteriors and Interiors in Japan

Japanese firm a.un architects are behind this simple yet modern wood exterior / interior house design in Mie, Japan. From the outside in, this unusual innovative house plan is clad in wood and features a down-to-earth look that works wonderfully with its surroundings. Every room offers vistas of sea and sky by virtue of the home’s 30-degree curved design, which is elevated 1.8 meters from street level. Inside this compact yet functional plan, a great upper loft design idea offers an added living space to enjoy with an open-to below view of the main floor. No matter where you are or where you’re looking, the timber gives the house its characteristic organic warmth and a welcoming aesthetic that’s ideal for the family – complete with two active young boys – that calls this place “home.”

Contemporary Japanese House

Contemporary Japanese House - Live / Work House

This contemporary live / work home in Nikko, Tochigi by architect Japanese Katsutoshi Sasaki artfully balances life’s essentials with a modern aesthetic, all in a compact 1,752-sq.-ft. space. This small but sweet structure houses a single-family home and a hair salon, all within its two-storey frame. The home's slanted-pentagon shape is covered by an innovative roof that extends from the top along the side of the house, bending and rolling right into its main body – an unusual feature that can be seen from a side-profile view. A wall of windows sits beneath the overhanging roof, which boasts a series of 13 cut-outs that become various windows, doors and skylights. Interiors are clean and modern-looking, finished with light woods, white walls, plenty of natural light, and an upper loft area overlooking the living spaces and salon below. Katsutoshi Sasaki
via What We Do Is Secret.

Barbados Mini Modern Plan

Barbados Mini - Modern Plan D71-2592

Barbados Mini is a modern beach home styled after the luxury beach homes of the caribbean coast. The interior of the home faces the pool courtyard which is filled with the sound of the waterfall wall. Living and dining are divided by a textured glass wall, and open to the pool with folding doors by Nanawall. The upper floor houses 4 bedrooms, laundry room and sitting area. Stairs lead to the sundeck and hot tub above the garage.










$1,200

Standard Plan Sets for this house plan include a single-use license. You may send pdf files to your local blueprint copy store and print as many copies as necessary to build one house one time. CAD files, when available, include a license to use and/or modify the house plan to build one house one time.

• Bathrooms: 2
• Bedrooms: 4
• Ceiling Heights: 9 ft
• Dining: casual, breakfast
• Fireplaces: 0
• Foundation: Slab
• Garage: 2 car garage
• Levels: 2
• Living Areas: formal, greatroom
• Outdoor Areas: patio, covered patio, porch, balcony
• Roof: metal
• Width x Depth: 44 x 66

Family Home Plans

Family Home Plans, Family house Plans

About Family Home Plans:

House Plans with family foundations are usually found in the northern states where the water table is low enough so it does not flood during construction or after the home is complete. Daylight family foundations can be built in other areas even in Florida if it is on a sloping or hillside lot.









families are a welcome addition to the home if you are in an area that families can be built. It can give you a large recreation room that can be out of the way of the rest of the home which is great especially if you have children. Home theaters are perfect in a family because they generally have little or no windows so you will not have to worry about any glare on the TV screen and the acoustics can be awesome. A home office works out great in the family too. It will offer you all of the peace and quiet that you need to work and it keeps all of your important paperwork in its place away from your entertaining areas and gathering places. A full family foundation can be finished at a later date if it is not in your budget to finish it at the time the home is built. It can be finished as one large room or can be made in to living spaces and bedrooms. One thing to remember is, if you are not going to finish the family right away but plan to put a bathroom or kitchen in the family later when you do, make sure the plumber has the stub outs there to finish it at a later date.

A slab foundation or a crawlspace foundation does cost less to build than a full family foundation but a family is well worth it if you can do one. An important thing to remember with a full family is it will definitely help with the resell of your home. If the family is finished it can be a wonderful return on your investment. If the family is not finished it will still be a plus on the value of your home. Extra storage space is always needed.

House Plans with Daylight families, also referred to as walk out families, are foundations designed for a sloping lot or a hillside lot. They usually have one or more sides exposed with windows and doors and have one or more sides of the home underground. A lot of the time they are done where from the street it will appear as a one story home but when you walk down the sloping lot to the back it will be two stories. Sometimes the home will be two stories from the front with the back will be one story depending on how your lot slopes. Most daylight family or walk out family plans give access to the rear or side yard from the family level which is great unlike a full family which is usually completely underground unless you have steps put in leading outside when the house is built.

Most of the house plans that we offer can have a family or daylight family foundation added to the plan if it is not already designed that way. There is a fee for this if it is not already designed with one and it cannot ship out to you until the foundation modification is complete. The time frame for this can be anywhere from one day to several weeks. It depends on the plan and who the designer is. Please call us for pricing and time frame. If the plan is already designed with a family or daylight foundation it will ship right out to you promptly. There is more work and cost involved in designing a daylight family so it will generally take longer than a full family. In the long run, if a family or a daylight family are an option for you, it will be well worth the extra cost and work involved.

Right Plan for Your New Home

How to Choose the Right Plan for Your New Home

1. Choose a House Plan That Suits Your Land
Choose a plan that fits the characteristics of your land. It's better to make the house fit the land rather than try to make the land fit the house. Also, the size and shape of your lot affects the type of home you can build on the lot.

2. Be Open-minded
It's important to be open-minded when looking at houses. By doing this, you'll learn things you never realized. Over time, your 'ideal' home will evolve and change. If you are like most people, you will probably buy a home that is different from what you thought you wanted. Don't quickly discard houses. You will have a better understanding of what you want by taking a close look at many houses.

3. Exteriors Are Easy to Change
Some people will only look at a house if they like its appearance. However, usually the house's exterior can easily be changed. The changes to an exterior can be so dramatic that you won't realize you are looking at the same house. To change the exterior, you can use different windows, modify roof lines, and change exterior details. Don't judge a home by its appearance. It's the inside that really counts. After all, you'll spend 90% of your time on the inside of your home.

4. Hidden Potential
You might discard the right home because you don't see its hidden potential. For example, say you don't like living rooms and you avoid houses that have living rooms. However, a living room could serve another purpose. It could become a den, a nursery, or an additional bedroom. It could also be an excellent dining room. Changing the location of a doorway or adding a wall may convert a room into something you would really love. Sometimes all you need to do is rename a room. When looking at houses, look for the hidden potential.

5. Perfect Homes Don't Exist
Some people spend years searching for the perfect home. However, they never find it because their perfect home is a fantasy. It doesn't really exist. Be realistic when shopping for a home. Ask yourself what are features you must have and what are features you want to have. When you find a house that meets your requirements, it may not have all of your wants. However, if you hold on to your dream of a perfect home, you might pass up the right house and regret it later.

Luxury Cliff House

Luxury Cliff House with Huge Pool – a Dream Holiday House

Luxury and modern cliff house design. It’s a dream house, with huge pool, with has features of amazing sightseeing, an Arabian Sea coast and coconut plantation. It’s located in Kerala, India. This luxury cliff house, was designed with unique and unusual house design. It’s has roof with an asymmetrical angled roof. The roof made of mix of concrete, polished cement, timber, and also natural kota stone. This is a dream house, a holiday house with unique and unusual design, that people with love it. This luxury cliff house, build in 1397 sqm area. It’s provide everything for family to get their dream holiday in this house. It has a luxury interior, a cozy interior. Also the interior design was very clean, minimalist, but elegant. The huge pool, improve this house to connected with nature. Let’s see this Luxury Cliff House with Huge Pool – a Dream Holiday House.


Unusual house design Luxury Cliff House with Huge Pool - a Dream Holiday House


asymetric roof Luxury Cliff House with Huge Pool - a Dream Holiday House


Water pond Luxury Cliff House with Huge Pool - a Dream Holiday House


unique house Luxury Cliff House with Huge Pool - a Dream Holiday House


Simple interior Luxury Cliff House with Huge Pool - a Dream Holiday House


Modern Luxury Cliff House with Huge Pool - a Dream Holiday House


Luxury interior Luxury Cliff House with Huge Pool - a Dream Holiday House


Great pool Luxury Cliff House with Huge Pool - a Dream Holiday House


Elegant Luxury Cliff House with Huge Pool - a Dream Holiday House


Cozy interior Luxury Cliff House with Huge Pool - a Dream Holiday House


Comfortable bedroom Luxury Cliff House with Huge Pool - a Dream Holiday House


Clean interior Luxury Cliff House with Huge Pool - a Dream Holiday House

Home Design Tips

Home Design Tips: Get the ball rolling on your dream home

Building your own little cozy adobe is a dream for many. The design for your home would have started long back in your own mind and before actually taking shape on paper, every individual has a certain perception and vision for what his home must ultimately look and feel like. But designing a home is a lot more than just owning a piece of land and then handing the construction process over to a reputable firm. At every step you must take care that you get what you want- ultimately it’s you who’s going to live inside those walls. That’s why these home design tips will help you get over the early blues and lay the right foundation for your future home.



Make sure you have done enough research on home design

The first step to designing a home is to understand what exactly you are looking for and the direction you would like to move forward. For this, one must take a look at the many existing models available in the market today and what features you like best among them. This is a matter of purely individual choice and by doing your homework on home design you understand what you are exactly going to get.

Create your own blueprint and check its feasibility with an expert

Design your own blueprint for the home and if you are architectural engineer, then check the technical feasibility and the intricacies with the expert that will put the “pieces” together. You don’t have to own a construction degree to sketch up your own blueprint. Good observation and decent creativity are more than sufficient to get the job done.




Make a cost estimate and keep your budget in mind

The design that you often end up with is largely governed by the budget that we have allotted for the construction of the home. Make sure you get all the estimates right and also ensure that the total cost is just a tad bit below the budget. This way you can accommodate any unforeseen expenditure as well. There are very few in this world that can afford the luxury of building a home with no budget ceiling. So keeping a tab on the cash is very vital.



Maximize space and plan for future expansions

The aim of every blueprint that you pencil down must be to maximize the available space to the hilt, create an ambient and practical living atmosphere and to allow for any planned future expansions. There might be occasions when you build the basic portion of the home and wish to expand on few lavish excesses when you have further time and cash on hand. Your basic home design must contain room for all these expansions.

Home design plan must suit your interior decorating needs

Remember that whatever you are going to do in future, you will have to work within that walls of the home that you build today. Depending on your choice and needs, your design must allot space and location of rooms. In some cases people prefer a larger than usual living room, while others might prefer a more even use of space. Have a vision for what you will do with the interiors even before you build them.



Let lighting and heating needs take prominence

Your home design must keep in mind the effects of natural sun light and heat. The direction and the home’s windows, define these factors. Make sure that the home is always well-lit by natural lights during daytime. Also, keep in mind that the use of skylights is a popular option that is catching on these days.

Home design is a culmination of technical and aesthetic aspects. The right balance between both of them is a must, and can only be achieved when your personal tastes are integrated with comfortable and practical design

House Cleaning for your house

House Cleaning: Let the Professionals Deep Clean

If you are able to keep up with the daily chores involved in making a home look great, but rarely get around to completing the occasional deep clean, it is time to get some assistance. Professional house cleaning services do not need to come to your home everyday to make a big difference. Find out what kind of service is offered by such companies so that you can get your home on the fast track to being spotless year round.













Maybe you do not mind completing the necessary daily tasks, such as doing dishes and laundry, wiping down counters, or making the bed. However, you might hate dealing with tasks that involve keeping the floors spotless. You typically do not need to sweep, mop, or vacuum everyday, but for some people, even getting around to the chore once a week is a big ordeal. Let a house cleaning service complete this job for you, whether on a weekly basis or less frequently. As long as it gets done at some point, it does not matter who does it, so why stress yourself out about it?

Sometimes vacuuming the carpet does not work wonders on its appearance like you may have hoped. Stains can really take away from an otherwise clean home, but you do not have to let it. Most house cleaning companies provide a way to get rid of stains that have been on the carpet for a while, allowing you to finally get the spotless look you crave. Of course, polishing hardware floor once in a while is another service that most companies provide, so do not think that they cannot help you just because you do not have carpet.

Lots of people forget about the less obvious types of house cleaning, such as polishing windows. This is especially true if you have blinds or other window coverings throughout, as you do not constantly see the smears on the glass. This also goes for windows that are particularly high up, including skylights. Rather than pulling out a ladder and a rag, have the professionals complete this task for you.

If you think that keeping up with the typical household chores is all you need to do, you are missing out on having the cleanest home possible. If you do not have time to spring clean, it is okay to enlist someone else to do it, especially if they are particularly good at it. Allow a house cleaning company to perform these jobs and more.

Building And Designing House

Building And Designing A Bird House

A growing community of bird enthusiasts not only enjoy the pleasure of bird-watching, which normally means observing birds quietly from a distance, they also extend this hobby to designing and building bird houses to attract them right into their own garden or backyard. Designing a bird house does not have to cost the earth and for anyone who enjoys woodworking and do-it-yourself activity it is a perfect way to spark your creativity.

There are a variety of ready-made kits for the novice bird house hobbyists to get you started but if you enjoy a challenge, constructing a bird house would require some initial design planning, then it is just a matter of assembling pieces of wood and materials that can be easily sourced from any hardware stores together, dusting off and putting your garage power tools to good use!

To get some new ideas or inspiration, there are a host of websites on the internet that offer invaluable insight into the process of bird house design and construction. Many books and publications target bird house construction for a specific species such as sparrows, titmice, swallows and nuthatches which often take advantage of a readily available nesting box or custom-made bird house.












Understanding the type of birds for which the bird houses are built is important when designing any bird house. The design of your bird house often does depend on a range of factors such as the size of the bird, their nesting behaviour (for example sparrows are gregarious creatures and like living in groups, therefore a bird house that can accommodate at least 3 mating pairs would be ideal), whether your bird house is predator-proof (for example the bird needs to feel safe roosting or nesting in your robust bird house with the entrance hole small enough to allow the bird through but too small for any predators to cause any trouble) and whether your bird house is located at a high enough location to fend off predators such as bigger birds, cats or dogs with ideal nesting conditions (for example the bird house is not in direct sunlight which could cause overheating to offspring and provides shelter from the rain.)

Most birds would choose a bird house that resembles a tree cavity, a place where the conditions are dry and relatively warm, free from dust or dampness and most importantly a place where predators cannot easily reach. Just like in their natural environment, use natural nesting materials such as coconut fibres, twigs and dry grass in your bird house to encourage mating. Weather proof the bird house with bird friendly non-toxic water-proof paint and ensure there are no loose bits that may come apart due to harsher weather conditions.

Building a bird house can be a family activity enjoyed by the young and old. Share your ideas with other budding bird house builders either through online forums, craft fairs or bird house suppliers. Not only is it a rewarding experience to design and create a bird house from scratch, the ultimate compliment will be when you find a contented mating pair nesting in it.

Release Equity on House

Release Equity on House - an Effective Means to Satiate Your Monetary Needs

It is a serious challenge for the retirees to meet the rising monthly expenses with the slender amount of pension. With the interest rate plunging down considerably, the saving is not spurting out substantial income to live on. The retired personnel are getting increasingly engrossed into the deep thought - how to meet both ends meet. Is there any effective solution to ensure the smooth sailing? The answer is a convincing and resounding ‘yes'. If they own houses, they can utilize the release equity on house facility to satiate their needs and support their income.

The laymen do not have good hang of the release equity on house policy though many of them are well aware of the preeminence presence of such a program. If to be defined in the simplest of the simple terms, it is an effective means to flush out the equities out of the properties. The equities are tied up to the owned houses. The release equity on house unties the equities and gets them converted into cash.

But what happens if you already have existing mortgage policies? Well, then the release equity on house planning involves a little bit of complexities. The value of the existing mortgage loan is subtracted from the current value of the property. So if you have nil amount of mortgage, then you can access more money through the release equity on house plan as there will be no subtraction in this case.

The aged personnel may throw a salvo of questions regarding the release equity on house policy. The most important is obviously the amount of money that can be released. Well, it depends upon several factors. The age of the person figures as the crucial factor. In general, the persons who are over 55years of age qualify for such a policy. The more aged a person is, the more money he or she can release out of the properties by dint of the effective use of the release equity on house facility. The next important determinant is the value of the property at the market rate. The value of the real estate is in turn dependent upon its condition as well as the location. The ebb and flow of the economy has also a strong impact upon the value of a property. The volume of money, worth extracting out of the equities differs a lot in accordance with the scheme. For example, there are various equity release schemes UK but the amount to be released differs a lot provided the other factors remain unaltered. So, it is a consortium of several factors that determines how much one can avail through the release equity on house plan.

How will I give the loan back? This is the inevitable question that any financial expert has got tired of answering. But you can not blame the olds for that; after all they should have the nitty-gritty of the release equity on house policy at their finger tips. They should not think of paying the loan back. Unbelievable, is not it? But amazingly, it is true. Of course, the interest rate keep piling on and getting closer to a massive figure with the passage of time. Paying back the loan, accessed through the release equity on house facility, is not mandatory till your death but you can give a part of it back to the provider and thereby reducing the volume of the total amount. You can access the loan as the lump sum amount or as the constant flow of monthly income or even as a mix of two facilities.