How to Start Your Home Design

Thinking of building a new home? Here are some tips for getting your ideas together for your home design.

• Find and purchase your land
• Start documenting your ideas to present to Bonin Architects

Why is it important to purchase your land before you start getting too far in the process of the home design? The land will undoubtedly have an impact on the design of the home: its footprint, number of stories, whether or not you can have a walkout basement, orientation, etc. Once you have your land, Bonin Architects will visit the property with you to help site the home within the town Planning Board regulations and the Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act guidelines.

Then it’s time to start gathering your ideas for your new home. General requirements such as the use of the home (primary residence, vacation, or retirement home), the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the location of your Master Bedroom, the use of outdoor space, and having an eat-in kitchen or separate dining room are some things to start thinking about.

Bonin Architects will work with you during the Schematic Design Phase of the home design to develop the size, footprint and layout of the home. In this phase you will also address any specialty features, rooms, and other priorities you have for the home, including a home theater, office and/or media room, craft room, sun room, porches, decks and basement use. Use your current home as a comparison for what you like and what you do not like about each room, space, and its use.

Working with Bonin Architects for your home design will result in having much more than a home with a standard floor plan – together, we will create a custom home design that matches your philosophy and lifestyle, a reflection of who you are, how you live.

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Remodeling a House with Fire Damage

One of our projects is for a new two-story addition and remodel to a home damaged by fire last year in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Thankfully the fire was contained and only one wing was lost.  

Our architects are working directly with our clients to design the addition to closely match the existing house while taking advantage of the opportunity to make updates to the floor plan.

The ground floor in the new wing has an open kitchen and generous pantry, as well as a breakfast nook overlooking a three season porch.  A new two-story tower will conveniently house a stairway to the second floor Master Bedroom and a sitting area above the porch below.

To see other work by our residential architects, visit the On The Boards section on our website!

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Vacation Cottage Plans, Sunapee NH

Construction will begin right after Labor Day on our client’s vacation cottage in Blodgett’s Landing on Lake Sunapee. The new cottage was designed within the Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act (CSPA) guidelines and the historic nature of Blodgett Landing’s architectural style.

The cottage design has its roots in the Landing’s Victorian influenced architecture; steep gables, expansive porches and lacy "gingerbread" trim all have been distilled into a clean modern interpretation of the area’s homes.

 

The floor plans are designed to enjoy lakeside living with the basement level providing access to and from the lake, along with a ¾ bath, media room and game room with a snack area and wine refrigerator.

The cottage plans feature a spacious porch overlooking the lake and adjacent open kitchen, dining, and living room for entertaining. The master suite on the second level also features a covered balcony for quiet evenings spent watching the sunset over Lake Sunapee.

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Georgian House | Colonial Revival

Our newest home design is for clients building a Colonial Revival in the Lake Sunapee area. This home style is also called a Georgian House, and is one of America’s favorite architectural styles.

This 4200 square foot, two story home has traditional form and simple, elegant lines indicative of colonial architecture. The home design is symmetrical and has a centrally located entry door and curved stairway. Windows are proportioned and balanced, and two fireplaces are located on each gable end of the home, also true to colonial home design.

The floor plan features an abundance of open and defined living space for hosting dinner parties and accommodating private conversations or visiting grandchildren watching television. The large, top-of-the-line kitchen is open to the dining and living areas, while a sunroom captures property views and adds to entertaining space.

The home also features an elevator to accommodate any future accessibility issues to the second floor master suite and guest bedrooms.

A guest house and barn were built last year on the property, allowing our clients to living in the carriage house while the main home is being built this spring.

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Home Remodel and Addition

Work is under way for the remodeling phase for our clients' homes in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.

The home remodelling plans include building an addition to add living space (brown sections on drawings indicate remodelled areas / changes). The existing dining area will move to the current living room, and the kitchen will gain the space created by moving the dining.

Kitchen / dining before remodel

Kitchen during remodelling

In addition to the kitchen renovation, the original one-story bump-out on the first floor west elevation will be replaced with a structural insulated panel, two-story addition in order to remodel the first floor bath and double the size of the second floor bathroom located above. Check back for ongoing construction photos!

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Home Design Specific to Your Location

Building in different localities means addressing issues specific to your site location. Here are some design issues to consider when building a home…

On a mountaintop:
Views
Terrain and slope
Solar gain
Prevailing winds

On a lake:
Views
Solar gain

Drainage
Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act or applicable guidelines and restrictions

In the suburbs:
Views
Solar gain and shading

Slope
Architectural Review Board guidelines and regulations

One of our clients is building an energy efficient home on top of a mountain in southwestern New Hampshire (Jaffrey). The 73-acre property faces east and runs from hilltop to the bottom with a fantastic 180-degree view from Mt. Monadnock due north, to Temple, Kidder, and Barrett Mountains to the east, to Mt. Watatic and even Wachusett to the south.

The terrain where the house will be sited is fairly level, which will save money in excavation costs.

The home will be situated with the main living areas (living room and master bedroom) facing east and south. The majority of windows is located on these elevations to take advantage of the fantastic views. Our clients will incorporate solar hot water and geothermal heating systems and are considering using a wind turbine to generate electricity. Click on the link for more photos and the floor plan for this energy efficient one-story house.

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Custom Home Design Update

The home design process is continuing for our clients in southern NH.

One of our clients’ priorities is having enough space to entertain about 20 people four times a year. To add more living / entertaining space in the floor plan, the dining table was reduced in size and moved to replace the informal banquette. While the table is still large enough to seat extended family for holiday meals, the enlarged open living area is better suited toward hosting cocktail parties.

The dormer bays in the living and dining areas were changed to soften the interior lines. The kitchen was reconfigured slightly to take advantage of the added space and to streamline traffic flow.

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Custom Home Design

This 4400 square foot custom home design features an open floor plan and one story living for our clients who want to accommodate visiting family and entertain guests throughout the year.

The main areas of the home – the kitchen, dining, and great room, are designed to accommodate our clients’ entertaining goals. Custom features include a gourmet kitchen with Viking and Subzero appliances and a large butler ’s pantry. A banquette, which comfortably seats ten, and a built-in china hutch are housed in a bump-out near the kitchen. A wet bar is conveniently placed near the kitchen and the living areas to aid in entertaining.

The home design also features two offices with abundant windows, creating positive, sunny work areas for this busy couple. The spacious custom master suite is configured for maximum flexibility. The bathroom directly accesses the laundry (which is also accessible from the main living area as well) and the bathroom and bedroom are easily separated for privacy. The closets are designed to have double-stack clothes storage as well as single and a dresser/storage island in the middle. The master bedroom has plenty of room for a cozy sitting area next to the gas fireplace.

The two second floor bedrooms have private baths and access to symmetrical reading balconies overlooking the cathedral great room, providing a breathtaking view of the timber frame.With several outside entertaining spaces, guest will enjoy a covered front porch expanding seventy two feet, an enclosed screen porch with a built-in gas grill, and a patio leading from the walk out basement with an extensive custom media room.

We are busy with several other current projects, including a lakefront cottage, one story house plans, an Energy Star home, and quite a few timber houses. Check them out!

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Small Home Design

One of our clients is building a lakefront cottage on their property in southern New Hampshire for their visiting children and grandchildren to use during the summer months. Some of their requirements included:

• Large porch for entertaining and to capture lake views
• Plenty of bedrooms for extended family
• A first-floor bedroom to address any future accessibility issues
• Plenty of storage for seasonal items
• Large enough common areas (including kitchen, dining, and living areas) for guests to feel comfortable in the cottage when not gathering at the main house
  

The preliminary design addresses these goals nicely. The small home design is based on a traditional cape form with 4 foot knee walls on the second floor with some classic cottage detailing, such as the shingles in the gable dormers, larger rake and eave overhangs. A large 8’ porch provides access to the entry, and wraps around both the side and front of the home to maximize views of the lake and bring the outdoors into the home. The dining room features French doors which open to the porch, and the living room has large windows which also help take full advantage of the lake scenery. A fireplace will help take the chill off of autumn nights.
The open dining / living areas include built-ins for plateware, and the kitchen includes a small breakfast counter and stools. A large walk-in pantry provides additional storage space for the kitchen, and the mechanical room is housed conveniently behind the pantry pass-through door. The L in the stairs provides the perfect spot for an entry closet, while a small bench allows swimmers to towel off and remove sandals before entering the cottage.

A first-floor bedroom includes dual closets and a full bath with whirlpool tub / shower. A large window in the Master Bedroom also looks out over the porch and the lake.

The second floor has three bedrooms for extended family, each having large closets. Dormers allow for additional windows to meet egress and ventilation requirements in the bedrooms. The chimney on the second floor is hidden in a large storage area that can be used for seasonal items.

The efficient design will lend itself to using SIP panels and should provide a fantastic opportunity to heat the home with radiant floor heat if the client chooses to head in that direction.

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Home Design Room Layout: Sketches Work Great!

Sketches on tracing paper in the preliminary design phase come in handy to see alternate room layouts and spatial relationships. Clients love the artistry involved and the human element to their design.

The client was unsure about whether to have the wood stove centered on the gable endwall or in the corner. The sketches were quick and extremely helpful in showing various furniture layouts as well as window and door options.

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Lakefront Home Plans - NH

Here are green home plans for clients building a vacation home on their lakefront property located in rural New Hampshire. The property has an existing cottage, which will be torn down.

The new energy efficient home will be just shy of 2500 square feet, with 1530 square feet on the first floor and 950 square feet on the second floor. With three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths, the home will have plenty of room for visiting children and grandchildren. The site plan shows the lakefront and proposed location of the home.

One of our clients' requirements was to have a first floor Master Bedroom with view of the lake. Planning to do a lot of entertaining, they also desired a large screened porch for enjoying evenings on the lake with protection from insects. Adding a one-car garage at an angle to the house allows for an extended dining area and nicely houses a walk-in pantry and mudroom / laundry. We're talking about a solar hot water system and possible solar photovoltaic system. All materials will be energy efficient and low maintenance - a must for a vacation / retirement home.

The entrance to the home is designed to have an unobstructed, straight view to the lake, which makes the open floor plan appear even larger than it is, and brings the outdoors into the home. The second floor includes a large home office with a walk-out balcony. Overnight guests have plenty of room with two bedrooms and a large bathroom. A generous storage area next to the stairs will come in handy to store seasonal items.

See more of my current work, including some timber frame homes.

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Small Green Home Design

I met Pat and Andy at a Log and Timber Frame Home Show, and shortly after, they asked me to design their vacation / retirement home on their property in northern Maine. While they like timber frame homes, they thought it might be too much for this modest project.

Their project goals were:

• Small footprint to minimize carbon footprint
• Energy efficiency in all four New England seasons
• Environmentally-conscious to minimize site impact
• Low maintenance and durability, easy to open and close up
• Security in rural setting
• Take advantage of lake views
• Possible addition in future

Translating their goals into an energy efficient, small home design was not a problem, as Pat and Andy had collected a three-ring binder full of notes, pictures, and ideas. The home design, at 1100 square feet, is both energy efficient and practical.

The plan is a passive solar design, with the first floor receiving the low winter sun in early morning and late evening under the varied depth of the porch roof. The second floor, meanwhile, has a moderate roof overhang and will always provide abundant light

Natural cross ventilation will come from the east, south, and west elevations. A cupola provides release for summer heat, and also adds to the architectural aesthetics.

The north side of the building includes a first floor laundry with a storage bench under the window. This is the most buildable side of the design, and will be the location of a future addition to the home.

A central stairway fits nicely in the small home design, eliminating the need for hallways and keeping the footprint to a minimum. Its openness provides natural light between floors and increases ventilation.

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Energy Efficient Home, East Machias, Maine

Here’s a plan for our clients, Pat & Andy, who are building a vacation / retirement home in northern Maine. Wanting a home that was both energy efficient and comfortable in all seasons, Pat and Andy met with us to talk about their ideas and budget last fall. They own an existing cabin, which will remain on the property as guest quarters. The new home will be located down the road on the lake. The home design is 1100 square feet of efficiency and will be built right on the lake to take advantage of the gorgeous seasonal views and abundant wildlife.

The program includes energy efficiency, conscientiousness, durability, and security, solar access, and building orientation. Lake views are prominent to the east, south, and west, which coincides nicely with passive solar design considerations and give an excellent opportunity for a continuous porch on these elevations. The cold north elevation has a minimal amount of windows to help keep the home warm while allowing for a planned future addition on this side. The entry and kitchen are located on the south-east side of the building, granting easy access to the driveway and unloading of groceries.

To keep the building energy efficient, a second floor takes advantage of views from the higher elevation and also to keep the home’s footprint to a minimum, controlling costs and site impact. This divided the program into two floors – the first floor being the public space and the second floor serving as personal space for Andy and Pat.

With permits in place, we just moved into the construction phase of the design. We’ve talked about SIP panels (structural insulated panels) and windows and will make decisions on energy efficient building materials soon. Things will be moving along quickly so they can break ground this spring. Look for updates soon!

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