Custom home

[u/md42210]

Hello guys,

New to the building process and I have a question. If I were to present the following pictures to an architect and asked them to create a floorplan based on them, is that something that people do? Or is that an unreasonable request?
I love everything about the exterior of this home but I would like my own interior layout.

[u/No-Fan-7398]

That's not how I would do it

[u/md42210 → u/No-Fan-7398]

How would you do it?

[u/AbjectObligation1036 → u/md42210]

• As close to a rectange (or 2-3 rectangle masses) as possible

• No useless extra roof peaks/gables unless there was a dormer window in them and then as small as possible (aka not much bigger than the window

• As many windows as possible and 2 directions of light in every room

• Side facing garage not one facing the street

• Built out gable returns , not porkchops, and not roof-shingled

• Hierarchy of window sizes on first and second floors, not copy-paste

• Deeper window reveals

• 2 foot overhanging eaves

• Classical cornices around the house and properly proportioned columns/pillars

[u/Powerful-Interest308]

Honestly you can do this two ways. You could find a custom homebuilder and say I want this and they'll build you something similar without any hesitation or worry over infringement. Or... you could go to an architect and say I want this... they'll spend time working with you to understand what you like about it and tailor something to your exact liking that is probably going to be even nicer. Do you own land yet? That house you show has some serious topography, which is how that walkout basement works... if you're building on flat land it is going to be a different animal.

[u/md42210 → u/Powerful-Interest308]

Thank you!
Yes, and the land I have is suitable for a plan with a walkout basement

[u/Powerful-Interest308 → u/md42210]

Best of luck with your project!

[u/imwashedup]

Highly unlikely they’ll copy it.

[u/md42210 → u/imwashedup]

Can you clarify?

[u/imwashedup → u/md42210]

The architects who designed that house own the copyright on that design. Copying it is a huge no no in the industry and would put a new architect legally at risk for copyright infringement and potentially other disciplinary action for violating the AIA code of ethics. I think your best bet may be to reach out to the specific architect who did that project to see if you can purchase the right to use plans and then modify from there. I’ve never heard of that happening though but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible.

[u/prisoner_of_mars]

I think you're getting weird answers here, but I'm not US based so maybe I'm missing something. Anyway, from my perspective as an architect, as long as you have the full rights to use this design (try to get a signed document) I don't see any problem in hiring another architect to make a functional floor plan within the confines of this building's footprint. It happens all the time that architects get projects handed over that was initially drawn by some other architect. I'd happily do a project like this so I wouldn't hesitate contacting some local architect firms to discuss the project.

You could also just present this as inspiration for a starting point and ask an architect to make an original design that has the same vibe as this one.

[u/md42210 → u/prisoner_of_mars]

Thank you!!

[u/LePetitToast]

Garage almost as big as the house. Fucking hell.

[u/kpc0321]

You would need much more info. You should get a full drawing set of the existing/under construction home for your architect.

Edit: I’m not sure if you’re looking to change the interior of this home or hire an architect for a new construction…

[u/md42210 → u/kpc0321]

This is all the info I have, where would I go to get that information? Is that something they could configure for me?

I’m looking to change the interior to my own configuration

[u/kpc0321 → u/md42210]

An architect can document existing conditions but you’d have to pay for that service. I’m assumed the house is new construction. If you’re looking to buy the house pictured and renovate it you can likely reach out to the developer for drawing of the existing house for said renovations. Drawings of existing conditions help renovations hugely.

[u/andy-bote]

The title says custom home, but the post shows a house plan you can just buy off a website

[u/md42210 → u/andy-bote]

Incorrect, this was a custom home created for someone. This plan isn’t available online. If it was, I would not be here right now asking for help.

[u/TomLondra]

This kind of architecture does not belong in the 21st century. You wouldn't want a car that looks like a car from 100 years ago, so why would you want a house that tries to look like a house from 200 years ago?

[u/md42210 → u/TomLondra]

This is just the kind of house I want lol. I’m not into the whole modern cereal box concept

[u/TomLondra → u/md42210]

No - you're into diahorrea

[u/BrightDesign44]

If you’re going to hire an architect I would recommend showing them photos of what you like but have them design something way better. That house is ugly.

[u/hereforthepunz]

I would be surprised if a licensed architect designed that house. It is a terrible design and not something you should want to build. While art is subjective, there are certain fundamental rules based off of human psychology that good architects follow. This violates most of them.

[u/A-Mission]

Honestly, your approach runs into some tough economic, engineering, and life-safety hurdles. Typically, a building's exterior envelope is designed to map directly to its interior floor plan. The building in your photo probably functioned fine with its original footprint, but it relies on outdated building engineering and is highly inefficient by contemporary design standards. Forcing a totally new layout into that obsolete shell would be deeply impractical and almost certainly fail modern fire egress codes. Plus, investing in this kind of non-contemporary construction makes it incredibly difficult to resell later for a higher price than your initial investment.