Guest House Building and Planning Ideas - If you're planning on building a guesthouse, I would suggest that you check with your local planning and building departments first. One of the last things that most city planning departments want to have, is to families living on a property that isn't zoned for it.

How to Shop for Great Home Building Ideas - You finally purchased the building lot in your dreams and now it's time to start shopping around for some great home building ideas. Where do you start looking and is there anyone that can help you generate ideas for your new dream home.

Building Your Own Home With Books - Most of us only dream of building your own home and living in it for the rest of our lives, well maybe not for the rest of our lives. My grandfather built his home when my father was nine years old and lived in it until he died. As a Carpenter and general contractor, I have always wanted to build my own home but never got the chance.

Five Simple Rules for Home Design - If you're seriously interested in designing a house for you and your family to live in, you should pay attention to these five simple rules for home design. Even if you can't apply all of them, hopefully you can use one of them.

Home Design Software Tips - Before You Build - The benefits of using home design software can be unbelievable. Whether you have experience with home-building design or not, home design software can give you a pretty clear picture of what the new house is actually going to look like and this is wonderful.

Design, Reevaluate and Then Build - New Home Construction - If you're planning on building a new home, you know that you need a good plan. Once you have a good set of plans for constructing your new home, there's a good chance that you will limit any potential problems that might arise during construction.

Preliminary Home Design Budget Problems - You've just bought the dream lot and now it's time to build your dream home, but you don't know where to start. Maybe you've started to design your home, but don't know if you have a good design or one that's functional and will meet your needs.

Do I Really Need an Architect to Design My House? - One of the biggest questions that most do-it-yourselfers want to know, when it comes to building a house is whether they need an architect or not. Can't they simply draw out the plans for themselves and submit them to the city planning and building departments.

Proper Planning Saves Homeowners From Frustration - One of the worst things that you can do when designing a home is too rushed through the home planning process. I'm talking from experience and I’m here to warn you that this is the most important part of building a new home.

Stairway Placement and Elegant Design - One of the best pieces of furniture in anyone's home is going to be their stairway. Most stairways are centrally located and visible the moment that you open up the front door. There is a reason for this and most architects don't want to share the secrets with designers or other professionals in the business.