10 Home Design Mistakes to Avoid 

Hey there - thanks for watching - if you have come to the comments to make mention of the music, I'll save you the trouble and yes, I know the music on this video is too loud and monotonous, several people have already informed me. I hope that didn't take away (too much) from the messages Im trying to share with you. As I learn, I hope to get better at editing. Thanks - Chris

lot of vloggers big mistake is background music is louder than their talks. keep it simple it's not an advertising and English learners can't catch your words even your audiences tired too

I would prefer less busy music behind your dialogue so I can hear you and not feel the music pace is pushing. Great information. Thank you.

*My 3 big mistake list.* 1) Never turn a bathroom into a hallway that leads to a clothes closet. 2) Never have one bathroom service in two bedrooms unless the bathroom door is in the hall. You do not want to connect two bedrooms via a bathroom. 3) Never make a kitchen part of the living room or family room. If you do, you will smell all the kitchen smells and listen to the refrigerator and dishwasher motors. Your big entertainment room with a television and stereo should be acoustically isolated from other rooms. Do not make the living room/ family room into a hall that must be walked through to get from one side of the house to the other.

What we love about our build choices... 1. Invest in top quality structure and triple pane oversized European windows, even if that means going smaller, but keep ceilings at 9' or higher. 2. Insulation between ALL inner walls for less sounds going through walls. 3. Keep a RR in a corner of the home where you can reach it from outside without having to walk through the home, but far from everything inside. 4. 4ft wide hallways and stairs at minimum when possible. It will help keep walls clean as well as move things around easily. 5. Instead of two front doors, try one oversized pivot door. (Awesome choice we love) 6. If you enjoy the open concepts of kitchens with living, but hate the kitchen noise going into the living room, consider ceiling to floor glass pocket doors that hide into the wall/s when you want the separation. The glass keeps it feeling open, but keeps noise level in kitchen. Then open back up when entertaining. 7. Hiden pantry in kitchen that also goes into an oversized laundry/mud room with a RR. We tend to stay on the first floor most of the day, so our laundry is best on first floor with a laundry chute on second. This way, we aren't running up and down the stairs checking on laundry. 8. Glass doors in the kitchen leading to an "outdoor" dining room atrium for those winter months. Enjoying the beautiful snow days outdoors without the cold. In the summer, open the glass up for cooler feel. (Seriously consider sun when placing an atrium. Ours does not get direct summer south sun.) 9. Don't build according to what others live like or like. Build what YOU love and how YOU live. 10. Don't be house poor. Stay inside a healthy budget. No matter how nice, the home will become your nightmare if you can't afford it with taxes and ghost costs included.

Great video Chris, aka my hallway-loving, door-hiding brother! Thought some timestamps might help people out: 0:45 - Bathroom/Powder Room locations 2:36 - Proper Depth and Width of Home 3:56 - Views 5:55 - Roof Forms 6:53 - Sun and Daylighting 9:02 - Storage 9:55 - Acoustics 12:20 - Furnishings & Access 14:38 - Kitchen Pantry 16:05 - Correctly Prioritizing Finish Materials

Lots of good points 👍👍 the background music is drowning out your voice though..looking forward to next video

So glad you mentioned the roof design. I've been looking at house designs and I've been horrified at all the messy roof lines. I'm sure the designers think they're 'interesting' but they look like a hot mess! And yes, they'll be a nightmare to maintain and replace.

Powder rooms opening straight out to any living space is my number 1 no-no. Lol 😆

Great advise! Sound control? You nailed it. You left off one of my don'ts. Windows are getting too big and too many. Floor to ceiling windows are expensive and the view they offer is limited by what the ground looks like right next to the window. Oversize windows can create drafts in winter and hot rooms in summer. They consume needed wall space for furniture or art. Bedroom windows should start 48 " up from the floor and only 1 large window is needed by fire code. Picture windows need to actually frame a nice view. Bay windows need to be limited to areas where sitting in front of the window is planned like breakfast rooms. Dark areas can be illuminated with roof mounted solar tube lights. Every window does not need to operate for ventilation. Fixed windows are more energy efficient and cost less. Rooms with too much sunlight will make you want to wear sunglasses indoors. Sun light angles can help or hurt you. Large windows with direct Southern & Western exposure are not needed as much as large windows on the North wall because there is no direct sun. Plan your windows very carefully & you will get the most bang for the buck.

Excellent suggestions and I appreciate the fact that you talked about building science toward the end (prioritizing air sealing, using a rain screen behind the siding, etc). Those are vitally important points in the build that most people would skip or skimp on to afford the more expensive fixtures and eye-catching items that could be upgraded at a later time.

Yes, function over form! Every time! This is what always drove me crazy on all those HGTV shows. It was all about the cosmetic aspects of a house and not the actual function of the house. So load baring walls were knocked down, storage eliminated, and banks of windows added! Yes, I'm looking at you Chip and Joanne! I've lived in Texas. I know what a bank of windows will be like in the heat of an August day. It will render that room unusable. So it's so important to be practical and not just think of that instagram photo. How you will actually be able to live in a house ( and not just whether your family/friends are impressed) is so important.

This is just plain wonderful. So intelligent! We renovated our house and never gave a thought to acoustics. It's not a problem, because we're quiet people, but we should have thought about it. I agree with you about the fancy roof on McMansions. I call them "witch's cottages."

I live in an old home and don’t have a powder room. But the bathroom is nicely tucked away off the hall (builders took these things into consideration back in the day). What I like to do when I have company is have music softly playing in the bathroom. This gives guests the impression that whatever they’re doing in there can’t be heard outside the bathroom and actually makes the bathroom more soundproof. Guests feel comfortable and relaxed.

Totally agree with last point! Trying to do deep/moderate energy retrofit on an older home is SO hard where I am! To find a contractor to do the unseen, but extremely important things necessary in climate zone 6 usda zone 4 is almost impossible-they give lip service, but then want to do outdated, 30 year old techniques so the can hire untrained labor and can hide sloppy work . When the homeowner is more aware of the building science, there is something seriously wrong! Not having outrageous heating and cooling bills, having a draft free, well balanced HVAC, a house that doesn’t leak or stink, one that breaths and drains well-PRICELESS! Everyone here wants to sell some lick & stick curb appeal look for resale instead of helping us obtain carbon neutrality and age in place! So sick of it! I wish it were easy to hire New England or Canadian building companies to do work in the Midwest! They need the competition!

Excellent presentation. It is a pleasure hearing from a building designer with real-world experience. You know what needs to be done, but then you need to get the client to listen. That can be a problem. After the house is built they come back and say "I wish I had listened", a little too late??? 😂❤

Information I would never think about when building a custom home and what is important when designing a home Thank you thank you thank you

You pointed out some really useful things to consider when designing a home, things I don't think I would have thought of. I bought a already built home and wish I had seen this first, just to give me other things to think about. Thanks!

Big YES on acoustics. We bought a new home a about 10 years ago that had a big entryway that led directly up to second floor. With hardwood floors and reflective walls, we could hear EVERYTHING downstairs when in the upstairs bedrooms. It was a primary reason we sold the house!

The content was so interesting that I did not even notice the musoc!

I've lived in many homes/apartments over my lifetime and learned the importance of storage. Master really should have walk-in closet. Secondary bedrooms need closets that don't have "dead ends". In other words the entire length of the closet needs to be accessible. There needs to be a large pantry as well as a large linen closet that can hold all the necessary bedding. That would be all the sheets, extra blankets, pillows, etc. There should preferably be coat closets at each exterior door. Bathrooms should have their own towel/toiletry storage. Laundry room on the same floor as the bedrooms. Nothing more annoying, or to my mind dangerous, as having bedrooms on the 2nd floor and laundry in the basement. Carrying laundry baskets that limit your ability to see where you are walking up and down 2 flights of stairs is inherently dangerous. Last, but not least, a utility closet for mops, brooms, vacuum, cleaning supplies, etc. And don't get me started on kitchens! Or "open concept" ugh.

Wow, greta tips! Had an architect design my last huge 5400 sf house 17 years ago, and still ended up with a powder room in the transition from foyer to kitchen! Right where everyone stood at parties:(. Thanks for great tips for this design! Downsizing, and prepping for architect interviews, and looking for strategies to multi-use rooms, looking forward to more of your videos!

I like the powder room at the front door so that if a stranger needs to use it they don't go walking through my house.

Really enjoyed watching this video. Your first point about bathroom placement resonates. I've a similar one that is hard for me to understand. I prefer a house plan with living and sleeping spaces separated. On top of it, security is paramount to any homeowner. I do not understand why architects keep coming up with plans that have bedrooms facing the street (less sense of security) and often next to the foyer (awkward). It looks so random that plans often have a den/office/dinning area on one side of the foyer and a bedroom on the other side. We live in a cookie-cutter starter house, but it took us a while to find this because many listings had a bedroom upfront.

Never put a powder room or bathroom off of kitchen or dining room!

Every single thing you listed is exactly why I hate my current house and why I'm hiring an architect to design the new house. I have an east-facing bay window in the breakfast nook and a west-facing window in the dining room, which are connected by the same walkway through in the kitchen, so no matter which room you're in, you're being blinded while you eat. I have a living room in the middle of the house that has no direct windows; it's always twilight. Furthermore, you have to walk through it to get to the kitchen from any of the bedrooms, which means no matter where you put the furniture, you're always walking into it. On top of that, while sitting on the couch facing the only wall where a tv can go, you can see both the master bedroom and the guest bathroom. The only upside is that the lot is glorious with minimal building restrictions, the property was reasonably priced because the house is terrible, and we knew when we bought it that we'd be tearing it down and replacing it anyways.

Thank you for raising this very important and crucial point that what goes behind your drywall and the material that determines the performance of your house is so much more important than for example your stone countertops (which can be changed at ant point down the line) and other superficial items in your house. Unfortunately a lot of builders don't want to bother with these critical details and even more unfortunate is that most consumers (home owners) are not aware of these details and important criteria.

Thanks for the helpful tips. The background music nearly overwhelmed you speaking however.

Solid input, thank you.

Great, insightful video! We will be building in a couple years and this really helped give us some things to think about

If you need to put your toilet near the entry, specify an acoustic door. And wire the light switch or motion sensor to the ventilation fan. So if the room is in use, smells are removed. In New Zealand every toilet must have mechanical ventilation.

Congratulations on the success of this video. Almost 1,000 views. 🎉

I really enjoyed watching this...

We designed our new build to have our half bath at the end of our laundry room at the furthest corner of the home where there is also a door to the outside. Easy to reach if you need a quick break from being outside and far from everything inside. Best spot!

Great video. We were literally designing a floor plan last night for a new build and we spent hours trying to make the bathroom location work so it is tucked away. Also, appreciate you talking about the light. My husband has an app that shows the sun’s path so when we are looking at lots we can see the exposure to various rooms. I agreed 100 percent about the messy roof lines. It seems as we drive around and look at new construction the roof lines have gone crazy. We like some peaks, but generally the classic roof lines look best. We will need to hire an architect but for now we are using floor plan software to get our ideas/desires in place. PS. I didn’t even notice the music. I was focused on the content.

Cool! Thanks for showing plans and pics. Appreciate the points to consider. My dream house will definitely be a collaboration with an architect. THEN comes the interior designer. I know what I like when I see it, but couldn't put it together myself. Moving into an apartment, we had issues with the turn in the stairs and the queen box spring - until I suggested to the guys that they should tilt it the other direction. It worked just fine. Call it the X factor!

Thank you so much for the tips. Your video is so helpful! God bless you, Sir!

Thank you for the video, so informative ❤

IMO, you should never be able to see the back door or through the house from the front door. It far too easy to map a house for robbery, I like to have a partial wall or a mud room at the front door, sorry but you don't get to see the beauty of the home until you are invited in.

Like this educational information! Look forward to more!

Very helpful tips! Thank you for producing this video.

Awesome video!! Thank you for sharing your wisdom 💖✨

Great presentation and content. Thank you

Great tips that I haven’t heard before. We are building and this was awesome to watch. Thank you!

The first one is only valid if the entryway is open. In Europe, it's quite common to have a guest restroom near the entry.

good stuff here

New sub here: love the content. Glad to read you've heard the messages about the music :) It would also be great if you could use text to summarise each point please. I often take screenshots of important info, which saves me from making notes.

Thank you so very w..

brother, put some images about what are u talking about, please, in this way i will clarify my ideas. thank u so much

Your videos are great! I've been really zeroing in on #5 - the home in relation to the sun. Its tough finding home styles that do this well when the home faces the street to the east. I'm in the northeast. Optimal sun for heating (and joy) means the widest part of the house runs from front to back in my case to capture all the southern sun during winter, south is the side of the house. Particulalry with a roof that gives southern exposure for solar. I've been lookjng at traditional 2 story styles that have the gable in the front, (so you have southern roof exposure) with the garage roof line perpendicular. Curious of you have any go to examples for a house that makes good use of the sun when it has an east facing street.

Great video - thank you. We are currently designing our retirement home and I am happy to say we considered much of what you shared. I am concerned about acoustics though. I would have liked to have seen some solutions in your video. My husband is hard of hearing (genetic) and will become more so. Loud rooms are difficult. Our designed kitchen is open to the family room with a shed (skillion) roof 10’ on one side and 16’ on the other side to side. We had planned luxury vinyl tile flooring for all but the bedrooms. After watching your video, I am rethinking it. Is there an architectural solution for “hard” surfaces being more noisy in a large room?

This is an excellent list with breat things that don't get enough thought. I just wish the music wasn't so annoying, makes menot want to watch more of your videos. The irony is that i am typing this while listening to ypu excellent comments on home acustics being an issue!

I am interested, but the music bugs me too, so I am logging off.

What if not doing an open plan? I want my kitchen and living rooms separated with a fireplace should I still have a view to back yard? Is it better to think for the future for halls, doors and bathrooms how wide should they be for like walkers and wheelchair? Where is the best place to put the mic? I've seen them in the island and the pantry.

Never build overhangs like everybody does make them come out about 4 feet so your walls and windows don't get wet and rot. make downspout water travel over 10 feet from house to keep sump pumps from turning on. For storage check codes your crawl space can be 6 feet or more before you get taxed on a basement. build your house so it won't burn down. If pouring concrete foundation wait until concrete is dry and apply hot tar.

Thanks! Please bookmark times/topics in the video so it is easier to review.

In fact I specifically want a bathroom right next to the front door. I don't care about guests - I don't have people over that often. But I care about being able to clean up without going into the house. This is mostly my dogs, but not just them. If I'm dripping wet, I want to dry off before walking into the house.

Hi Chris, I just fired my quite famous architect for not listening. And som of what you mention here is what I told her and she ignored. Sunlight, acoustics, view… I wish you’d taka a look at our drawings 😢

Any book recommendations to learn more about designing functional layouts ?

What’s the reason for background music? I like to know………..

Great information! Please consider dropping the monotonous, repetitive, cloying background music. I wanted to watch all the way through but I just couldn't take it.

so many issues created by having so much stuff.

I'm not an architect but it was my dream to become one. Now I have desgined a house but I'm not really sure if it's designed correctly. is there any ways I could figure that out. I'm talking about the size of the house. the place of walls and doors and widnows.. Is there any ways I could figure that out? or can anybody help me with that.

❤

I want to add to your first tip-the bathroom: Bathrooms should always, alwaysss have the walls insulated!!! Insulation is cheap so it wouldn't cost much at all. Trust me, picture this... The house that has all tile floors where every sound gets amplified to where you can hear someone chewing their food all the way across the house. So there's nothing more embarrassing than having to go have a huge blow out in the bathroom while your new boyfriend sits on the couch waiting for you!!! You can either kiss the new boyfriend, or at the least a happy ending for that night bye bye!! So embarrassing! I'm just now getting to the acoustics tip, so this goes right along with that tip as well. Lol P.s. Also add insulation to the master bathroom walls so when you have company over someone can be sleeping and not be woken up by all the noises.

Who wants to walk into a stinky crapper room when you just opened the front or back door?

I don't like straight stairs for safety!

If your entréns door ledning strait to another door to the outside, it is the money that fly's away. According to feng suie 😬😉.

I wanted to watch but the music is wayyyyy too loud

"I have yet to meet a person who loves clutter." Let me introduce you to my wife....

You've obviously been there!

I wanted to watch this but the background music is really obnoxious. Just my opinion

Any suggestions for acoustics if you want a more vaulted ceiling open concept layout?

I do NOT want stone countertops; I LIKE Formica. I wish all homes were well designed. YES, build a good "envelope", then change counters later, if needed!! Developers buy up the available land, and then fill it with poorly designed and poorly built houses. Home buyers have little choice. Why are builders allowed to 'design' if they are not trained?? A good floor plan is a must!

Has anyone ever told you that you look like Ryan Belleville?

Background music is annoying.

Turn the music down. Wth

Music is irritating!

Holy sheet I couldnt listen to more than 10 seconds of this I was straining to hear him

I'm interested in the content but the added noise is a huge turn-off. I'm going to have to quit at 34 seconds in but I'll give it a like to help this creator out because I think he might be a good content creator if he decides to reconsider his production style in future videos.

LOOSE THE MUSIC

Good advice but remove the crap music from the background. Aggravating AF.

I stopped the video at 2 minutes in. Why on earth would you put such annoying music in your video to compete with what you are talking about. You might have had some valuable points BUT I will never know because that music was AWFUL!!!!

His ideas about views straight through from entry to exit are anti-feng shui.