Should I Draw My Own House Plans Before Talking To A Designer?

You can try drawing your own house plans online, but you don’t need a finished plan before talking to a designer. A rough sketch can help explain an idea. If you’re spending more time figuring out the software than thinking about the home, bring what you have and start the conversation.

Why drawing a floor plan online gets frustrating

You start with an idea of where the rooms should go. Then you’re trying to figure out how to move a wall, connect two rooms or make everything square.

Some programs have you add boxes. Others have you draw lines. Each one has its own way of doing things, and learning those controls can become a project of its own.

We’ve tried a lot of different software, including online tools. As we put it in our video, “It’s a pain in the butt. It’s slow.” If that’s been your experience, you don’t need to keep wrestling with the program before asking for help.

Use a sketch to explain what you want

A DIY floor plan is useful when it helps you show an idea. It doesn’t need to look polished.

For example, you might want the kitchen close to the backyard, or a quiet room away from the main living space. Write that down alongside the sketch. Explaining why you put a room somewhere gives a designer something useful to work with, even if the layout changes.

Before a design conversation, it helps to gather:

• Any sketches or screenshots you’ve already made, including unfinished ones.
• Notes about how you want to use the rooms and what bothers you about your current layout.
• A comfortable budget range and any information you have about the property.
• The parts of the plan you’re unsure how to solve.

Talk about budget before getting attached to the layout

The dream and the budget rarely line up at the start. Drawing more rooms doesn’t tell you what the home will cost, and the house itself isn’t the only thing to consider. Preparing the property for construction also needs attention.

Den & Burrow’s website has a cost estimator that uses information such as income and expenses to give a general starting point for the size of home you may comfortably afford. Treat that as an early estimate, not a construction quote or mortgage approval.

How live design works at Den & Burrow

Den & Burrow designs and builds custom homes in Lincoln, Nebraska. We use live design sessions to update a 3D model in real time, so you can discuss an idea while seeing the plan change.

The people who draw the home also build it, with builder input shaping the drawings. The process includes a written project brief and permit drawings, so your online sketch doesn’t have to carry all of that work.

If you’re stuck trying to get the boxes and lines to cooperate, bring the unfinished version. Call 402-690-3567 to talk about custom home design and construction.