Need some new home design ideas? You have to admit, celebrities know how to pick out some great houses, but one thing you can be sure of, is that most celebs pick out the latest and most current design trends and include them in their decor.

You’ll want to checkout this photo gallery of celebrity homes, where you’ll see a variety of different architectural styles, from contemporary to beach to southern cottage. Perhaps some design or decor ideas will fit into your new house plans…

From the article:

Brangelina may soon be New Yorkers.

In a week where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were both nominated for Academy Awards, the Daily News reported Oscar’s golden couple were planning a move to a sprawling $40 million estate on Long Island’s Gold Coast.

The Sassafras estate – a 22,000-square-foot Tudor-style mansion that boasts 18 bathrooms – would make the commute easier for Angie on her new film, “Salt,” which began shooting in the area in March.

Meanwhile, Pitt and Jolie are putting their Malibu home (pictured above) on the market, Pitt said at Newsweek’s Oscar roundtable. According to Forbes, the three-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot home has bamboo floors, a pool, tennis court, stairway straight to the beach and sits on three acres of land. Pitt paid $8 million for the property, Forbes reported.

Read the entire article: http://www.nydailynews.com/real_estate/galleries/celebrity_homes/celebrity_homes.html

You never know when inspiration may strike!

Leave us a comment below and tell us which celebrity home is your favorite!

You can always count on celebrities to go for opulence and extravagance when it comes to interesting craftsman house plans. Should you ever have a spare $20 million, you can ask Tom Brady if you can buy his upcoming Brentwood home. What home wouldn’t be perfected with a monsterous pool, spa, and even an elevator to make traveling through it easier?

In all fairness to Tom and Gisele, a fair amount of the cost went to the lot itself, in the expensive California neighborhood, where they will be neighbors of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

From the article:

Dream job, dream wife – and now Tom Brady is getting his dream house.

The three-time Super Bowl- winning quarterback and his supermodel wife, Gisele Bundchen, are building a sprawling California home – nearly 22,000 square feet in all, from wine cellar to weight room

Read the entire article and see more pictures: http://www.nydailynews.com/real_estate/2010/04/24/2010-04-24_tom_and_gisele_build_20m_love_nest_luxe_calif_home_puts_a_capstone_on_glamorous_.html

Having 3 small kids myself, I can’t imagine how much mess they could make in a house this big!

Leave us a comment below! If money were no object, what rooms would you have in your home?

Best Seller European House Plans - HPG-2001-1

After all the work that goes into building a new home, many people hope that they will stay in their dream house for years, if not for the rest of their lives. But today, we all know people move much more frequently. Of course you’re designing your home for you and your family; you have a certain idea of what you want. Keep in mind that it still pays to include those features that the general public expects these days. That way, if you do have to move sooner than later, your home will have greater resale value and you’ll generate more buyers.

One expectation is the mud room. While you may not be all that crazy about incorporating one into your new country house plans, they are essential for larger families or those with lots of pets. Typically they are informal spaces that provide a transition from the outside to the inside of your home. They include such features as simple-to-clean floors, lots of storage compartments and often even the washing machine and dryer. The point is to remove wet clothes, paw prints and debris here so that the rest of the home stays clean and organized.

Open floor plans are more common than ever. Gone are the days of neatly partitioned off rooms. Today kitchens and dining rooms are often one space and include islands in the middle and very high end appliances. They are often considered the main family room. While appliances come and go, from brand names to colors, don’t overlook the fact that when you go to sell, kitchens can make or break the sale, particularly the design of your southern house floor plans.

Closets. Today both men and women have a lot more to store in closets. As our per capita has increased, so has our hunger for more and more clothes, accessories and personal care products. With this demand, we’ve had to modify the traditional closet. Most people buying a new home want to see at least one walk in closets. Closets should be designed with comfort and simplicity in mind, too. The more accessible the items, the better.

Floors have also changed in both appearance and price. You see many more homes featuring hardwood floors today. And hardwood doesn’t mean just oak. To be more green, many homeowners have sustainable wood floors made from bamboo and reclaimed material. Even the way that the floor is installed has changed. You should consider installing your floor in a diagonal direction. It sets the room apart and implies luxury and good taste with your country house plans.

Thirty years ago or more, these considerations were typically made by the woman in the family. The wife wanted the bigger bedroom or a big closet. What you’ll find today is that many of these features are expected by everyone, rather than considered a nice extra. Even though you may be planning to make your next home your last home, it never hurts to consider resale value.

Shop online today for your new home plan at House Plan Gallery.com!

Popular Starter House Plan - HPG-1509B-1 - The Wilson Creek

Becoming a homeowner is the dream of many individuals and couples. Selecting the home that you will spend the beginning of your new life in can be an exciting experience and the thrill of your new independence is exhilarating.

Your first home is about planning your future; whether that includes children, job changes or a spouse. Considering this, your first home should have room for your life and your family to expand. Since many first time home buyers are young professionals on tight budgets the most important consideration should be the affordability of your new home.

A World of Options

Modular Homes and Prefabs – Modular and prefabricated homes can be an attractive option for first time home buyers because they can often be constructed at a much lower cost than existing or custom homes. These units can be customized in a variety of ways and are offered in a wide range of styles to ensure that you receive the home that suits you perfectly.

Unique Stock House Plans – There are so many stock plans available that can be modified cheaply to meet your needs that you would be hard pressed to not be able to find what you desire. Buying stock plans can save you thousands of dollars versus hiring an architect to design your home from scratch. The internet offers hundred of sources for stock plans and the experience of being able to browse these different styles and designs will save you a great deal of time versus visiting home shows and tours.

“Kit” Homes – If you have a do-it-yourself attitude, a flexible schedule and know how to swing a hammer then a kit home can be a big money saver. Kit homes are often smaller than traditional houses, so if you are a single individual of new couple without children in your immediate future these may be perfect for you. Kit homes are most popular in cabin and cottage style layouts and usually feature just enough living space for first time homeowners. However, if you require, some can get rather large and ostentatious.

Custom Home Designs – Do you have an amazing idea for a convenient and affordable home in the back of your mind? Working with an architect to turn these ideas into a reality will guarantee you get exactly what you want out of your first home.

Rehabilitation – There are plenty of homes out there in poor condition or in gentrifying neighborhoods waiting to be transformed into something new. Shells and other properties, like prefabs and kit homes, can often end up costing much less than an existing home. In addition, the character and ambiance that these existing structures offer can be incorporated into their new modernized appearance.

Getting it Right

When you are young it is hard to know what the future has in store for you but you are probably not short on ambition. Your first home is the chance to put the hopes of your future into something that represent your goals and prepares you for your life ahead.

CLICK HERE to find your family’s new Country style house plans…

Award-Winning Traditional House Plan - HPG-1752-1 - The Remington

How many people have dealt with contractors without getting a signed contract only to say later on, “I wish I’d got that in writing”?

Far too many to count, and you may be among them if you are having work done on your property or having a new home built – without proper contracts in place.  

A contract is your “ace in the hole” when it comes to dealing with shady contractors or those that try to tell you one thing and then do another!

Even for the most simple home improvement projects, when you hire a general contractor to make the project go along more smoothly, you still need a written agreement with the contractor.  

Let’s look at some tips to keep your project from turning into a money-pit and what you should do before you hire a general contractor.

Signing on the “Dotted” Line

When hiring your general contractor to build your new 4 bedroom house plans, find out if he or she have their own contracts, or if you need to draw one up – either way is fine as long as both of you agree to and understand the terms of the contract.  

If the contractor has his own contract, make certain that you read through the entire contract and that everything in the contract is something that you are willing to say “yes” to; if not, make sure that you go back to the drawing board and have the contract revised before you sign it.  The contract between you and your general contractor should cover all of these very important points:

- Spell it out.  No matter how minute or unimportant something may seem, you want to make sure that you have spelled everything out for the contractor, including your name and address, the contractor’s name and address, the exact specification of what work is to be completed and so forth.  

Everyone involved needs to be able to look at the contract and determine that everything is completed at the end of the project so that neither you nor the contractor is surprised at the end of the process building your small house plans.  

It is completely legal for the contractor to demand more money for work completed that is not within the scope of the original contract, so make sure to spell it out before the work is started so that you don’t end up paying extra.

- Itemize all materials.  Your contract should include an itemized list of everything that the contractor plans to use for the project.  Do not use phrases that are non-specific of a particular cost or item, such as the phrase ‘of equal value’.  

This gives your contractor more room to pocket the difference between an item that you plan to pay for and something that may cost less but is considered to be of an equal value.  Your contract should state that any substitutions require your prior approval.

- Arrange for milestones.  You should outline the milestones for the project, and the date that certain parts of the project should be completed by, along with a payment plan of a certain percentage of the project’s total cost to be paid at the time the milestone is reached.

The reason that milestones are so important is very obvious; many contractors will ask for a percentage of money upfront, and you may not hear from them for long periods of time.  For this reason, make sure that the contractor understands that work must be completed in a timely fashion to qualify for payments under the milestone plan.

- Penalty section.  While not legal in all states, a penalty section is a good idea to protect you against problems that may arise if the work completed is not up to code or to your specifications.  

You can also include a penalty for late work that is not completed according to the milestone payments plan – but you will need to make some considerations for inclement weather or circumstances beyond the control of the contractor.

- Always triple check your contract before signing it.  If possible, have an attorney review contracts for especially large projects, and to make sure that the contract is legally binding in your location.

CLICK HERE to Shop Online for your family’s next 4 Bedroom House Plans…