If that describes your family, then plan a space for “non-cooks” to sit, out of the way, so visiting can take place with out disrupting the cooking. A breakfast bar, or a table tucked into a corner can become a place of comfort, where some of the most important events of life are discussed. It’s also a great place for kids to sit when they need a bit of parental help with homework.

In addition, if someone in your family is a serious cook, the design and placement of counter tops, refrigerator, range, and sink become paramount. Many of the new house plans I’ve seen ignore the old “triangle” rule and stick the refrigerator out of the way, around behind the breakfast bar or a center island. It might look nice, but it will become a serious annoyance very quickly.

And then there’s the range itself. If you cook a lot, splurging on an oversized kitchen range isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity. But most house plans allow only for the standard size.

How many times have you wished that two large pots or pans could fit on your range top at the same time? Now, when you’re building from scratch, is the time to indulge yourself and create the space you need. Ease of cleaning is a second consideration – if your family loves fried foods, invest in a powerful range hood and avoid a range with too many nooks and crannies to clean.

Talk to your builder about altering those plans just a bit to allow for the kitchen range that will make you smile every time you prepare a meal.

Are there two cooks in your kitchen? Allow enough counter and floor space to let you work together without crashing into each other. Even the addition of a “salad sink” is a good idea if two of you will work together regularly.

On the other hand, if you eat out most of the time and only use the kitchen for toast and coffee in the morning, a quick bowl of soup, or a snack before bedtime, scale back and use the space for activities more suited to your lifestyle. There’s not much sense in spending a lot of money on a room that is hardly used.

Remember, this is your house, and it should suit your life.

Marte Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter and former real estate broker. Her husband is a retired home builder.

Because they met so many people who had suffered financial loss over an uninformed choice of land for home building or from choosing a “bogus” home builder, Marte has written two inexpensive e-books for consumers. “The Land Buyer’s Guidebook” outlines the questions you must ask before purchasing land, while “Home Building Simplified” will help you enjoy the home building process and get the home you really want.

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What you learn may be things you’ve heard many times before, but haven’t thought about. And, because it has an impact on planning your next home, you may learn something new. So ask these questions of each person who will occupy your new home:

* What do you love and appreciate most about our current home?
* What is the most convenient feature of your current home?
* Is there something you wish this home had that it doesn’t have?
* Is there some feature that really annoys you?
* Is there some feature that’s a small but constant irritation?

You may learn that your daughter loves and appreciates her south-facing window or that your son loves the little nook under the stairway. And you may learn that the cook absolutely hates those can lights in the kitchen ceiling that shine in the wrong spot.

You may find that you’re not the only one who wishes your garage was just a couple of feet wider, so it would be easier to wrestle the groceries out of the car and into the house. You may learn that someone in the house is dreaming of a shower with water coming from the ceiling, or has a yearning for a bay window with a window seat.

You may learn that your family would prefer a pantry over a powder room, or that your daughter would be happy with fewer square feet in her bedroom if she could have a walk-in closet.

Little things make huge differences in how much you enjoy your space, so take the time to really think about and discuss the little things. See how many dreams you can easily incorporate into that new home – and how many old annoyances you can eliminate.

Now is a good time to begin the compromise process, too – because as you proceed there will be times when you won’t all agree on choices.

Marte Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter and former real estate broker. Her husband is a retired home builder.

Because they met so many people who had suffered financial loss over an uninformed choice of land for home building or from choosing a “bogus” home builder, Marte has written two inexpensive e-books for consumers. “The Land Buyer’s Guidebook” outlines the questions you must ask before purchasing land, while “Home Building Simplified” will help you enjoy the home building process and get the home you really want.

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Here in the woods, where I live, there is no such thing as cable. There is also no such thing as fiber optic cable for the telephone.

The location is perfect – we have privacy, mountain and water views, and plenty of wildlife to observe. I love it and wouldn’t consider living anywhere else.

But… the phone lines are 30+ years old. Well, most of them are that old. There is that 1,200 foot section of new line that’s currently hanging on a fence, except for where it’s laying on top of the ground.

When I asked the repairman about the possibility of getting fiber optic he laughed out loud. He told me I’d be darned lucky to get a new copper line. With a low population density, the phone company isn’t at all concerned about upgrading service to our neighborhood.

So – the bottom line is that if you build in a rural location, you may not have cable TV or internet services. That means if you want to watch TV and move around the internet with any kind of speed at all, you’ll need satellites.

You need to find out before you begin to build so that cables for satellite TV and satellite internet can go inside your walls. Plan ahead and put an internet hookup in strategic places around the house – just like you will for the television and the telephone. Some contractors will think to ask you about this – but some won’t. So first find out if you’ll need it, and if you do – let your contractor know before the electrician submits his bid.

If you wait, the satellite installer will tack the cables along the outside of the house – and they’re kind of ugly there. He’ll also have to drill a hole in your exterior wall every place you want a hook-up.

And – if you’ve already poured patios or sidewalks and the dish needs to be located away from the house – you’ve got an expensive mess. Plan ahead to get all these non-decorative things put underground and inside the walls.

In order to make sure of the location, call the satellite companies ahead of time and ask them to come and show you locations where you’ll be able to get a signal. Then, when the time comes for installation, watch to make sure they don’t put the dish in the very spot where snow will slide from your roof. (Yes, they really can be that dumb – they did it to me and I had to call them to come back and change it.)

If mountains surround your dream spot, you may also have a problem with radio reception. Satellite radio is the answer to that, but do figure in the expense when planning your home building budget.

As with all aspects of your new home, planning ahead will save you trouble.

Marte Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter and former real estate broker. Her husband is a retired home builder.

Because they met so many people who had suffered financial loss over an uninformed choice of land for home building or from choosing a “bogus” home builder, Marte has written two inexpensive e-books for consumers. “The Land Buyer’s Guidebook” outlines the questions you must ask before purchasing land, while “Home Building Simplified” will help you enjoy the home building process and get the home you really want.

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