As we reflect on 2019, we are pleased with the progress Design Basics, LLC, has made towards adding to our 2,800+ collection of home plans as well as building our brand by designing unique, well sought-after home designs, providing exceptional customer service, and fostering growth of our Woman-Centric Matters!® and Builder-Centric℠ preferred builder programs. In addition, we are thankful for our customers and their continued input and support. Not only is their feedback and recommendations important to our design process, but many new ideas arise from customers working with our Plan Specialists. And, we can’t forget our customer referrals!
NAHB International Builders’ Show®. This year is already off to a great start with the Design Basics’ team exhibiting at the NAHB International Builders’ Show on January 21-23, in Las Vegas. Our booth features brand new home designs, including a collection of multi-family home designs. Design Basics is recognized as one of just a handful of companies that has consistently exhibited for the last 25+ years, and the only home design firm with this distinction.
New Website. We launched our new website, www.DesignBasics.com, with a new search function that allows you to search by livability, collection, plan type, designer, and many other features…even place your order online! Additionally, you will find many useful references materials at your fingertips – preferred builder programs, thoughtful design concepts, home design articles, and other resources such as Her Home™, Livability at a Glance™, Finally About Me®, and our Bookstore. We invite you to peruse the site, search home plans, sign up for a newsletter, and complete a quiz to discover your new home personality!
Evolving Home Design Plan Book. We published and distributed a new home plan book, Evolving Home Design, featuring 75 of our new and best-selling home plans. Many of our new floor plans have been designed with versatility in mind and new plan badges identify design styles: Multi-Generational, Value-Engineered, and Woman-Centric. Floor plans are not only designed with her in mind but also as value-engineered plans, mindful of the constant fluctuation of building material costs. A win for everyone!
Neighborhood in a Box® (NIAB). We just revamped and relaunched NIAB, a fabulous residential development solution for home builders! Not just a collection of home plans, NIAB offers a total package for designing a neighborhood with a cohesive look with cost savings and resources for home builders.
From America’s Premier Woman-Centric Home Designer, we wish you much success in 2020 and look forward to working with you as your home design and marketing partner!
Sincerely, Patrick M. Carmichael
President and Chief Operating Officer
Tap into buyers’ emotions with solution-based selling.
The numbers are in, and they look good! The home’s width and square footage fit nicely, the exterior style plus design amenities should attract buyers, and the cost estimates suggest you can make a decent profit. You want to get this new plan to market and give the presentation artwork to your marketing person to showcase on your website. Interestingly, how you describe the home online will have a significant impact on its appeal. Take a look at these three approaches:
Approach 1: The Teglia Place is a brand-new 1642 square foot, three-bedroom ranch with two and one-half bathrooms. This exciting design features an open entertaining area with cathedral ceiling, island kitchen, and walk-in pantry. There are two sinks and a five-foot shower in the owner’s suite, and the walk-in closet has a direct connection to the laundry room. The laundry room can also be accessed from the rear foyer entry from the garage, where you’ll also find a bench topped by lockers and drop zone. There’s even the option of foregoing the powder bath to gain large walk-in closets in both secondary bedrooms!
Approach 2: The Teglia Place is a brand-new 1642 square foot, three-bedroom ranch with today’s most-wanted amenities! The home showcases open entertaining under a cathedral ceiling, lots of natural light, and extra kitchen storage with its double-deep island and walk-in pantry. Positioned for maximum privacy, the owner’s suite also offers interesting ceiling detail in the bedroom, two sinks, toilet privacy, and a spacious five-foot shower in the bathroom. Direct access between the walk-in closet and laundry room make quick work of hanging clothes straight out of the dryer. The secondary bedrooms are served by a Jack-and-Jill bathroom with two sinks. Or, opt for a centralized hall bathroom and you can have walk-in closets for both secondary bedrooms. No detail was overlooked in this home, as evidenced by the rear foyer entry from the garage with bench and lockers plus handy drop zone!
Approach 3: The Teglia Place is a brand-new 1642 square foot, three-bedroom ranch with great livability! Too often we arrive home and everything we’re carrying ends up on the kitchen island. Imagine entering in from the garage and being greeted by a drop zone cabinet to corral clutter, plus a bench and cubbies or lockers to organize coats, backpacks, and everything needed for school tomorrow. A cathedral ceiling dramatically unifies the open socializing area for memorable entertaining, and in the kitchen, back-to-back base island cabinets provide extra storage right where you need it making it easy to find what you’re looking for. Re-live daily the simple joys of an over-sized shower you experienced at that resort in your new owner’s bathroom. Tired of carrying overflowing laundry baskets around? What could be more convenient than a direct connection with the laundry room so that in just a couple steps you’re hanging clothes up straight out of the dryer? Finally, consider which you would prefer: a private Jack-and-Jill bathroom with two sinks for the secondary bedrooms and separate powder bath for guests; or a centralized hall bathroom and large walk-in closets for the secondary bedrooms providing room for everything!
Approach 1 is Joe Friday’s “Just the facts, ma’am.” Efficient, rational, and informative, yet uninspiring, “the walk-in closet has a direct connection to the laundry room.”
Approach 2 is better because it evolves facts into features and benefits, “direct access between the walk-in closet and laundry room making quick work of hanging clothes straight out of the dryer.”
Approach 3 better engages the reader by using a solutions-based approach, “Tired of carrying overflowing laundry baskets around? What could be more convenient than a direct connection with the laundry room so that in just a couple steps you’re hanging clothes up straight out of the dryer?”
Just like buyer expectations, new home marketing, continues to evolve. Thirty years ago, builders could get away with simply listing the home’s amenities. Then the world caught on to selling features and their benefits. But we can, and must, do better – focusing on people’s needs and solving problems.
At Design Basics, we have the tools to help you stand out from other builders:
Depending on the design of your home and its roof, water run-off can be a major problem for your driveway. Take for instance this home: no gutters on the front side over the garage. Yet two dormers over the garage form a “V”-shaped area directing rainwater off the roof and onto the driveway. No problem until winter. During the day, snow melt from the roof drips onto the drive. At night it would freeze. For most of the winter there will be icy driveways.
The Clarinda (#43020) as built by Fox Builders – downspouts on each side of the garage to divert water flow.
Another configuration that could present a hazard as well as concrete damage: a gutter downspout that empties between the garage doors. This directs water off the roof nicely, but again in the winter, creates ice problems on the driveway. And, the year-‘round diversion of water onto that portion of the driveway causes lots of concrete settling problems resulting in a very uneven driveway.
The solution in both instances is to place gutters and downspouts that direct the water to the side yard instead of the driveway. Thus, keeping your driveway from building up with ice in the winter, and maintaining the integrity of the concrete all year.
Storage. It’s a much-needed element in any home. And, we rarely hear homeowners say they have too much storage. But, that square footage costs money, and now averages upwards of $150 per square foot. Let’s say you have a 6’ x 10’ closet space; that’s 60 square feet, or approximately $9,000. That means storage space is expensive. One way to mitigate the expense is to include a well-designed storage system. They not only maximize space; they help you organize your stuff—and your life!
Areas where you can maximize storage space without adding square footage include extra shelving over your washer and dryer, under the stairs, or in the garage – again, storage systems are an excellent way to organize and contain items; also, think suspended shelves or shelves above your garage door tracks.
Specialized Storage. Do you dream of a huge kitchen pantry? How about a cedar closet for your households’ off-season clothes? Where will you stash the 36-roll package of toilet paper? Do you have room for the grand-kids’ toys and games? Is a wine room in your future? Wouldn’t it be great to have a handy place for your Christmas tree?
Over the years we’ve often heard homeowners requesting specialized spaces to accommodate their own unique needs. Gathering up all the ideas, we created what we call a Signature Space® – a small flex space/room measuring 6’ x 8’ that can be used however the homeowner wishes. The Serena (#42282) plan’s Signature Space could be used as a craft room, toys/games room, or customized storage.
Our Livability at a Glance™ color-coded floor plans help home buyers focus in on the elements they desire most in a home: Storing, Flexible Living, De-Stressing, andEntertaining. As in the Tillamook (#43038) plan, the different areas of the home are identified by color (Storing is orange) so you can visualize where storage is located/could be located. Using our Livability Search Tool, you choose which area(s) of the home are most important to you and those plans identified as being strong in this area(s) will filter into your plan search. Which of these four areas are most important to you? Take our Livability at a Glance Quiz to find out!
Open floor plans are favored by buyers who enjoy entertaining. This is most noticeable when it’s time to eat. Enjoy having friends and relatives over for holiday meals and there’s 14 of you together? That’s when you’ll appreciate selecting a home design where the dining area flows freely into an adjoining space. Add leaves to your dining table or simply add another table, temporarily borrowing space from that adjoining room. That makes for memorable entertaining, with friends and family as everyone’s together.
The Waterside (#7408) plan offers multiple spaces for entertaining: great room, hearth room, eating area off the kitchen, and a formal dining room/flex space as well as a rear covered patio. The dual-sided fireplace between the hearth room and the great room conveys a unique ambiance that connects the spaces. In addition, the raised eating bar in the kitchen is a wonderful spot for additional seating or a convenient spot to set up the buffet!
Our Livability at a Glance™ color-coded floor plans help home buyers focus in on the elements they desire most in a home: Entertaining, De-stressing, Storing, and Flexible Living. As in the Waterside plan shown, the different areas of the home are identified by color (Entertaining is yellow and Flexible Living is green) so you can visualize where the entertaining can take place. Using our Livability Search Tool, you choose which area(s) of the home are most important to you and those plans identified as being strong in this area(s) will filter into your plan search. Further, if you would like to see what areas are most important to you for your home’s design, take our Livability at a Glance Quiz!
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As we reflect on 2019, we are pleased with the progress Design Basics, LLC, has made towards adding to our 2,800+ collection of home plans as well as building our brand by designing unique, well sought-after home designs, providing exceptional customer service, and fostering growth of our Woman-Centric Matters!® and Builder-Centric℠ preferred builder programs. In addition, we are thankful for our customers and their continued input and support. Not only is their feedback and recommendations important to our design process, but many new ideas arise from customers working with our Plan Specialists. And, we can’t forget our customer referrals!
