Here are some tips to help you plan building your own house.

Don't build your house that small.

There is a tendency, after a person has had to put up with crowded quarters for a long time, that when an opportunity comes to expand, instead of a reasonable and gradual expansion, something like an explosion occurs. We want to go all out for a bigger and better house, with expansive room, space for everything.

Remember that every square foot costs money and has to be kept up.

That snug, cozy, warm feeling that comes over one when he is seated with his family around his own brightly glowing fireplace may disappear if a house gets too large, particularly if it isn't paid for.

House Should Fit Family

The number and size of rooms needed in a house depend largely on the size of the family and the manner in which they are accustomed to living. In some parts of the world, a room 8' square is considered adequate for most purposes, and two or three such rooms make a complete livable house.

Much depends on one's style of living and what the neighbors have is sometimes a consideration.

Avoid cutting up a house into a large number of tiny cubicles for specific purposes. Remember every wall costs money and will often be in the way.

Moreover, our ideas of suitable activities are continually taking on new forms as we and the children grow older. We can't keep moving the partitions to keep up with our changing activities.

It is a mistake to think that every different type of activity requires a separate and distinct room of its own.

A given area can often serve efficiently for several different purposes at various times of the day and of the year.

The types of activity that are interesting to a family will determine to a large extent the size of the room needed.

If your favorite indoor sport is to read the newspaper, you do not need a very large room. You need even less space in which to read a magazine or book.

A real bibliophile, however, needs a lot of shelves in which to keep his voluminous library. If you like to entertain with large parties, you will need a large beautiful living room.

In this country every young couple wants a house that is exclusively its own.

In many places of the world, a family is likely to include what we would call several families, including grandparents and several married children and their offspring.

With a house for only two people, perhaps we can get along with a moderate amount of space.

It is a mistake to build a house with only one bedroom, even for a couple without children who seldom have overnight guests, as such a house is hard to finance and is often difficult to sell. Select a lot where all the houses are approximately in the price class as the house that you want.

Sometimes it is all right to build a little below your neighborhood if you are sure to make the house especially attractive in appearance.

Where to Get Ideas

Where should a person look for ideas? Visit houses under construction and subdivisions near you.

These houses will indicate the popular trends in your area.

Many magazines are full of house plans and ideas for beautifying the home. The trouble with many of them is that they show only what is different or spectacular, and do not spend much time on the ordinary house for everyday living.

There is more news value in the unusual, the bizarre, the different, and even the ridiculous, than in the things that you can live with right along.

If you decide to get a mortgage always use a mortgage calculator to save yourself money.