I am constantly amazed that it is becoming more and more popular to build houses with dining rooms larger than the living room. Men if you don’t help your wife shop for your new house plan you are liable to end up with a house like mine! My dining room is 200 sq feet larger than my living room. A room which I eat in only on Thanksgiving and every 3rd Christmas is larger than the room where my family LIVES! How did I let this happen! I would suggest that you not only look at the placement of the living area in your plan but that you calculate the square footage dedicated to each and allow for at least a 2:1 ratio dedicated the most used room in your home. A larger ratio makes sense for everyone it allows you to have the guys over and watch a game and it gives the wife room for that “book club" she has been planning to start. People don’t make memories in the foyer, or the sitting room, make sure your family has the living you plan to share for years to come.

It seems that every week there is a new piece of antique furniture in my home. As a matter of fact just last week my $2,000 Lazy boy was explicably replaced by an 18th century park bench, and I can assure that bench does about as much for my back as a sitting on the pavement in my driveway. Not only have all of my comforts been replaced but my 2,000 sq foot house won’t hold it all any more. After doing several calculations I am convinced that I need at least 4,284 square feet in my new home but I was unsure where to find that. Fortunately some websites are offering new not antique house plans for reasonable prices. I have been amazed as I have looked through thousands of plans online how many options there are for me. I was able to search through huge databases of plans by square footage, number of rooms, and other special features.

Men it is time for us to get involved in the process. I know shopping isn’t our thing but, we can make life much easier if we get involved in the process. Maybe this Christmas you should surprise your wife by offering to “shop" together and go with her to http://www.houseplancentral.com too to look for a new house together. You can let her pick out the perfect foyer, dinning room and breakfast nook while you look for great storage space, media rooms, and closets to hold all of her stuff!