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If you can't seem to find an existing home or home plan that seems to fit you- don't be discouraged!

1. Start by making a 'wish list' and a 'requesite list', like you would a to-do list. Don't be too specific yet, so that way things remain flexible until the whole picture comes together.

2. Then, when your lists are in good order, make a map of how to arrange the different items on your list, similar to making a road map to your house. I don't recommend using bubble diagrams quite yet.

3. Now, check and see if some of the areas on your map can merge to become multi-use areas, or if certain areas should be close to each other to createzones of a particular quality or use: quiet zones, working zones, play zones, messy zones, formal zones, sunny zones, traffic zones, intimate zones, etc.

3. Go ahead and incorporate your desired site orientation: sun angles, entry and approach, access to garages and outbuildings, access to decks, gardens and other outdoor recreation areas.

4. Incorporate large fixed objects in the home, like stairs, hearths, pianos, multi-media centers, and really big furniture pieces(ie shranks or built in book cases). Now you're ready to make some bubbles.

5. Draw bubbles around the items on your map that you would like to identify as rooms or desingated areas in you home. You can draw bubbles inside bubbles if you need to, but try not to have too many bubbles. (Your bubbles can be different amoebic shapes.) The goal is to start loosely structuring your map into a floor plan. The bubbles help you identify the boundaries of rooms or areas.

6. Finally, once your bubbles look like a diagram for your house, draw a grid over your bubble diagram. Study how the grid starts to suggest room sizes, wall locations, window and door locations, hallways, symmetry, balance, etc. Now you are ready to talk to a designer, an architect or us!