planning

There were many inspiration homes, but this one stuck with us the most.. it's a photo of a mobile home in the US that I ripped out of a magazine .  (unfortunately I don't remember the source, but if anyone knows it I will be happy to add the link here)

My initial sketches of the exterior for the draftsman

The first stages of the floor plan, again the sketch we took to have drafted

The house has evolved from these initial sketches , but the basic concept is the same.   (I will post the house plan soon)

We started by choosing a local draftsman (Ryan McKenzie - Okanagan Drafting Services) to turn our plans into a reality.  After his initial drawings, we took them to be engineered by Richard at ROV Consulting.  Based on structural challenges we made some more revisions to the design and materials, took the plans back to Ryan for a final re-work, and just like that (three and a half months later!) we have our very own custom home plans!

I will admit that it is a challenge coming up with plans from scratch.. and that is where an Architect would come in handy.  We had considered that route, and although the thought of having a talented professional design our plans was lovely, the cost and timeline where just too out of line with our goals for this home.  Going the DIY route has  forced us to think hard about the functionality of the house and do a lot of research into finishes and systems to come up with the plan that would work for us.  Only time will tell how well we did.