Many of us will tend to tour different houses and browse through the various room layouts while dreaming of the day when we can build our own house. It can be beneficial to know what are some of the more common house plan defects that can be detrimental to living in a building and what you can do about it.

1. The most frequent design flaw is found in spaces that have a single use and are a dead end. These spaces can block a natural flow of traffic in the home and, in essence, create a bottleneck. How to fix it: Open up a wall or just add a door so you can walk through this space without turning around.
2. There is not enough integration from the inside out. How to fix: Add doors that open to a porch or patio. This connection will connect the building to the landscape and prevent it from feeling utilitarian.
3. Front porches that are too small to sit on. How to fix it: Make sure the front porch is at least eight feet deep to allow room for furniture.
4. A kitchen island is great, but it can also be too big to work with. How to fix it: Determine the amount of space that is necessary for the normal preparation and eating of your food and plan accordingly.
5. The size of the room is not proportional to the height of the ceiling. How to fix it: Large, airy rooms should have a slightly higher ceiling that will add to the spacious feeling of the room. Lower ceilings can definitely make a room feel smaller and cramped.
6. Lack of natural light due to not enough windows or all windows are on one wall. How to fix it: Don’t make a room that has only one window. You may also consider expanding it to make a bay window. Another solution is to add a skylight.
7. Poor progression from garage to kitchen. How to fix it: Shorten and straighten the path from the kitchen to the garage.
8. Sculptural bathroom sinks that have many nooks and crannies that will make cleaning difficult while leaving little room for a counter. How to fix it: Use built-in or drop-in sinks to get as much counter space as possible.
9. Cheap glass or plastic shower doors that can induce a claustrophobic feeling. How to fix it: Change the tub/tub combo to a walk-in shower or replace the doors with shower curtains.
10. Roof configurations that are complex or too high and have too many protrusions, hips, and gables. This is not only aesthetically unpleasant, but can also lead to leaks. How to fix it: Keep the roofline and silhouette simple.

Hopefully, by reading up on these common flaws and how to fix them, you can avoid making these mistakes on your own home plans and end up with a home that feels and looks great.