Are you in the process of creating your custom floor plan and want to learn from someone who’s already been there? You’re in the right place because I’m sharing five things I wish I had included in my own custom floor plan — a home I designed and built back in 2013, over a decade ago.
Honestly, there is very little I would change about my custom home.
Our floor plan is cozy, functional, and perfect for the way my family lives, and I’m still happy with my timeless design decisions more than 12 years later.
But you’re here to find out what I WOULD change if I were to build again … so let’s talk about it. Keep in mind that these are all things I can certainly live without, but I do plan to incorporate some (or all!) of these in my next home build.
Let’s get into it …
Listen to this episode or continue reading below.
Note: This episode was recorded in 2022, but the content is still 100% relevant today! I have updated the blog post with additional tips and resources in May 2026.
Links Mentioned in this Episode:
- My CUSTOM FLOOR PLAN
- The SPLURGE + SAVE PLANNER℠
- Join BEFORE YOU BUILD℠
- Download my FREE HOME BUILD START GUIDE
Free On-Demand Class: HOW TO BUILD WITHIN BUDGET AND WITHOUT REGRETS!
5 THINGS I WISH I INCLUDED IN MY CUSTOM FLOOR PLAN
1. Sloped Ceilings in the Bedrooms
I SO wish I had added sloped ceilings in my daughters’ bedrooms on the second floor.
My girls’ bedrooms are a great size, but I love how even a small bedroom can look more open and spacious with a sloped ceiling that follows the roofline. Not to mention all the character it adds to the room.
If your home has a second floor, check whether the roofline naturally allows for this — it’s often a minimal cost addition at the floor plan stage and nearly impossible to add later. I will include sloped ceilings in our next build if the roof line allows.
2. SEPARATE PRIMARY CLOSETS
My husband and I currently share a closet that is large and completely adequate — and we each have our own side (although I’ve definitely crept into some of his drawer space 😂). But I want my OWN closet in our next home!
My future closet won’t be cleaner (because I am now the messy side), but it’ll be beautiful, it’ll have at least one window for natural light, and it’ll have plenty of enclosed storage to keep dust off my hanging clothes.
When you’re designing your floor plan, consider how two separate closets could also free up bedroom square footage and make the whole primary suite feel more intentional and well-designed.
Not sure where to start with your home build? Download my FREE CUSTOM HOME BUILD START GUIDE, and learn my proven 4-step framework to build within budget and without regrets!
3. SEPARATE MUDROOM and LAUNDRY ROOM
Our current home has a combined mudroom and laundry room. It seemed like a great idea when I created my floor plan.
I don’t love it as much anymore because this room is legit the hardest-working room in our house. It’s always a mix of clean clothes, dirty clothes, shoes, and backpacks.
It’s a mess — and my guests love to comment on how relieved they are to see it. 😂
Next time around, I’ll have a separate laundry room with dedicated space for drying racks, AND my future mudroom will have plenty of closed cubbies to hide the chaos.
One more thing … think about shoe drawer sizing NOW. I didn’t anticipate that one of my daughters would grow up to be 6 feet tall and wear a size 11/12 shoe.
This is something to think about if you’re creating a floor plan with young children … they do get bigger (and so do their feet)!
4. A LARGER SCREENED-IN PORCH
We love spending summer evenings outside, but we have bugs where we live, so a screened-in porch is a must for us!
Our screened-in porch gets SO much use … except it’s only big enough for either a small sectional OR a dining table. Not both.
My ideal screened-in porch would be large enough to fit a full-size dining table PLUS a cozy seating area.
Whatever square footage you’re considering for your screened porch, I recommend you go a little bigger.
It’s one of those spaces you will almost always wish you had made larger — and it’s much harder to expand after the fact.
5. A BONUS ROOM ABOVE THE GARAGE
A bonus room was definitely NOT in our budget when we built — but it’s something we could have roughed it out and finished later.
That (↑) is exactly what we did with our basement. We waited two years after moving in to finish it, and it worked out great.
We have a massive garage and could have roughed out the coolest playroom/teen hangout space above it. But I didn’t think of it back in 2013 … and now I’m a little jealous of people who have purchased my custom floor plan and added a bonus room!
If a bonus room appeals to you, ask your builder about the cost to rough it out now and finish it later. You might be surprised at how affordable the framing phase can be.
FAQs About Custom Floor Plans
What are the most common regrets people have about their custom floor plan?
The most common floor plan regrets tend to involve space separation (wishing rooms like the laundry and mudroom were separate), underestimating how a family would grow, and not maximizing architectural details like sloped ceilings or bonus rooms that add character and function.
The good news is that you can learn from others’ experiences (like mine!) to avoid the same “I wish I had thought of that” moments in your own build.
What should I think about when designing my custom floor plan?
Think about how your family actually lives — not just how you live today, but how you’ll live in five or ten years.
Consider traffic flow through your main living areas, storage needs for every family member, outdoor living spaces, and how they connect to the interior, and which architectural features are easy to add now but nearly impossible to add later (like sloped ceilings or roughed-in bonus rooms).
The floor plan stage is your ONE chance to get the layout right before anything is built.
How do I design a custom floor plan I won’t regret?
Start by getting crystal clear on your family’s lifestyle and must-haves BEFORE you sit down with a builder or draftsperson.
The most common floor plan regrets come from rushing into design and layout decisions without a solid plan.
(Psst … a great place to start is my FREE Guided Floor Plan Creation Workbook.)
NEXT STEPS
There you go … five things I wish I had included in my custom floor plan. 🙌
I truly don’t have any regrets or feel like I made mistakes with my custom home. There are just a few things I’ll do differently next time, and now you know what they are before you build your home.
Hopefully, learning from my experience will help you create the perfect floor plan for your family.
If you want to dive deeper into really thinking through the perfect floor plan for your family, download my FREE Guided Floor Plan Creation Workbook.
