How to Keep the Flow in New Home Design

According to the 18th-century sculptor Horatio Greenough, the attractiveness of a building corresponds to how well it performs its function. For home design, a house that provides comfort, safety and a high level of living efficiency will, according to this principle, automatically be aesthetically pleasing. However, this principle could take a nasty wrong turn in a poor designer's hands. When choosing how to keep the flow in your new home, keep in mind how the design will function best for you and your family and look attractive to you as well.

• 1

  Design around the sun. Let sun inform each one of your home design decisions. For homes with solar panels and those with lots of windows, make decorating choices based on the amount of sun cast in each room. For instance, position the windows in the home so that you can see the sunrise and sunset.

• 2

  Select one flooring type, such as wood, vinyl, linoleum or carpeting for the home. The color and texture of the floors blend the rooms together, establishing a flow throughout the home. Uniform flooring also often makes the space look and feel larger.

• 3

  Unify the space with window treatments -- select either curtains or vertical or horizontal blinds for the windows. Vary the curtain patterns, if you desire, but keep the style of the curtains the same to keep the flow. Choose sheer, lace or opaque curtains, depending on the level of privacy you want.

• 4

  Fit the home with one kind of durable, attractive and insulating exterior door. If you live in an area with very cold winters and/or hot summers, choose a door with a steel skin and a polyurethane foam core. Check that it has a magnetic strip that acts as weatherstripping. Or opt for sliding doors. Because glass doors offer inferior insulation, choose modern glass doors with metal frames and a thermal break, an insulator between the inner and outer parts of the frame. Or select swinging doors, which offer a tighter seal than sliding doors. Paint traditional exterior doors one color to unify the home from the outside. Dark blue, red, black and white make good choices.

• 5

  Choose whether you want to have exposed brick walls or ceiling rafters in parts of the home. Select a type of material to use for the rest of the walls and ceiling. Vinyl, drywall and wood are all common choices. For painted walls and ceilings, select creams and off-whites for a soothing color scheme. Or go with deep blue, periwinkle, yellow or cranberry for walls for a more lively color scheme.