Welcome to Our Blog
A Great Elevation Helps Make the Sale
Prospective customers rule you “in” or “out” based on your homes’ exteriors. It’s a fact. Overwhelmed by too many choices, buyers use shortcuts to narrow the number of home builders they will consider. One of those shortcuts is your elevation designs. Photographs can...
Design Concept: Rear Foyers
Problem: Most families enter their home through the garage, but once you get inside, where does your stuff go? Where do you hang your jackets, stash your shoes, backpacks, handbags, etc.? And, when you leave in the morning how can you make it more convenient to get...
Design Concept: Drop Zone
Problem: Statements like, "When I get home, everything seems to end up on the kitchen table," or "Everything the kids walk in with gets left on the island," these and similar comments inspired one of our most popular Woman-Centric design innovations, the Drop Zone...
From plan alterations to locating a builder in your area, find the resources you need for making your new home a reality!
Tailoring Solutions for You – Design Basics’ Concierge Service
Adding new home plans to your portfolio is risky. Will the design attract buyers? How much will that home cost to build? Design Basics’ Concierge Service is designed to help you minimize such risks. We know what is selling in terms of home design. Based on your goals...
If Your Suitcase is Always in the Way!
Always on the go? Then you're sure to appreciate our Travel Center option, designed to keep everything handy and make packing a snap! You know where your suitcase has been...so you're probably not going to want to pack it on the clean bedspread! Our travel center was...
Pet-Friendly Home Design
Are your dogs treated as full-fledged family members? For many of the 4 in 10 U.S. households with dogs, the answer is “Yes!” From floor plan layouts to material selections to innovative amenities, pet-centric homes make life better for Spot and his owners. Studies...
Design trends, articles, and other resources to help you make important decisions about your new home design and included amenities.
Cost of Ownership – Resale Value
When looking at your new home investment, one of the considerations is future resale value. Buyer preferences change over time, and the farther out your time horizon, the less confident you can be in a design, amenity, or product’s future popularity. Americans live in...
Cost of Ownership – Replacement and Maintenance Costs
Last time we looked at PITIU (Principle, Interest, Taxes, Insurance, and Utilities) as a truer definition of total monthly housing costs. But if you’re also considering a resale home, there are other costs that need to be figured in. Replacements. How would we expect...
Beyond Dollars – The Cost of Home Ownership
Thinking about the cost of home ownership often resides in the “left brain,” which is associated with information, rational thinking, and analytics. Yet we feel other, very real costs, expressed in terms such as happiness/frustration, contentment/disappointment, or...
Home designs and amenities to make your home ‘live’ the way you live.
Celebrating Women in Construction
Design Basics’ Executive Vice President, Natalie Wendling, is featured in the “Celebrating Women in Construction” section on Page 20 of the latest issue of Home Builders Association of Greater Des Moines' Blueprint Magazine! Read more about her experience as a woman...
Lumber Association Partnerships
Design Basics, LLC, is pleased to announce our partnership with the Northwestern Lumber Association (NLA), serving Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota, and the Mid-America Lumbermens Association (MLA), serving Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri. With preferred access to...
Letter from the President
As we reflect on 2019, we are pleased with the progress Design Basics, LLC, has made towards adding to our 2,800+ collection of home plans as well as building our brand by designing unique, well sought-after home designs, providing exceptional customer service, and...