What are the key characteristics of a good floor plan when designing your house?

Versatile and flexible. Make sure in the future an office can easily be turned into a child's bedroom whether for your family or a future buyer's.

Ideal room layout. Make sure bedrooms are far from entertaining spaces. Bathrooms shouldn't face common entertainment spaces like dining rooms or living rooms. Most people will like if the kitchen opens to the dining or living rooms so whoever is cooking can still interact with guests or keep an eye on the kids playing.

Size matters. Whenever designing any room or hallway, think about how many people will be in that space at one time. Do they have room to move around? Is there room for furniture to accommodate all the planned activities?

Fits your priorities and lifestyle. If entertaining is important, make sure there's a good flow from the kitchen to an outside space and living room. If you work from home, make sure your office gets ideal light and is perhaps in a quiet location. When you do laundry, is it ok if you have to climb three floors to get from your master bedroom to the laundry room?

Find the balance between architectural details and practical considerations. Think about the safety of kids, cleaning, heating and cooling bill before falling in love with some majestic staircase or floor to ceiling windows.