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mona_johansson4 Feb 2026 09:10Hello dear homebuilding community,
I’m Mona from Bad Neustadt, and we are just starting our self-build project. Honestly, I still feel a bit overwhelmed by all the options and upcoming decisions.
Where did you find inspiration at the beginning? Show homes / model homes, online galleries, groups like this one – what helped you during the initial phase? Is there a tool where you can collect and organize ideas, pictures, or preferences without having to speak directly with a consultant?
So far, I only have a folder with screenshots and a small list, but it quickly becomes confusing. How do you organize things – do you use mood boards, checklists, or something else entirely? Looking forward to your tips and experiences!
I’m Mona from Bad Neustadt, and we are just starting our self-build project. Honestly, I still feel a bit overwhelmed by all the options and upcoming decisions.
Where did you find inspiration at the beginning? Show homes / model homes, online galleries, groups like this one – what helped you during the initial phase? Is there a tool where you can collect and organize ideas, pictures, or preferences without having to speak directly with a consultant?
So far, I only have a folder with screenshots and a small list, but it quickly becomes confusing. How do you organize things – do you use mood boards, checklists, or something else entirely? Looking forward to your tips and experiences!
N
nordanney4 Feb 2026 09:18First: Secure the plot of land!!!
Everything else? Only after you have a specific plot. No plot yet? Just visit friends’ or acquaintances’ houses or apartments, take walks through model home parks, or browse online.
In the end, it will “just” be a house with walls, lights, bathroom/kitchen. It’s not rocket science, and you won’t find anything that doesn’t already exist. Desperately searching for inspiration, in my opinion, is awful. What do you expect in terms of “special features”? The important question (and truly the only important question) is what rooms you need in the house and how they fit your individual lifestyle (family, children—age and number, daily routine, cooking for a large group of friends, preference for bright or darker rooms, etc.). Everything else is marginal detail.
Everything else? Only after you have a specific plot. No plot yet? Just visit friends’ or acquaintances’ houses or apartments, take walks through model home parks, or browse online.
In the end, it will “just” be a house with walls, lights, bathroom/kitchen. It’s not rocket science, and you won’t find anything that doesn’t already exist. Desperately searching for inspiration, in my opinion, is awful. What do you expect in terms of “special features”? The important question (and truly the only important question) is what rooms you need in the house and how they fit your individual lifestyle (family, children—age and number, daily routine, cooking for a large group of friends, preference for bright or darker rooms, etc.). Everything else is marginal detail.
Hello,
Nordanney has already mentioned the key points. We first visited a display village to get some ideas. Then, we went to friends’ houses to see some homes in person. After that, we selected the construction company and visited several model homes shortly before their handover. During these visits, we were able to talk openly with the homeowners about the advantages and disadvantages.
Afterwards, we made the decision on the house type and specifications. Everything went very smoothly, and the building schedule was reliably followed despite the challenges posed by COVID-19.
We have now been living in the house for five years and remain very happy with our decision.
Nordanney has already mentioned the key points. We first visited a display village to get some ideas. Then, we went to friends’ houses to see some homes in person. After that, we selected the construction company and visited several model homes shortly before their handover. During these visits, we were able to talk openly with the homeowners about the advantages and disadvantages.
Afterwards, we made the decision on the house type and specifications. Everything went very smoothly, and the building schedule was reliably followed despite the challenges posed by COVID-19.
We have now been living in the house for five years and remain very happy with our decision.
mona_johansson schrieb:
Is there a tool or something where you can collect and organize ideas, pictures, or wishes, Pinterest?
mona_johansson schrieb:
Folders with screenshots and a short list, but that quickly becomes confusing. I would say this: if you don’t remember something, it’s not important.
Most of the problems in our floor plan discussions here come from the collected works of Instagram and Pinterest, trying to copy exactly what others have. Also, nice-to-haves like window seats and walk-in closets straight out of a TV series can add significant costs, making the house more expensive. A house isn’t something new. Yes, show homes are useful to get a feel for room sizes and for measuring. Your perspective will naturally change—you’ll start to pay attention to many things. You can absorb a lot and simply remember it. And again, I come back to: if you don’t remember it, it’s not important.
Ah, hello, almost a neighbor. I’m from the district KG.
Create your room plan. Not just kitchen, living, and sleeping areas, but also a cloakroom with a cupboard for 200 pairs of shoes, a dining area with a table of size xyz, and space for great-grandpa Hermann’s farmhouse cabinet, etc. Basically, everything you want to include.
Then walk through the apartments and houses of relatives with open eyes. The table is nice and big—what are its dimensions? The guest bathroom feels too cramped for us. You can politely ask for measurements there, too, or make a note of them.
Rensch-Haus and Hanse Haus with their show homes aren’t far away, as well as the park in Würzburg. Take a look at all of this, talk to the salespeople, and gather information first. Don’t just look at the room but pay attention to furniture size, distances, and so on.
At Rensch-Haus, we were even allowed to go into the selection rooms during the open house day. That gave a feeling of what is included and what costs extra.
I believe Albert Haus has a show house in Burkardroth.
As far as I know, Wir-Leben-Haus in Oberthulba doesn’t have one, but they used to offer appointments to visit houses currently under construction. At that time, homeowners, construction managers, and Mr. Kleinhenz were also present.
Do you have a plot? It will probably be a hillside location. Plan with the slope rather than against it. A basement-level living area is certainly possible without that typical basement feeling. We have that too. Some timber frame builders tend to build towers and simply add a basement with storage rooms or hobby rooms underneath.
Create your room plan. Not just kitchen, living, and sleeping areas, but also a cloakroom with a cupboard for 200 pairs of shoes, a dining area with a table of size xyz, and space for great-grandpa Hermann’s farmhouse cabinet, etc. Basically, everything you want to include.
Then walk through the apartments and houses of relatives with open eyes. The table is nice and big—what are its dimensions? The guest bathroom feels too cramped for us. You can politely ask for measurements there, too, or make a note of them.
Rensch-Haus and Hanse Haus with their show homes aren’t far away, as well as the park in Würzburg. Take a look at all of this, talk to the salespeople, and gather information first. Don’t just look at the room but pay attention to furniture size, distances, and so on.
At Rensch-Haus, we were even allowed to go into the selection rooms during the open house day. That gave a feeling of what is included and what costs extra.
I believe Albert Haus has a show house in Burkardroth.
As far as I know, Wir-Leben-Haus in Oberthulba doesn’t have one, but they used to offer appointments to visit houses currently under construction. At that time, homeowners, construction managers, and Mr. Kleinhenz were also present.
Do you have a plot? It will probably be a hillside location. Plan with the slope rather than against it. A basement-level living area is certainly possible without that typical basement feeling. We have that too. Some timber frame builders tend to build towers and simply add a basement with storage rooms or hobby rooms underneath.
mona_johansson schrieb:
I’m Mona from Bad Neustadt, and we’re just starting our home building project. Honestly, right now I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the options and upcoming decisions.
Where did you get your initial inspiration from? [...] without having to talk to a consultant right away? [...] but it quickly gets confusing. How do you stay organized? Just play “Ten Little Indians,” and the seemingly overwhelming number of options will naturally reduce itself: Do you have a family? > suddenly down to nine options, Tiny House is out; you don’t print your own money > down to eight, Neuschwanstein-style castles are out too; if the zoning plan allows only one full story > tower villas are out, leaving seven, and so on.
By reducing the seemingly too many possibilities to just actual options, you simply take your needs into account and make a list of “which rooms for what or whom,” then qualify that list by adding approximate floor areas in square meters next to each room and, in the next step, adding a table column for “upstairs,” “downstairs,” or “either.” For example, a one-and-a-half story house would distribute the area roughly 1 to 0.6 between the ground floor and upper floor, while a two-story house would split it about 1 to 1 between the ground and first floors. With this list (you don’t need to help the architect with drawing), you go to an independent architect and initially commission “Module A,” as described in “A Home Building Roadmap, Also for You: the HOAI Phase Model!” (which can be found including the quotation marks or via my signature on “Building Now”). This covers service phases 1 (determining the framework conditions of your needs and the plot) and 2 (creating a preliminary design, i.e., translating the needs-and-possibilities profile into a realistically sized building form). With this preliminary design, you can take a pause to let things settle and make key decisions. You take an active break, during which you say goodbye to ideas that cannot be realized simultaneously in a single house (resting period). You can also use these plans to submit a preliminary building inquiry to the municipality and, simultaneously, ask a handful of builders (mixed brick and timber) what this would roughly cost. When equipped the same way, houses built with either construction method are roughly comparable in price, but specific reasons in each design might make one method more affordable in that particular case. “Question 2” clarifies which “catalog house” from the respective provider corresponds appropriately to the preliminary design developed with your architect and also has the advantage of being a standardized product. Based on the results, you either let the preliminary design mature further or adapt the catalog house proposal to your family.
The bride only gets dressed, made up, and decorated at the end, meaning you don’t need to pour out the box of inspiration photos until late in the process—except for features that are not details but construction characteristics—for example, if you want a barrel roof (assuming the zoning plan allows it). To readers, especially the gentlemen among you, I also recommend my “stone mantra,” i.e., don’t try to convert the builders to “test winner” building materials, but rather make use of their practical experience.
It is also very important to write down and then tear up or burn the outdated saying “you only build once” because after about 25 to 30 years, your life situation will be so different from today’s that rebuilding or buying new will usually be more affordable than renovating. “Grandma’s little house” as a family heirloom was yesterday; we once had an emperor, but the world keeps turning (and those who stand still fall behind).
When you say “having to talk to a consultant,” you probably mean the “paywall” for detailed information until you sign a contract. It’s best to ignore that. From your perspective as the interested party, the “consultants” in model homes are often more like “betrayers” with strong vested interests. Good advisors for you are those who are paid directly by you, such as your architect or independent building consultants like me (construction-method neutral) or my colleagues (mostly specializing in turnkey houses). I regularly mention the latter here: search the forum for their names (Beuler, Freyermuth, or Zink). I also highly recommend the “Homeowner’s License” by lawyer Reibold-Rolinger (Bauglück). From my side, there are dozens of posts providing broad information for future builders on my info blog; you can find my colleagues on the channel with the red-and-white play button and, for example, architect Kittybob as a podcast.
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