top of page

O U R   T E A M

I'm here in Longview Texas today looking at a home with clients for a remodel project. Here at R Plans Residential + Interior Design, I generate income through new construction home design, or house plans. But we also do remodel projects in chief architect as well. While my main income is from custom house plans, I always have a remodel project going. The turn around is much less time and it's a healthy challenge to have to design around someone else's work. Of course new house plans are my favorite for their ease of restrictions, but remodel plans have a place. 

This past week I have been bombarded with questions about when to bid and if a floor plan is sufficient for bids. I can assure you with every fiber of my being a floor plan is not sufficient to get a bid. When you send an R Plans custom house plan out for bid, you have all the necessary questions answered. When you just send one of those pages out, you don't have questions answered. My construction documents don't just come with your custom floor plan, they come with a roof plan as well as an electrical plan along with elevations of interior and exterior walls. If your roofer and electrician look at your floor plan, they don't have any idea what to bid. If your mason looks at the floor plan, there is no sign of what type of installation he will be asked to do. He will know whether he is using brick or stone, but there are no ribbons on the floor plan, there is no wainscot and no window or door trim. He requires the elevations in order to give you an accurate quote. It stuns me that some clients can be so adamant about what plans I include in their documents. They want to make sure they are getting everything they need to build their home. Yet the moment they see the floor plan they send it off for bids. If all your builder needed was the floor plan, trust me I wouldn't waste my time creating all the other documents. 

So the latest trend is the modern farmhouse. My most recent clients are all drawn to the metal roof with black windows. They all want the white siding and stained posts. This is a pretty trend, but let's not forget it is a trend. If you want your house to last and keep that timeless look, take some of these attributes, but don't use them all together. I would suggest a white window. We all know white windows look great on the Southern Living houses, and they have looked great for years. pair a white window with some metal roofing. Pair siding with some stained accents. But throw some brick in there. Custom homes with all the farmhouse attributes will be dated back to 2018 for years to come. Look ahead and let me design a home that won't be dated when your kids are grown. 

So what do you think of stairs? There is a cost efficient way to design stairs, and there is a very costly way to design stairs. The only way a 2-story home will help you save money is if you use more than 40 percent of your footage upstairs. Stairs are expensive so let's have them work for us. We do that by putting necessary rooms upstairs. Put your kid's beds upstairs. Put their hangout space, baths, and closets upstairs. The worst thing you can do for cost, is to add a bonus room upstairs and only have the bonus room upstairs. You didn't need a bonus room, and now you are adding stairs along with a bonus room. Stairs only save you if you are saving slab. If you are considering a 2-story and want to help your budget, put necessary rooms upstairs and save yourself the cost of exterior materials and slab.

Let's talk about the difference in a custom house plan and a spec house plan template. At R Plans, we draw houses for you. On the internet you can get a template that isn't made for you. Before we design, it's necessary to know where you will be building your dream home. The size of the lot often determines the shape of the home. More and more, people are valuing the home much more than the land. This means lots are getting smaller and smaller and it is restricting the footprint of the home. Sun angles should also be taken into account. It's important to know if you will be staring into the sun during dinner, or when you are trying to watch television. There aren't many things worse than sitting down to enjoy a show only to realize the glare is blinding. Our homes are designed to capture the best views. If your back yard is gorgeous, let's make sure our picture windows are facing the backyard. We want you to enjoy your setting while you are in your new home. Template plans can't suffice these needs because templates have no idea where you live. They don't know the climate or your land. They don't know your routines or how many people are in your family. I would suggest you take a look at some template if you want to get a feel for the flow. However; I wouldn't look with the intent of settling on one. There will always be something you wish to change. And creating custom house plans allows us to make those changes. We serve house plans Longview TX house plans tyler tx, house plans rockwall tx, House plans Longview TX, house plans tyler tx, house plans longview tx, house plans tyler tx.
necessary. 

My husband and I purchased a spec home about a year after we were married. The outside is cute, given it is a front garage entry on a very small lot. But there were so many things I would have changed inside the home, without even changing the footprint. The doors in the guest bath hit each other. This is a simple solution. The front entry is very large and has an odd 45 degree wall with a niche. The niche is lacking electricity, I would have changed that. There is not one stack of drawers in the whole home. That is a cheap way out. Also, no cabinet hardware anywhere. These are things that I include in my custom designs. Chief Architect allows me to create custom cabinetry. I design your doors and drawers in your kitchen. You have cabinet hardware shown, you have drawers in the kitchen and bathroom. Purchasing a custom plan should include cabinetry elevations. Not only does this save you the strife of designing your own kitchen, it makes sure your builder isn't going to cut corners and put doors everywhere and leave off hardware. When you show your builder a detailed drawing that includes the cabinetry in your home, he is much more apt to follow that lead. This takes all guesswork out of the equations. This way you can know he sees the vision and has all tools necessary to implement the design. R Plans Custom House Plans ensures he will have the tools. Template plans often don't include a single drawing of cabinets and thus leaves the designing to your builder. Let me break the news to you, your builder is a builder. Not all builders should be trusted with design. 

Reagan Lasseter, Caroline Feezel, Registered Interior Designers NCIDQ Senior Designers
Reagan Lasseter, Registered Interior Designer NCIDQ 12624 Senior Designer

Reagan Lasseter, RID
NCIDQ #12624

I was born with an eye for aesthetic and a yearning to attend every Parade of Homes my mom would take me to. This love of well-finished interiors directed me to Stephen F. Austin (a CIDA Accredited Program) where I completed my Bachelor of Science in Interior Design in 2012 -Axe Em Jacks! It wasn't until my second year in the program that I realized there isn't enough beautiful furniture in the world that can fix a poorly drawn house plan. My desire for efficiency and ease is what drives me to draw a plan that works for you.

After graduation, I completed the NCIDQ testing and requirements to become a Registered Interior Designer.

OWNER | SENIOR DESIGNER

Caroline Feezel, Registered Interior Designer NCIDQ 414287 Senior Designer

Caroline Feezel
NCIDQ #414287

I was the kid who sketched floorplans instead of taking notes, browsed template plans online after school, and built more houses out of Legos than my brother. After a tour of the Texas Tech Department of Design (a CIDA Accredited Program), I knew interior design was the career path of my dreams. I received my Bachelor of Science in Interior Design in 2021 - Wreck 'Em! I believe that truly getting to know you and capitalizing on the space you need are the keys to designing a functional, beautiful space to fit your unique lifestyle.

After graduation, I completed the NCIDQ testing and requirements to become a Registered Interior Designer.

SENIOR DESIGNER

Trever Lasseter

Trever Lasseter

I have worked in construction in some form or fashion for my entire adult life. I am passionate about continually improving the client experience and ensuring that our designers are equipped to produce designs for every project at the highest level. On any given day you might find me sifting through spreadsheets, documenting inventory, or brewing a round of hand-crafted espressos in an effort to keep the creative juices flowing.

OWNER | ACCOUNTS MANAGER

C A R E E R S

Check out the positions we have available

bottom of page