Today’s buyers want more from every square foot. Builders still need plans that pencil.
That tension is the heart of Lita Dirks’ 2027 NAHB International Builders’ Show Building Knowledge Session: Floor Plans That Sell: Optimize, Right-Size & Merchandise to Win Buyers.
Lita Dirks, MIRM, CAASH, IIDA, WWYW, CEO, will share the stage with Tony Hanson, Founder and Principal of Grand Living Homes, and Daniel Stiling, Principal at BSB Design. Together they will walk a plan from livability to construction reality; and show why the homes that sell are the ones that feel larger, flow better, and cost less to get wrong.
This is not a lecture about pretty rooms. It is a live look at how architecture, interior merchandising, and builder economics have to work as one.
What you’ll see in the room:
- Live architectural sketching as the floor plan is tested and revised
- Furniture planning and complimentary merchandising that reveal a home’s lifestyle—not just its square footage
- A builder’s view of what actually keeps complexity and cost in check when the plan leaves the page
Whether you are drawing from scratch or updating a portfolio that has started to feel dated against resale, the session is built around decisions you can take back to the office.
You will leave able to:
- Design floor plans and room layouts that balance construction efficiency with what buyers now expect
- Use right-sizing, space planning, and furniture layout so every square foot feels more functional
- Spot practical revisions that improve the marketability of plans you already have
- Reduce residential construction complexity and cost without giving up buyer appeal
The advantage over resale is not more house. It is a plan that lives better, merchandises clearly, and still works in the field.
Save the date: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2027 from 8:15am to 9:15am. Bring a plan you think is “fine.” Leave with a sharper one. Get your tickets to NAHB’s 2027 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, February 2nd – 4th.
