Before you choose a home plan, take some time to sit down with the people you live with and consider the space you currently occupy. When you find out how each of you feels about your current home, you’ll make better decisions when planning your new home.

What you learn may be things you’ve heard many times before but haven’t thought about. And, because it has an impact on planning your next home, you may learn something new. So ask each person who will be occupying your new home these questions:

• What do you love and appreciate most about our current home?
• What is the most desirable feature of your current home?
• Is there anything you would like this house to have that it doesn’t?
• Are there any features that really annoy you?
• Are there any features that are a small but constant irritation?

You may learn that your daughter loves and appreciates her south-facing window or that your son loves the little nook under the stairs. And you may learn that the cook absolutely hates those tin lights on the kitchen ceiling shining in the wrong place.

You may find that you’re not the only one who wishes your garage was just a couple of feet wider, so it’s easier to get groceries out of the car and into the house. You may hear that someone in the house dreams of a shower with water coming from the ceiling, or longs for a bay window with a window seat.

You may learn that your family would prefer a pantry over a powder room, or that your daughter would be happy with less square footage in her bedroom if she could have a walk-in closet.

Little things make a big difference in how much you enjoy your space, so take the time to really think about and discuss the little things. See how many dreams you can easily incorporate into that new home and how many old annoyances you can eliminate.

Now is also a good time to start the engagement process, because as it progresses there will be times when not everyone will agree on the options.