Ana Coddington has spent her career thinking about what makes a floor plan work — and what that means for the families who will live in it.

That instinct, built over more than a decade at a residential architecture firm — as a designer and in nearly every other part of the business — is exactly what she brings to her role as Head of Special Projects at Architectural Designs.

"I went from working on the design side to supporting designers and customers in a whole new way," she says. "I use the word re-energizing all the time — because it really does feel that way."

Ana's work at AD is wide-ranging, and she would not have it any other way. On any given day she might be leading email marketing strategy, working with Kitty Connor on designer relations, or connecting with Jared Davis and the broader team on growth initiatives.

She also builds visual market reports for builders, real estate agents, and design partners, translating buyer data and broader trends into something clear and actionable — the kind of outside perspective she relied on during her years on the design side. Earlier this year, she shared that data face to face when she joined the AD team at the International Builder Show to meet design partners in person. "Those conversations felt like they really set us up for success," she says.

"Coming from a smaller team, I love that I get to collaborate with a larger team now," she says. "We're all contributing within our own roles, but we leverage each other's skills — and seeing those puzzle pieces come together is really fulfilling."

The gap between excitement and confidence is a big part of Ana's focus — the space between finding a plan you love and feeling ready to move forward with it.

"Information overload is probably the biggest challenge," she says. "There are a lot of exciting parts to this process, but when you're new at it, there are also a lot of decisions to consider."

Closing that gap, she says, is one of AD's most important jobs. It shows up in resources like the What's Included breakdown on plan detail pages, the Frequently Asked Question on individual service pages, and blog content that answers the questions customers didn't know they had. "The goal is always to replace uncertainty with confidence," she says, "and make sure no one feels like they have to figure it out on their own."

Walk Your Plans stands out to her as one of the most meaningful additions to the customer experience in recent years. The service projects a full-size floor plan onto the floor, so you can walk through the layout before you build — seeing how wide the hallway feels, or whether your favorite sectional will fit in the great room. "That service has made a tremendous difference in the way we're presenting plans to our customers," she says. When customers can experience a layout at full scale, building feels like much less of a leap of faith.

Ana's approach to floor plans always comes back to the same principle: how a home lives matters more than how it looks. "If your home doesn't function, it doesn't matter how beautiful it is," she says. "It's just not going to feel right."

"One of my favorite aspects of what I do is looking at floor plans and finding the hidden gems that designers put in to make them more functional," she says. "Beautiful and functional — that's what matters."

For Ana, that starts with the kitchen. Can two people cook together comfortably? Is there room for guests to pull up a chair while dinner is being made? A kitchen that supports those moments, she says, makes all the difference.

Storage is next. "Making sure you have enough storage is critical," she says. "It helps your home feel more organized — you have a place for everything." She also thinks carefully about where windows and doors are placed, and what that means for furniture arrangement. Once you start placing pieces in a room, do the circulation paths feel comfortable? Is there enough space for people to move around naturally?

And then there's the long view. Life has a way of changing in unexpected ways, and a plan that can adapt — with a flex room that can shift from home office to guest room, or a main-level primary suite that makes it easier to stay in the home long term — can make a real difference. As Ana puts it, "A little foresight during the planning stage can pay dividends for years to come."

For Ana, the must-have is not inside the house at all.

"I really appreciate a direct connection with the outdoors," she says. "Breathing in fresh air, hearing the sounds, getting some sunshine." A covered rear porch, a firepit, an outdoor kitchen, and plenty of space to gather are what she comes back to every time — a place that works just as well for hosting family and friends as it does for curling up with a book and unwinding.

Her style reflects the same love of calm. She is drawn to transitional plans that blend familiar traditional elements with a more minimalist, organic modern approach — clean, streamlined exteriors where the texture does the talking: stone, vertical siding, and natural wood in a warm monochromatic palette, with no ornamentation to get in the way. "I want my house to radiate calm," she says.

Stay tuned as we continue introducing the team behind Architectural Designs, with two more introductions still ahead. In the meantime, browse our full collection of house plans or reach out to our Customer Success team anytime. We are here to help.