YOU wouldn’t knit a sweater without a pattern; you wouldn’t build a home without plans.
If a kit home is not for you then you will need an architect and if you are embarking on your first self-build project, relax, your architect has built many, many of them. You may know what you want in your head; an architect will translate your dreams into plans and also into reality. Note the word reality because it is an architect’s job to design a house for you that will meet all the real-life regulations, not just what you want but all the legal requirements to satisfy planning permission and building warrants and within the constraints of your plot of land and your budget.