Favorite home plan

[roadless]

I love looking at home plans and dreaming of which would work on our property. What is your favorite plan? WIHH I have seen photos of your and CF's beautiful home . Do you have a link to your plan ? Anyone else care to share?

[Freeholder]

http://www.balewatch.com/
http://www.balewatch.com/912modular.html

912 sq. ft.

This is my favorite of his designs. I'd modify it a bit (of course! We all have to put our own stamp on our homes!). I would use a rectangular roof, putting porches in the 'corners.' The south-side roof over the porch would be slatted so the sun could come in in the winter, but not in the summer. I would put a small wood stove in the living room (probably a rocket stove, with heated benches for seating), just around the corner from the arched entryway into that room.

I'd also remove the door between the east bedroom and the living room, using the extra space in the bedroom to extend the closet, and switch the small east window in the east bedroom with the larger north-facing one. I'd build in a dinette in the kitchen, with storage under the seats. And I'd add some shelving space in the laundry area for pantry storage (one short-coming of many of his house plans is a lack of pantry space -- those of us who raise most of our own food need lots of food storage space!).

My daughter is handicapped, and the one-level house would work well for the two of us, with lots of covered outdoor space so she could be outdoors without being in the sun (she is sun-sensitive because of lupus, and she also has vitiligo). The bathroom also works reasonably well as she needs assistance bathing, so there has to be room for two people in the bathroom.

I would give her the larger bedroom, as she spends more time in her room during the day than I do (and I need an east-facing window to get me out of bed in the morning). I'd add planters for gray-water on the south side, and a solar water heater on/in the roof, connected to the wood stove for back-up; solar panels would power lights, a lap-top computer, and a small refrigerator, as well as a well-pump if we needed one.

I like the rear entry with space for storage of things like boots and garden shoes, dog leashes, winter hats and mittens, and so on. I'd use that door for access to the clothes lines, barn, and garden, and possibly a carport or workshop. I think I'd put coat pegs on the wall opposite the laundry area. It's good to have that hallway serving as a work area rather than just dead space. My treadle sewing machine would go in front of the window in the office space, and I'd make the desk L-shaped, with lots of built-in shelves. The deep window-sills in the office and the living room would provide space for plants, especially for starting seedlings in the spring.

Floors would be tile or sealed earth in most of the house, with probably wood in the bedrooms. Walls would be lime plaster over the straw bales. The ceiling would be beamed, and wood. I don't want to have to paint the ceiling! The roof would be sod. I think it would be a really nice little house for the two of us.

Kathleen

[roadless]

Wow Kathleen,
I like how detailed you think. Great ideas! I like your home plan. I would also block off the bedroom door to the living room and extend the closet. The north facing utility room is great too As is the office off the kitchen. My only concern would be just one bathroom. I think part of the reason I have a good marriage is that we have our own bathrooms!

[kabri]

We have modified it, but this is basically the design we are going to build, soon I hope! http://www.sunplans.com/html/houseDi...se=Canyon_View
We added a screened porch on the East side where we will have our bake oven, probably a propane burner and sink.

[Freeholder]

"Wow Kathleen,
I like how detailed you think. Great ideas! I like your home plan. I would also block off the bedroom door to the living room and extend the closet. The north facing utility room is great too As is the office off the kitchen. My only concern would be just one bathroom. I think part of the reason I have a good marriage is that we have our own bathrooms!"

It's important to think every detail through, IMO. A lot of people put less real thought into the purchase or construction of a home than they do into what they are going to have for supper that night!

Two bathrooms would be nice in some situations, but for my daughter and I it would just be more work for me, as she doesn't help with the cleaning (or anything else).

Kabri, I like that plan. I've spent quite a bit of time at that website, looking all their plans over, and if I could afford them, they have several I like. But the one I posted above is still at the top of my list.

Kathleen

[roadless]

Kabri, I really like your plan also! Plenty of room for a family !
As my dh and I are empty nesters I want my next place to be much smaller. Our NY property (where I hope to build )already has a off-grid cabin on it that would be perfect for guests. So a two bedroom would work for us.
Kathleen, I agree about thinking through every detail. With my first and only house I was just so excited to finally be a home owner I didn't really think things through.
For example a mud room is very important to me now, along with a utility and storage area. I didn't care about such things before. My next and probably last place I want to take our lifestyle more into consideration. It is fun to look and dream!

[sailormanCGA72]

We haven't built yet because I haven't retired yet, but here is the current plan that meet the wife's approval. http://www.houseplansandmore.com/hom...b&lsView=FIRST

I wanted to downsize considerably, but we don't always get what we want.

This is what I want to build. http://www.thehousedesigners.com/pla...p?PlanNum=6245

[roadless]

Originally Posted by sailormanCGA72

We haven't built yet because I haven't retired yet, but here is the current plan that meet the wife's approval. http://www.houseplansandmore.com/hom...b&lsView=FIRST

I wanted to downsize considerably, but we don't always get what we want.

This is what I want to build. http://www.thehousedesigners.com/pla...p?PlanNum=6245

I like both homes sailorman, but I have to say I like your choice better. The wrap around porch tipped the scales for me. I like the idea of a loft too.
I also want to downsize. I figure once I get to build on my beautiful property I won't be inside much anyhow.! ( plus I'm the one that has to clean it)

thanks for posting!

[roadless]

Wind in Her Hair, thanks for responding to my post!
I think I have claustrophobia too! When we were building our house I insisted that we have eight foot ceiling in our basement. My dh said "that for a lil lady I sure did require a lot of space!" ! ( I am 5 ft tall).
Every plan I look at must have lots of windows, and a somewhat vaulted ceiling. I also love your covered porch. I didn't realize that you have a back porch also, all the better! Your fireplace and kitchen are cool too. In fact I think you happen to be living in my dream house!!
There was a time when I would have picked out your original home too. I do agree times have changed and now simple is my mantra!



Hey wait a minute I just looked at the link on your post..you have 2 cabins!! Its not fair!!! ( yes I am pouting!)

[Phillip]

This one is probably my favorite:

http://www.houseplans.com/960-square...garage-(10270)

Here's another one I like

http://www.houseplans.com/1369-squar...garage-(33074)

[ErinP]

^
that one is quite similar to what we're building. Ours is going to be over a full, walk-out basement though so it'll look like a two story in the front elevation. And we'll have a loft for the actual second story.

[mtman]

do what is best for you,easyday did our plans on graph paper and thats what we built

[SunRiverMan]

BlueJuniperFarm, I own a house with that same plan in a small community. The house is kind of small, but it feels big. I second your plan. SRM

[Yvonne's hubby]

Our place I built with no real "plans". Visualize a 16' x 20 ' room. then put another one ten feet away from the first one. This gives you a total of 42' x 20' divided into three areas, two of which are 16x20 separated by a 10x20. Now figure in a second floor exactly the same dimensions directly above the first floor. The center area (that 10' x 20') area gets a bit tricky as it includes the bathrooms, (one on each floor) and the staircase, plus a hallway connecting everything else together. Then go out side, and put a 10x26 "addition" on the back of the house, a deck across the full length of the front side and you have a basic idea of what our log cabin in the woods here in Ky is about. I really do need to get some photos of the place on the net so I can post them.

[roadless]

Originally Posted by Yvonne's hubby

Our place I built with no real "plans". Visualize a 16' x 20 ' room. then put another one ten feet away from the first one. This gives you a total of 42' x 20' divided into three areas, two of which are 16x20 separated by a 10x20. Now figure in a second floor exactly the same dimensions directly above the first floor. The center area (that 10' x 20') area gets a bit tricky as it includes the bathrooms, (one on each floor) and the staircase, plus a hallway connecting everything else together. Then go out side, and put a 10x26 "addition" on the back of the house, a deck across the full length of the front side and you have a basic idea of what our log cabin in the woods here in Ky is about. I really do need to get some photos of the place on the net so I can post them.

I would love to see pictures if you can ..... thanks for posting!
Wow , I just finished viewing your video, how beautiful! You have your own slice of heaven don't you! I really like the interior, with all the angles. The stairs are interesting with the bark still on them and the covered porch is to die for! Did you build it yourself ? Did you use your own plan? Thank you so much for sharing it with me!

[roadless]

How wonderful !
It looks similar to our NY off grid cabin but quite a bit larger!( I will have to learn how to post pictures) What is the material on the floor ? I was looking for ideas for our cabin. I think the floor in ours is paint ( or colored stain ) over plywood. I have a huge braided rug over most of it but would like to do something different.
Thanks for sharing!

[ArmyDoc]

Well, if money were no object, I think this would be my ideal home floor plan, but I don't like the way they built it. The picture showes it with a half burried basement, and front entry to the garage, which is in the basement. This raises the house way up in the air. If were to build it, I would build it with a true walkout basement, so the front porch of the house would be only a couple of steps up. The garage would then be accesse by driving around the side.

http://www.eplans.com/cottage_house-...HWEPL04218.hwx

[Yvonne's hubby]

Originally Posted by roadless

I would love to see pictures if you can ..... thanks for posting!
Wow , I just finished viewing your video, how beautiful! You have your own slice of heaven don't you! I really like the interior, with all the angles. The stairs are interesting with the bark still on them and the covered porch is to die for! Did you build it yourself ? Did you use your own plan? Thank you so much for sharing it with me!

We have done most of it ourselves. I bought logs, hired a couple guys with band saws to mill them for me. I put up the stone foundation and stacked the logs by myself, before I met Yvonne. Swapped my lil JD40 crawler to a local builder for the roof job. (I dont do high work) Continued with the work over the past few years pretty much just my Yvonne, her boy and myself up till last spring, then hired some fellers to put on the porches and a helper to lend a hand with the cabinetry work. He helped me for a day or so before I turned the job over to him. That guy has the patience of Job! He really knows his business. Another friend of mine is in the flooring game and has done all my flooring work. I had some redoak logs die in a freak hailstorm, milled them up into 1x3s let them season for several years and have planed it all and tongue and grooved them for the hard wood flooring. Still have another room to go with that.

[Ode]

My husband and I like this one. If we end up building it, we plan on ICF construction and a masonry fireplace in the kitchen/dining area so it can both heat and be used for bread and other baking. They have a lot of other nice plans for other tastes such as cabin and traditional style homes, but we liked the old world feel to this plan. http://oldworldplans.com/index.php?id=wherwell_cottage Click on the floor plan and front elevation pics to enlarge.

What we like best is the open quality, with no hallways that uselessly eat up space, and the single floor plan. We are planning for retirement, so looked for plans that would give us maximum ability to stay in our own home in the event of disabilities coming as we age. And because everything is so open we can have extra wide doors that would be easy for a wheelchair to pass through and plenty of open space for easy navigation through the entire home.

There is also a nice distance between the master room and the guest room for privacy when we have guests, and the study can be another guest room when furnished with a pullout bed or futon. And just in case we ever need to sell, the study will have a closet in the corner so it can be listed as a three bedroom home.

[roadless]

Originally Posted by Ode

My husband and I like this one. If we end up building it, we plan on ICF construction and a masonry fireplace in the kitchen/dining area so it can both heat and be used for bread and other baking. They have a lot of other nice plans for other tastes such as cabin and traditional style homes, but we liked the old world feel to this plan. http://oldworldplans.com/index.php?id=wherwell_cottage Click on the floor plan and front elevation pics to enlarge.

What we like best is the open quality, with no hallways that uselessly eat up space, and the single floor plan. We are planning for retirement, so looked for plans that would give us maximum ability to stay in our own home in the event of disabilities coming as we age. And because everything is so open we can have extra wide doors that would be easy for a wheelchair to pass through and plenty of open space for easy navigation through the entire home.

There is also a nice distance between the master room and the guest room for privacy when we have guests, and the study can be another guest room when furnished with a pullout bed or futon. And just in case we ever need to sell, the study will have a closet in the corner so it can be listed as a three bedroom home.

I think thank is an amazing home. I love all fireplaces and the open floor plan. My dream home also has a door to the outside.

Army Doc, wow what a home! I could get mad at my dh and not see him for days in that home!! It is beautiful!