[Lisa in WA]

I saw these folks advertised in Fine Homebuilding. They have some cute plans.
I'd love to build "Getting On The Land" as a guest cabin overlooking the river.
http://www.knightarchitect.com/LLH.html

 

[highlands]

The plans seem expensive. Why not make your own plans?

 

[Lisa in WA]

Well....we did. We designed and built the cabin we live in now. But we get ideas from places like this. Is that a bad thing?

 

[texican]

I get ideas the same way... by looking at others ideas. I can't imagine paying for building plans though... as I'd be a building it myself anyway. Once a person has all the 'rules' and procedures in their heads, the hard parts already done...

plans, plans, we don' need no steenkin plans

current homes' blueprints only exist in my brain... sometimes I have to 'pull the plans' to rememberize if there's a wire or pipe behind such and such wall...

Some cool lookin houses on the site... some a little 'airy'...

 

[Lisa in WA]

We had a book called, "The Cabin" before we moved up here and we spent hours looking at the different cabins in it, picking some ideas, discarding others as we decided what we were going to build. It was a part of the process that was a lot of fun. So many possibilities...

 

[pheasantplucker]

LOWES HAS A CATALOGUE THAT SHOWS THEIR "kATRINA" HOUSES. sMALL affordable and expandable. Worth looking at IMO (sorry about caps...dark room)

 

[brosil]

I was going to bring this up in a separate thread but while hanging around a hotel waiting for a wedding, I ran across a magazine called Dwell. It's emphasis was on ultramodern houses but most of them were quite small and off grid. I'm more an 1850s kind of guy myself but the mag was a great read. You might see if your local library has it or can get it.

 

[Alice In TX/MO]

Dwell magazine:

http://www.dwell.com/

 

[djberg]

I saw a set of blueprints once from Lucia's Little Houses, by architect Robert Knight. They were top quality and had a lot of commonsense ideas. I know that most of the folks here are very hands-on, but there's something to be said for a set of plans that's already been worked out to be safe enough to meet building code requirements in most states.

My friend David Noffsinger's Cherokee Cabin Company sells some plans that are similar to "Getting on the Land" but simpler and way less expensive. I think that his plans are still just $20 or $30 and I know that the cabins are easy to build. You can take a look here:
http://www.abettersite.com/a-backroad-cabin-plans.html

Don

The Country Home Journal

 

[highlands]

Well....we did. We designed and built the cabin we live in now. But we get ideas from places like this. Is that a bad thing?

Not bad at all. I just found their prices rather high and building a home is such a personal thing, for me at least.

Cheers,

-Walter

 

[mamita]

but we should remember and understand that not everyone can just 'plan a cabin..or home' on their own. therefore...these plans are excellent guides.

it's easy to say something is 'too expensive' if you happen to have the knowledge and know every thing you want. me? I also love looking at these online sites for ideas.

these are awesome ideas.

 

[Lisa in WA]

We had a book called, "The Cabin" before we moved up here and we spent hours looking at the different cabins in it, picking some ideas, discarding others as we decided what we were going to build. It was a part of the process that was a lot of fun. So many possibilities...

Just to be exact, "The Cabin" (that we enjoyed) is authored by Dale Mulfinger.

 

[sewsilly]

Somedays you have to buy plans... we built a home on the coast and due to coastal regulations, etc and our lack of having ever built a home that had to stand up to gale force winds, we went with a simple plan like this... Do not regret it for a moment and have very little that we'd change if we were to ever do this again. We enjoyed the thinking and planning phase and new that this was 'THE' house for us when we first saw the plans. The plans made it quite simple and easy and, naturally, passed the architectural and zoning boards in the are without any difficulties.

Kinda like sewing,,, I like a purchased pattern there too... easy for me to understand and zip right through the project. ; ) Can I 'free lance' it? you bet,,, do I always want to... Nope...

dawn

 

[wvstuck]

We are building a variation of this house in the spring, although we are setting it on a block foundation. The block on our plan will make a basement section that is mostly underground.
We looked at this site forever and then I drew up the plans in my head and sketched some down on paper. I have many years experience with building and remodling, so doing my own is second nature.

http://ersson.sustainabilitylane.com/cottage.htm

We really like the inside of this one