This 2,500 square foot house plan utilizes every square foot. The designer of this two-story house plan has created a well-designed and flexible floor plan that offers easy living spaces and exceptional entertaining opportunities. The kitchen is designed with every amenity a cook would want – a center prep island with dual sinks and plenty of counter space that can easily accommodate seating for four; the oven is centered with plenty of wall cabinets; a corner refrigerator and a separate counter space with extra cabinetry. There are no walls blocking the entrance to the dining room and great room which both enjoy easy access to the covered terrace making indoor/outdoor gathering a breeze. The great room has a large fireplace surrounded by plenty of built-ins and 10-foot ceilings. The oversized master suite features a master bath with dual sinks, a walk-in closet, hot tub and shower and access to the terrace. There’s a first floor room that can be used as a den, office or guest suite. Upstairs are two full bedrooms and a bath.
The Vida Carinosa is truly a gem in our collection of two-story house plans, which are less than 3,000 square feet. This home offers exceptional living and entertaining opportunities with its flexible/open living areas. Key features include a two-story family room with a fireplace and balcony, covered front and rear porches, library/media room, office, breakfast room, a grand staircase and a gourmet open kitchen that extends into the dining room and great room. The master suite is elegant and secluded with an enormous walk-in-closet, garden tub and shower.
You’ll love the detached two-car garage, which is connected by a breezeway and of course all the available bonus/flexible spaces to design a dream home that fits your lifestyle. This is one home that you will enjoy living in through all stages of your life.
The benefits of choosing a house plan that includes a full basement foundation are endless. You can create a private retreat like a recreation room, media room, home office, wine cellar, second kitchen, wet bar or additional bedrooms. It’s a great way to give your children a fun and flexible place to hang out with their friends, watch movies and store all their toys, games and electronics. If you’re creating a large living space in your basement, be sure to include at least a half bathroom into your basement design and a small kitchen or wet bar. You’ll be glad you did, when the time comes for entertaining and containing your children to one area of the house. A finished basement also adds to the value (in many cases you’re almost doubling your square footage) and efficiency of your new home. In the winter it’s naturally cooler than the rest of your home and in the winter the opposite is true.
Check out some really cool basement floor plans in the latest issue of Dream Designs like this game room and wet bar from the Traverse House Plan:
When you begin to build your new home, make sure you and your builder research all the energy-efficient building materials and HVAC products available so you can create a comfortable temperature in your home. The size and detail of your house plan will greatly effect what kind of total home comfort system is appropriate for your home. Our latest issue of Home Ideas features the most energy-efficient total home control systems on the market as well as insightful articles about choosing the right cooling system and cooling your home efficiently. You’ll also find our editor’s favorite green home plans, including this two-story French Country home:
Architectural stone veneer adds unsurpassed warmth and character to your home’s exterior façade. The versatility, creativity and affordability of manufactured stone allows you to easily enhance the aesthetics of your home’s interior such as walls, floors, columns, fireplaces and outdoor living spaces. This week’s issue of Dream Designs, our free weekly e-newsletter highlights several house plans that incorporate stone veneer into their exterior and interior design.
Create a grand front entrance using stone columns, as shown in this contemporary house plan:
You’ll find stone veneer being used throughout all the interior rooms of this floor plan, which also features an eye-catching stone and cedar facade. Be dazzled by the rear outdoor living space of this modern home plan:
Natural stone veneer with brick accents sets the tone for the warmth of this French Country house plan:
This affordable, two-bedroom cottage house plan is perfect for any waterfront property. Enjoy the view with a full-length porch and second floor balcony. The living room has two-story ceilings for an open floor plan and the master suite enjoys a private bath on the first floor. It also comes with a garage plan featuring a carport, utility room with washer and dryer, storage room and covered porch.
Stock house plans offer something very important to new consumers — great value. Not only is the cost of a stock plan considerably lower than a custom design, but you’ll save on building costs because stock house plans have already been built and the design is proven. A custom plan works out the kinks as you go along, which can dramatically increase your cost to build.
For example, a custom blueprint by an architect or designer can begin at $2 per square foot, which means a 3,000 square foot home plan would cost minimally $6,000. A similar stock house plan averages around $750. Even with modification costs, a stock plan can easily be half the cost of a house plan drawn from a custom designer or architect.
You can save on construction costs when you use stock house plans, since most stock home plans have already been used at least once so any construction issues regarding the plan have already been resolved. You can also avoid unnecessary building costs and have more accurate budget estimates since the building process should be faster and more efficient.
One of the greatest things about using a stock house plan is the selection. There are thousands of architectural styles and collections to choose from so most likely you will be able to find what your are looking for. Don’t think for a minute that you’ll be forced to accept every single detail in your stock house plan. Making a few changes is no problem, because house plan modifications are very common and offered by most companies. Even with the additional modification costs, stock house plans give you more value for your money.
Our best-selling house plan is also ENERGY STAR approved.
Our recent issue of Home Ideas, our free weekly e-newsletter focused on how to create a stylish, spa-like bath that resembles the look and feel of a real spa. You’ll enjoy browsing through our designers and architects hottest house plans featuring photographs of well designed and amenity filled bathrooms. No matter what size the house plan all our designers are spending extra time creating a spa-like retreat in the bath.
Learn how to incorporate a vessel sink into your design to create a really unique look. Vessel sinks are available in so many sizes and shapes that it’s easy to find one that will complement your homes architectural style and décor.
The master bath in this two-story luxurious house plan has been integrated with the master bedroom to create a haven for rest, relaxation, pampering and romance. No amenity has been spared in this design.
This house plan is ENERGY STAR® approved and features one of the most gorgeous green bath designs. Enjoy a great view while relaxing in the hot tub with an oversized window seat and large glass window.
If you’re on Facebook, we would love for you to join us and “become a fan.” Share pictures of your home or tell us some of your favorite stories about building or remodeling your home. Anyone who owns a home has a great story and image to share. You’ll find helpful tips and inspiring information about what’s happening in the home building industry. And of course you can be on the inside of the latest house plans our leading designers and architects are creating. Hope to see there!
The recent issue of Dream Designs, our free weekly e-newsletter, showcased five fabulous house plans with exquisite window designs to create aesthetically pleasing living spaces so you can enjoy exceptional views, maximum ventilation and natural light all while improving your home’s energy-efficiency.
Enjoy this Mediterranean estate with gorgeous stacked windows and plenty of elegant architecture inside and out.
The two-story foyer of this European design offers an open view directly to the vaulted living room and rear-covered porch.
The rear of this home offers a wall of gorgeous windows to enjoy the outside. For added outdoor living there’s a bbq deck, screened porch with fireplace and large corner deck.
Thanks to former President Ronald Reagan, July is National Ice Cream Month, not that we need an excuse to eat this delectable confection, since it’s enjoyed by 90% of Americans and generates over $21 billion in annual sales. We would love for you to Tweet us your favorite ice cream flavor or better yet show us a picture of you making homemade ice cream or enjoying it at your favorite ice cream shop. If you enjoy creating edible masterpieces, you’ll want to check out our collection of best-selling kitchen designs and top kitchen products to create a professional cook’s kitchen in your own home.
Whether you use columns as an aesthetic design element or give it a supporting role — your home will be greatly enhanced by fitting columns into your architectural house plans. Our editor’s recently gathered some of the hottest new columns and millwork products so you can easily create a stylish and timeless look by top companies like Pacific Columns®, HB&G®, Fypon®, Worthington® and a new green comer Spero® by Moulding & Millwork Inc.®.
Dramatically transform any room in your home using decorative molding and interior columns.
As part of the EPA’s WaterSense new We’re for Water campaign they’re sending their “spokesgallon” Flo on a road trip across America that will go from Los Angeles to New York starting July 14th. She’ll stop at national landmarks in each city to educate people about water efficiency. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
The EPA encourages homeowners to take the I’m for Water Pledge as well as make simple changes to save water at home. If you’re looking to build a new home, you’ll want to find a green house plan that has been designed to be energy and water efficient like our exclusive ENERGY STAR® approved plans which feature WaterSense labeled bath and kitchen products.
Follow Flo, the We’re for Water “spokesgallon,” as she begins her cross-country journey on July 14 from LA to NYC, stopping at national landmarks to teach people about water efficiency.
Whether you are looking to down-size, build a vacation cottage or build your first home, our collection of tiny house plans features a wide variety of floor plans and architectural styles so you can build a fully functional and flexible living space without sacrificing any amenities. We have small/affordable homes in our exclusive ENERGY STAR®/Green House Plan collection to help minimize your yearly HVAC and maintenance costs.
This is one of our most popular small and affordable homes. The house plan includes a design option on the blueprints that substitutes one main floor bedroom for a greatly expanded master bedroom with a luxurious master suite. You also get a second floor bonus space and a walkout basement floor plan featuring a game room, full bath, two bedrooms and computer/flexible space.
Our most popular small and affordable house plan is also ENERGY STAR® approved.
There is no better time to think about your outdoor living spaces and how to have fun and stay cool in the summer than now. The majority of our house plan collections feature an outdoor living space, particularly a pool and patio. Even if you don’t plan on building your pool and patio right away, it is a great idea to choose a house plan that has the design already on the blueprint so you know it will fit properly and you won’t have to pay extra money down the road to have it designed for you.
This house plan features a great outdoor living space with a gorgeous pool design that is accented by a large covered patio with an outdoor kitchen and fireplace. Enjoy browsing all of our collections and architectural styles, particularly our exclusive ENERGY STAR®/green house plan collection.
Enjoy spending time outside with this gorgeous pool design and covered patio with kitchen and fireplace.