New Year - New Home: Great House Plans for Your Build Part 1

Is it just me or did 2019 seem to just fly by? New Year’s Eve is quickly approaching, and I don’t have anything ready. Of course, we don’t ever actually plan to do anything, but it would be nice if these holidays would quick sneaking up on me. The more important thing to consider this time of year is that it’s THE time to buy your house plan if you want to build this year. If you are in the market for building a home, then you have probably run into one of the biggest hurdles of picking out a house plan. There are just so many!

And the first thing they want you to narrow down a house plan search is by describing the style of the house you want to build. Well what if you don’t know what style of house you want, but you know what it looks like? Well here is a handy guide for telling the differences between the styles of house plans.

Craftsman Bungalow

The typical craftsman home usually has a low-pitched roof with deep eaves with exposed rafters. They are usually 1 to 1 ½ stories and gives you a large covered front porch with very thick columns. With a craftsman home, you will often see dormers on the second floor.

Anslor Manor (MEN 5210)

This Craftsman Bungalow house plan gives you everything you would ever want in a traditional home. This home design gives you just over 2,600 square feet of living space with 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 1 half bath. There is even a 2-bay attached garage to help you and your family stay dry and warm in nasty weather. The exterior of this home brings back memories of your childhood with its classic shake and board and batten style siding. The dark shutters and wood door of this home give it a stylish feel while maintaining that traditional look. Inside, you will find a large master suite with plenty of room to relax, a huge open floor plan that incorporates the great room, kitchen and breakfast room and a formal dining room facing the front of the house.

As you approach the home, you find yourself in a covered entry porch where you notice the dark wood of the door and shutters contrast nicely with the light-colored traditional shake siding. Entering the home, you find yourself in the foyer. This space has a high ceiling and is sure to make any guest appreciate the beauty of your home from the first steps.

To the right of the foyer is the office/flex room. This large space features a fireplace that dominates the right wall of the room. This room faces the front of the home and has a double window that looks out onto the front of the property.

To the left of the foyer is the formal dining room. This space is perfect for a formal gathering. It features high ceilings and a double window that faces the front of the home. The dining room also has a second arched entrance to the kitchen making it easy to host and entertain.

Moving further into the home, you find yourself in the large open floor plan. This open floor plan incorporates three of the busiest rooms of the home: the great room, kitchen and the breakfast room.

The great room features an elegant boxed ceiling and massive fireplace along the right wall of the space. There are planned built-ins on either side of the fireplace that would be perfect for an entertainment system. In the rear of this space, you will find the entrance to the grilling screened porch on the rear of the home.

The kitchen is separated from the great room by a large island with bar seating for 4. This island is the perfect place to clean up after cooking because it lets you keep an eye on the comings and goings from the bedrooms and great room. The kitchen also gives you plenty of room for a large range and both a refrigerator and freezer.

Adjacent to the kitchen is the breakfast room. This informal dining space is perfect for family meals or to grab a quick bite to eat. The breakfast room gives you a lovely view of the rear of the home and grilling screened porch with a triple window that looks out the rear of the home.

If you come into the home from the 2-bay attached garage, you will find yourself in a mud room. This small, but very important space, gives you a perfect place to store hats, coats and muddy shoes before they end up all over the home. This space also gives you access to the pantry making it very convenient to unload after a large shopping trip.

Behind the kitchen you will find the entrances to the laundry room and the master suite. The laundry room has hanging storage over the washer and dryer hook ups and opens up to the master bath. This makes it easy to transport both clean and dirty laundry to where they need to go.

The master bedroom has a high boxed ceiling that mimics the one in the great room and features two windows that face the rear of the home. The master bath has space for a double vanity, large glass shower with a seat and a free-standing tub. Don’t forget about the walk-in closet and the smaller closet beside the tub! This will give you tons of storage space.

On the other side of the home, you will find the other bedrooms. Bedroom 2 is on the rear of the home and features two windows that look out in that direction. It also has two closets and access to a jack and jill bathroom that is shared by bedroom 3.

Bedroom 3 has a double window that looks out on to the side of the home and two large closets. It shares a bathroom with bedroom 2. These two bedrooms can be accessed from a sliding door from the rear of the great room.

Bedroom 4 is at the front of the home and can be accessed from the front of the great room through a sliding/pocket door. This room has access to a shared hall bathroom and features a window that faces the front of the home and a large closet.

The second story of the home is taken up by space for a bonus room and bonus storage area. This bonus room could be another bedroom or be a great place for a media room. There is also space on the second floor for a half bath.

Farmhouse

A farmhouse style home will usually have a large, covered front porch. These porches will often wraparound the home on at least one side. A farmhouse will have large doors, big kitchens and feature whitewashed walls. Modern farmhouses don’t always have their exterior painted white. More and more farmhouses are moving to darker and more pronounced colors.

Overland Farms (MEN 5230)

This new farmhouse plan from award winning designer Michael E. Nelson gives you just under 4,000 square feet of living space with a whopping 6 bedrooms, 4 full baths and 1 half bath. Unlike a traditional farmhouse, this house plan gives you a 3-car garage to house your mechanical steeds. The outside of this home is gorgeous with traditional board and batten style siding. This house plan gives you a wonderful wrap around covered porch on the front of the home and a large wraparound grilling porch on the rear of the home. On the inside of this plan you will find a large guest room on the first floor and a master suite that is in its own wing. The rest of the bedrooms in the plan are located on the second floor.

As you approach the home, the first thing that you notice is the wrap around covered porch on the front of the home. This porch is one of the things that make a farmhouse have that iconic style. Above the front porch you will find lovely dormers with windows inset. This just makes me think of a traditional farm or something from in the 1800’s.

As you enter the home, you find yourself in the foyer. Directly in front of the double entry doors is the stair well that gives you access to the second floor. On the left side of the foyer you will find a half bath and a small closet that is perfect for storing outerwear like coats and snow boots.

To the right side of the foyer, you can continue past the stairwell and move into the study/parlor. A parlor is one of those things that has fallen out of fashion in the last 50 years or so but was once a staple of home design.

Parlors are designed to be a formal living area so that you could have guests over without them having to see the rest of the house. This parlor lives up to that. It gives you three windows, one facing the front of the home and two facing the side of the home. Both sets of windows look out over the front porch.

Moving further into the home, you find yourself in the country kitchen and dining area. This large open space gives you plenty of room to have family dinners and to prepare a large meal for those same dinners.

The kitchen is separated from the dining area by an island that has bar seating for 4. The island gives you a perfect place to wash up and keep an eye on any comings and goings from the great room and the kitchen at the farmhouse style sink. The dining area gives you a large picture window that faces the side of the home and a separate entrance to the covered front porch.

Moving further into the home, you find yourself in the great room. The great room gives you access to an absolutely enormous pantry that is closed off from the great room by a sliding barn door. The great room gives you a large stonework fireplace along the left wall that is bracketed by windows on either side. The great room is open to the second floor and has a vaulted ceiling.

The rear wall of the great room gives you access to the grilling porch on the rear of the home. The double doors that lead to the grilling porch are bracketed on either side by windows. This whole house plan gives you some fantastic views. The last wall of the great room also has a window that faces the grilling porch. This section is where you could put an optional grill with hood.

If you continue from the great room, you will find yourself in the guest room. This first-floor guest room is nearly as large as the great room. It features a large picture window that faces the left side of the home and a private entrance from the covered front porch. This guest room has its own in-suite bathroom with a shower stall and a linen closet. It also has its own small walk-in closet.

Adjacent to the kitchen, you will find the mud room. This space comes in from the back porch and garage. This mudroom has a bench with hanging storage and gives you space to take off your outerwear or anything that is particularly muddy before you move into the rest of the home. Mudrooms are just amazing.

To the right of the mudroom, you will find the hallway that leads to the master suite. Right before you get to the master suite, you will find the laundry room. This laundry room is absolutely massive and features a lot of counterspace to help you fold and sort. The rear wall of this space has a picture window that faces the rear of the home. The laundry room also features a soaking sink for those really bad set in stains.

The master suite is in a wing all to itself. It has its own private entrance with a small covered porch that features a vaulted ceiling. The master bedroom has an absolutely massive window that faces the side of the home. The master bath gives you space for a corner shower with a seat, double vanities and a freestanding tub.

The master bath is separated from the master bedroom by a short hallway that has two barn doors that can close on either side. This hallway also gives you access to the walk-in closet and a small linen or coat closet.

The second floor has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms just on this one level. The stairwell opens up to a separate tv and loft area. This loft area has built ins on either side of a balcony that looks over the great room on the first floor.

Bedrooms 3 and 4 are mirrors of each other and each have multiple windows running on the walls that face the sides of the home. They also have a window that faces the front of the home. Bedrooms 5 and 6 are also mirrors of each other. They each have a bank of windows that faces the rear of the home and one each that faces the sides of the home. Bedrooms 5 and 6 each have a walk-in closet and have in-suite access via a sliding barn door to each of the bathrooms.

Contemporary Modern

The contemporary modern style reflects the time when it became the most popular. This style came from the 1950’s and 1960’s and continues to embrace a very futuristic and open style of home design. The contemporary modern style features strong, geometric shapes, lots of natural lighting, and large windows. This style of home usually features an open floor plan that will be positioned to compliment and access an outdoor living space.

Clearview Drive (SMN 1052)

This Contemporary Modern house plan by designer Seth M. Nelson has everything you are looking for in this style of home. This home design gives you just over 2,000 square feet of living space with 3 bedroom and 2 full baths. The exterior of the plan grabs your attention right away with its unique tiered roof line. The interior of the home is sure to please with an open floor plan that includes the living area, dining area and kitchen. Don’t forget about the huge master suite on the first floor that would be perfect for you to relax after a long day of work.

As you approach the home, the first thing that you notice is the unique tiered roof line. This is part of Seth’s signature look and can be found on several different plans within our Contemporary Modern collection. The materials used on the exterior of the home also lend it massive curb appeal with the combination of wood siding and brick to accent the large windows that are very prominent in this home.

As you enter the home from the covered front porch, you find yourself in the open floor plan that includes the large living area towards the front of the home, the dining area in the rear of the home and the kitchen in between them.

The living area gives you plenty of space to stretch out and relax. Because this plan is very open concept, it will be easy to decorate and change over the years. The living area features a large triple window that faces the front of the home.

The dining area is in the rear of the home in the open area of the floor plan. This dining area is perfect for entertaining or a quiet meal with the family. It also features a massive triple window that faces the rear of the home as well as a sliding glass door that leads to the covered porch on the rear of the home.

In between the dining area and the living area, the kitchen has loads of counter space and a raised bar for an informal eating space. The kitchen is “U" shaped and features a sink and dishwasher that face the living area, space for a large range along the right wall and a built-in pantry.

Moving further into the home, you will find the entrance from the garage and the laundry room. The laundry gives you space for hanging storage over the washer and dryer hookups and has plenty of space for sorting the inevitable mountain of clothes.

The master suite has everything you need to relax after a hard day of work. The master bedroom is absolutely massive and features another triple window that faces the side of the home. The master bath has space for a freestanding tub and a shower that is big enough for 2. Don’t forget about the walk-in closet that has built in shelving and can be accessed from the master bedroom.

The second floor gives you even more space with bedrooms 2 and 3. As you come up the stairs in the dining room, you find yourself in a loft that is open to the floor below and features windows that look out over the front of the home.

Bedroom 2 is at the front of the home and has a huge window that looks out in that same direction. This is part of that top tier that can be seen from the street as you come towards the home. This bedroom also features a double closet as well as two more windows that face the side of the home.

Bedroom 3 gives you a smaller window that looks out over the rear of the home and a small walk-in closet. These bedrooms share a hall bathroom.

Maybe you're looking for something in particular? Don’t worry, we have you covered. Come check out Nelson Design Group’s collection of over 1,800 house plans. And come check out the past blog posts in our house plan series:

• Farmhouse style
• Farmhouse House Plans
• Contemporary Modern style
• Contemporary Modern House Plans
• Rustic Style
• Rustic House plans
• Mountain and Cabins House Style
• Mountain and Cabin House Plans
• Examining House Styles: Pool Houses
• House Plan Spotlight: Pool Houses
• Examining House Styles: The Florida Collection
• House Plan Spotlight: The Florida Collection
• Outdoor Buildings: Garages and Pool Houses
• American Style House Plans
• Starter Homes Spotlight: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Here at Nelson Design Group, we are always ready to make your dream home a reality. If we don’t have the plan that is right for you, we’ll make one. We are experts in our field and have been doing this for over 30 years. Give us a call today and we will be glad to help.

Benefits of Nelson Design Group

If you are looking at building a house, check out our Building Your Dream Home blog series. This series walks you through step by step on how to build a house and is updated regularly.

• Building Your Dream Home: Concept and Design
• Building Your Dream Home: Loans and Permits
• Building Your Dream Home: Site Prep and Grading
• Building Your Dream Home: Foundations and Underground Utilities
• Building Your Dream Home: Framing
• Building Your Dream Home: Roofing
• Building Your Dream Home: Rough-In
• Building Your Dream Home: Exterior Doors
• Building Your Dream Home: Choosing Windows
• Building Your Dream Home: Choosing Siding

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