House Plan Blog

Looking to add to your property but can’t decide between that detached garage with workshop or the guest cottage? Why not combine the two? Detached garage plans with living areas are growing in popularity and it is not difficult to see why. Here are 5 of Associated Designs best-selling garage plans with extra living.

Craftsman Garage Apartment – Plan 20-119

It is clear to see why this two-story garage with apartment is a popular plan. Its uncompromising floor plan offers parking for 2 cars plus extra for a hobby space – wood working, crafting, gear storage, etc. – all on the main floor. Upstairs is a charming and well-appointed living space. Your first step in the apartment is in the vaulted kitchen – fully furnished with dishwasher, sink, range/oven, and refrigerator. Across from the kitchen is a utility nook with washer and dryer plus a small folding counter. The floor plan opens to a vaulted great room complete with fireplace and access to the balcony. The office can serve as an extra bedroom if needed and the full bathroom has a generous sized walk-in shower and dual vanities. Anyone entertaining long term guests or housing family members will appreciate the well-appointed and comfortable apartment.

3-Car Garage with Second Floor Living – Plan 20-052

For the car enthusiast this is an ideal garage plan. The main floor can store up to three cars inside with an additional three stored under the carport if tandem parking is not an issue. Those that like to spend their afternoons working on their cars will appreciate the main floor full bathroom. Upstairs is a one bedroom apartment. The great room offers a cozy fireplace framed with built-ins. There is a separate utility room off the well-appointed kitchen complete with eating bar. The dining nook provides access to the balcony which looks over the front of the garage. French doors inside open to a bedroom complete with walk-in closet and full bathroom.

1 Story Garage Apartment with Country Style – Plan 20-018

This unique garage design offers a three car garage floor plan with single level apartment plus storage. The double car bay extends back to offer a storage corner which could easily be outfitted with benches for a workshop. A charming covered front porch shelters the entrance to the living space. A great room with kitchenette makes up most of the apartment. Down the short hallway is a full bathroom and bedroom. This design offers a great guest cottage option for those who entertain aging parents on regular basis.

Hillside Garage with Living – Plan 20-008

Construction on hillside lots has skyrocketed in the last couple of years. For those with challenging sloped lots take a look at this charming Craftsman detached garage design. The basement level is the two car garage. An exterior stair case or upper level vaulted porch lead to you one of the two entrances to the studio apartment. Vaulted ceilings and an abundance of windows makes the apartment feel bright and spacious. A full kitchen with stove, sink, refrigerator, and island allow guests to feel independent of the main house.

New Farmhouse Garage with Studio Apartment – Plan 20-189

Quickly climbing the best-selling ladder is Garage 20-189. Its farmhouse exterior is eye-catching. The main floor is the two car garage with storage closet and wash tub. The stairs to the studio apartment are accessed from the outside and the covered stoop can be extended for those that would prefer to connect the detached garage with a breezeway. Upstairs the studio apartment is an open-concept floor plan. A kitchenette lines the left hand side of the room while opposite is a cozy wood stove. A full bathroom is upstairs.

Looking for a unique garage apartment plan? Any of these best-selling garage apartment designs can be modified to fit your specifications. Look for the Get a Free Quote button to start talking with Associated Designs talented team of residential home designers.

In this 2400 square foot ranch-style home, the great room is at the core of the floor plan. Filling the back of the home, the great room is decorated with a fireplace and a stepped ceiling. The informal nature of the great room means that the dining room and living area are completely open to each other with only the kitchen's L-shaped eating bar providing some visual separation. The gain from this style of living is that for those who love to entertain no one has to be cut off from the party. A rich display of windows along the back wall fill the great room with natural light. This three bedroom house plan offers nice separation of the sleeping areas. Two secondary bedrooms are towards the front and left side of the floor plan. The office, which is accessed off the great room, provides flexbility for the Jamestown to be a 4 bedroom home plan if needed. The owners' suite fills the back right corner, giving the room a sense of privacy. Features include a large walk-in closet, direct access to the patio, and a private bathroom with dual vanities, a separate shower and soaking tub. Outside the owners' suite a pass-through utility room connects the home to the 3-car garage. Above is a bonus room adding additional flexbility or storage space.

Want to explore more? Take a look at our 3 Bedroom House Plans or Ranch Home Plans.

Homebuilding offers the unique ability to create a custom living space suited to your needs and design tastes, but the process is rarely a simple one. Knowing what to plan for can ensure the end result is a home that matches your vision and will be a place you will love living in for years to come. But what are the most important things to consider before committing to a new build? What steps are overlooked or often unanticipated by homeowners interested in building for the first time?

The House Plan Company, a house plan marketing firm based in Eugene, Oregon asked builders to offer advice to those interested in building a new home to help set their expectations.

According to Kent Smith, custom home builder and owner of KLS Construction, one step that is often overlooked is determining the orientation of the home on the lot that was selected. “I always recommend that homeowners visit the property in the morning, look at the views and see where the sun is coming through. Go back mid-day and in the evening when the sun sets. Think about living in the house. What do you want to see and look at? Is the home design you picked out something that will work on the property? Do the windows face the right direction? I’ve had clients turn the house 180-degrees so the sun comes into the kitchen in the morning,” said Smith.

Both Smith and Pete Slayden, owner of Slayden Homes, Inc. agree that selecting a builder who has the homeowner’s best interests in mind and will listen to your needs and desires for the project is critical.

“The most important thing homeowners can do once they decide to build is share their ideas. When they meet with the builder and contractors they select, they should paint the picture of what they want their home to look and feel like so that the whole team is on the same page and excited about what they’re creating together,” said Pete Slayden, owner of Slayden Homes, Inc. “As builders and designers, we are proud of the work we do, and we love working with clients who have a vision and the desire to create a unique living space that stands apart from typical tract home builds.”

Here are five key recommendations from contractors about what homeowners should know about design and construction before starting a new home project:

Ensure you have time for a new build. In addition to the time it takes for custom finishes, time for activities like securing permits, preparing the land, and undergrounding utilities will be needed before construction can truly get underway.

Find a builder who can bring your vision to life. This person and their team are critical to helping ensure not only that your dream home looks and feels like what you had in mind, but that the plans you select work with the site, and that permits can be obtained. They should be able to help identify any zoning laws or attributes that could result in the land being more expensive to build on.

Select the perfect location. While this sounds easy, it’s important to involve a real estate agent and the builder in this process. The goal is to find a lot that meets the homeowner’s needs and fits the design and floor plan of the home that will be built. Other considerations include the topography of the lot and access to nearby utilities—elements that may require additional engineering.

Bring ideas. Beyond design ideas related to the home’s internal and external style, it’s important for homeowners to consider other customizations or unique home features they want incorporated into the build. This may include use of eco-friendly materials, smart home technology, or the design and functionality of outdoor space.

Consider all the costs, and budget for the unexpected. In addition to the cost of the lot and the actual construction, homeowners must consider where they will live while construction is underway, permitting fees, engineering costs and the costs associated with submitting architectural drawings before the project is approved. Unexpected expenses that weren’t anticipated could include the need to alter the land before construction can begin, construction delays, fees for special permits, or things like damaged or defective materials.

How long will it take to build? That depends. “When time is an issue, I’ve found that the most efficient way to move a project forward is to meet with the clients before the building process starts. This allows them to pick out everything ahead of time, know the associated costs and better control the timeline,” continued Slayden.

Smith agrees, adding “you want to be comfortable with the builder you select to where you can call them as the project progresses and even a few years later. Request a list of references and actually call those people. Discuss in detail whether the builder was able to stick within the budget, whether the client was able to speak directly with sub-contractors, and whether the builder was easy to talk to.”

Building a new home can certainly be a daunting task for some, but for those who enjoy planning, decision-making and the excitement of creating, it can also be incredibly rewarding.

One final consideration? “Homeowners should also take future resale value into account when building a new home,” said Rick McAlexander, CEO of The House Plan Company. “If the potential to sell the home exists—whether in a few years or down the road—resale value in relation to the neighborhood the property is in could have an impact on design decisions during the build.”

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Relatively simple in its layout, traditional house plan Akron is a compact home designed to fit on a narrow lot. But simple doesn't mean mundane. Many of the Akron's features are as appealing to first time home buyers as they are to empty nesters.

Vaulted ceilings expand the sense of spaciousness in both the living room and dining room. Even the entry has a 10 foot ceiling and a transom window above the front door. Tall ceilings and richly windowed walls fill the gathering areas that fill the right side of the floor plan with natural light.

A waist high wall, with columns at either end, divides the dining room from the living room. The space between the columns is bridged by a high shelf. A high arch, stacked with multi paned windows, fills most of the boxed front living room wall.

Another notable feature is a bathroom that can be entered from either the bedroom wing, or from the family room side. An inner door provides added privacy for the toilet and tub.

The dining room is only one of many places to enjoy a meal. A window bright eating bay expands the combination kitchen/family room, and an eating penninsula is handy for snacks and meals on the run. In summer, you could even dine on the deck, accessed by a door near the fireplace.

The Akron's owners' suite features a large walk in closet, a spa tub with glass block wall, and a separately enclosed water closet and shower. A utility room is tucked in the passageway between the garage and house.

It is clear to see that this one story, three bedroom house plan is filled with features sure to be appreciated by many. The combination of formal and informal living spaces and its attached 2 car front load garage make the Akron a well-rounded house plan. 

The dream of a custom-built home isn’t restricted to the seasoned homeowner.

Newlyweds and younger parents are increasingly eyeing the benefits of a custom design, one that is versatile and can evolve as their family grows.

Home design experts have seen young families create practical, serene starter homes that become the setting for priceless memories – but have also seen them make mistakes that lead to design regrets and resources poorly spent.

“Get the most function out of your livable square footage,” said Kirya Duncan, founder and building designer with Design Evolutions in Snellville, Georgia.

Young families today are a bit more willing to sacrifice some size in their homes and yards than their parents’ generation. But they still need to consider how to best utilize their home lot, design and budget. They should also keep in mind what their family might look like a few years down the road.

“Consider the future growth of your family, but don't make a design too custom,” Duncan said. “A functional and flexible home design will always attract future buyers when you decide to move.”

Duncan’s #49175 and #31053 designs featured on The House Plan Company incorporate many of the elements that are ideal for young builders and new families. The first design places a vast majority of the home – a vaulted family room with adjacent kitchen and dining rooms, a master bedroom and two additional bedrooms – on the main floor. But a staircase off of the kitchen accesses a bonus room that’s easily convertible into a fourth bedroom if needed. The second design puts central gathering spaces and a single bedroom on the ground floor, with the master bedroom, two additional bedrooms and a large bonus room on the second floor.

A bonus room can be a valuable asset in a home plan. These rooms can be framed during construction but finished later, once a family has a clearer sense of the best use for it. Including a bonus room in the design is also much cheaper than a home addition later on.

Storage is another important aspect for young families to consider. Storage needs can change dramatically as families grow, and things like toys and holiday decorations start taking up more and more space.

“Look for opportunities to use the attic space, dead space in the design, or any other space that is suitable,” Duncan said.

Above all else, families need to have a realistic sense of the possibilities and limitations of a design, as well as their resource constraints. One home built on a set budget simply can’t check every single box on a dream list. So a family wanting a home office and a guest bedroom in their design may be best served by creating one room that serves as both, for instance.

“The biggest hurdle with young families is trying to fit all of their design needs and wants into the home design,” Duncan said. “Young families tend to have a tight budget and a limited amount of square footage to work with. I try to open them up to the idea of multi-purpose rooms as opposed to designing specific rooms, which makes the home more flexible in its use of space.”

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Designed for a hillside lot, this split-level Northwest Contemporary Prairie-Style home design provides an open concept floor plan and takes advantange of a large sweeping forward view. The large kitchen with a covered patio to the rear is open to a large great room with a twelve foot ceiling. Natural light flows in through large windows across the front of the home that will keep your home bright even on the most overcast day. The lower level two car garage opens into a mudhall with a drop zone and stairs leading to main level living. The unfinished basement can be finished to provide extra living space.

The Nahalem is a new plan in our concept house plan collection. 

Thousands of home and garage plans exist online that can be searched as future homeowners envision their perfect house design. The odds that one design will include every desired feature a homeowner wants are slim however, and that’s where house plan modifications come in. Architects and designers are often able to adjust and refine plans to make the layout work or the style fit better with what a homeowner has in mind. These modifications, when made prior to the start of construction, can result in one of the most cost-effective ways for homeowners to create and customize their dream home. The House Plan Company, a house plan marketing company based in Eugene, Oregon asked professionals in the field for their insights about how to make the home building process easier for homeowners. Here’s what they had to say:

“House plans provide a starting point for those who are interested in having their home built to meet specifications that work for them,” said Rick McAlexander, CEO of The House Plan Company. “Having the ability to alter existing plans is often both less expensive and less time intensive than designing a custom home from the ground up.”

Through the plan modification process, clients work with designers to customize a specific design with changes that can range from simple door or window adjustments, to adjusting exterior elevations by adding dormers or changing the texture of the façade. More complex adjustments can also be made, such as a complete kitchen redesign, or the addition of rooms or other spaces not previously in the plan.

“House plan modifications really offer the customer the ability to add a personal touch to a house plan they will soon call home,” said Jessica Langlois, modification project specialist at Drummond House Plans. “Big or small, the ability to make these adjustments help customers feel creative and allow them to be part of the design process. It also results in the construction of a home that meets their specific needs.”

The House Plan Company’s experts in the architectural and design fields suggest that the ideal time to modify plan designs is during the blueprint phase – not in the field when the project is under construction.

“The advice I give clients about plan changes is to trust the designer to look at all of the elements that modifications to the original plan may cause to be altered,” said Charles Roccaforte, owner of Charles Roccaforte’s Hill Country Plans, Inc. “Plan modifications should be done by the designer and not on the job site. When changes are made in the field once construction has started, it can be disastrous – and expensive.”

Ken Pieper, residential designer at Ken Pieper Signature Designs believes the customer willing to select a home plan and go through the construction process is a much more invested buyer than someone purchasing an already built new or resale home. His advice? “The most important contract the home plan buyer will have between the builder and themselves is the set of construction documents the homebuyer delivers to the builder or contractor. The need for accuracy and specificity that must be and should be required in a professional set of construction documents is paramount,” said Pieper.

Architectural design experts agree that key considerations homeowners should keep in mind when modifying existing home plans include:

• Agree to the design plan before construction begins. Changes are less costly when made on paper before the build begins, however homebuyers must realize there is a cost to alter plans. Even “simple” changes require experience and time to adjust.
   
• Never improvise during a building project. Improvisations on the build site not only present the opportunity for errors, they can be detrimental to the budget and the project timeline.
   
• Know the qualifications and experience of the architectural designer hired for the project. House plans can sometimes be difficult to interpret, especially to the untrained eye. Designers must have the experience to review all of the details to verify that the changes are possible, comply with building codes and meet the client’s goals.
   
• An architect or designer’s title is not the most important consideration. When selecting a design team, experience, creativity and a satisfying connection with the chosen individuals or team should be the most important and relevant considerations.
   
• Clients should consider working up a rough sketch of the desired outcome. Putting ideas down on paper in the planning stage will help the designer gain perspective related to the client’s likes and dislikes. Gathering ideas from magazines or social media can also contribute to this invaluable insight.

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