House Plan Blog

Garage 20-190

Room for one car plus storage and a shop this compact cottage style garage design is a great addition to any property. The garage door is 9' wide and 8' tall and the bay has additional space to the right for extra storage. Double doors from the garage or a separate front exterior door leads to a generous shop space. 

Mediterranean influences inspire the contemporary Spanish-style Grandeza. Stucco arches and columns combine with round-arched windows and a tile roof to give the house plan a bright ambiance that is equally evocative of the American Southwest.

This home is as naturally bright inside as out. At center is a high-ceilinged, hexagonal great room where arched windows fill most of three rear walls. A patio wraps across the entire back with four access points, so it's easy to extend living outside. When the weather turns chilly, the warmth of the pellet stove will be welcome.

A spacious kitchen features counters on four sides with plenty of room for food prep, and a long, raised eating bar rims the peninsular counter nearest the dining area. A pantry nestles into an alcove created by the upper flight of a centrally located stairway.

Upstairs, French double doors in the vaulted hexagonal recreation room open onto a rear balcony. On the opposite side of the room, a V-shaped railing allows people to overlook the entry. Windowed on five sides, this bright and lofty room has a bathroom and makes a great place for rainy day play. This space could be used as a study, home office, guest room, art studio, or whatever suits.

The luxurious owners' suite fills the right wing. The skylit bathroom features a dual vanity, spa tub, linen closet, shower, and private toilet. The walk-in closet is large. Two more bedrooms share a bathroom in the left side, close to the large utility room that links the house and garage.

The Huntington's wrap-around covered porch is beautiful. Handsome exposed timbers support and highlight the lofty central gable, and the whole works is supported by tapered bases of stone. Custom-crafted windows, horizontal siding and shake shingles all add to the Craftsman-style.

You enter into a naturally bright and lofty two-story foyer. A half-round crowns the upper trio of windows and an elegant dining room is on the right. Stairs on the left lead to the secondary bedrooms and a vaulted lounge that overlooks the entry and great room. It provides access to both large bedrooms plus a sky-lit bathroom. 

A bank of windows, stacked three high at center, fills most of the vaulted great room's rear wall. The wide hearthed stone fireplace nestled into an alcove on the left can also be enjoyed from the kitchen and nook. The entry to a vaulted sunroom is next to the fireplace, entered through a glass door. Double doors there open onto a railed balcony.

The kitchen is large and open, with plenty of cupboard and counter space. Standing at the sink in the work island, you look out over a long raised eating bar into the great room. A pantry, utilities, and bathroom are a few steps away, where they are also linked to the garage.

The luxurious master suite fills most of the left wing. Features include twin walk-in closets, a spa tub, dual vanity, private toilet, and access to the sunroom.

Compact yet spacious, the Houston is as economical to build and to heat. It's a fairly traditional floor plan, with bedrooms upstairs and family living spaces on the ground floor.

The Mediterranean-style front facade is completely symmetrical. At center, classic columns support a balcony that doubles as a front porch. Tile crowns the hip roof while shutters add a color.

Casual living areas are at the rear, formal spaces in the front. The family room, nook and kitchen are bright and open. A large bay window, ideal for a wide window seat, expands the family room. Sliders in the nook open onto a large screened porch.

The U-shaped kitchen has plenty of counter and cupboard space, including lazy Susan shelving that allows full use of the corner cabinets. Utilities are close by, in a pass-through to the garage. 

A small wet bar, nestled in the alcove under the stairs, is convenient to the family room and living room. The powder room is centrally located too.

The spacious owners' suite is on the upper level. Luxury amenities include a sitting room, balcony, and private bathroom with double vanity, spa, oversized shower and large walk-in closet. The other two bedrooms share a bathroom. Linen storage and another closet are in the hallway.

Small panes of glass fill large window openings and give the Lupine an intriguing Georgian look. The pattern is echoed on the gridded garage doors, while raised brick trim rims the upper limits of the garage doors, underscores windows, and accents graceful arches on the brick veneer front facade.

This one-level plan has plenty of room for an active family. This plan could be easily adapted for wheelchair accessibility and aging in place.

Left of the entry double doors open into a vaulted dining room with a step-in closet to one side. This space flows into the vaulted living room. A 10-foot-high display shelf provides definition at the juncture of the two spaces. The living room can also be entered by proceeding straight ahead from the foyer, passing through an arched opening and under a similar display shelf there.

Windows fill most of the rear wall in the living room and nook. An arched window crowns a wide trio of windows, near a fireplace that fits neatly into one corner. A sunroom and den/home office fill out the opposite side of the of this space, while the kitchen sits at its heart.

Standing by the kitchen sink, you have a panoramic view of the entire area, as well as out to the partially covered patio. The cook top is in a central island, and a large walk-in pantry resides in one corner. A large utility room with a toilet is nearby, along with a door to the three-car garage.

Bedrooms fill the right wing of the home. The owners' suite features two large walk-in closets, a luxurious bathroom, and direct patio access. Secondary bedrooms share a two-section bathroom.

If no two snowflakes are alike, then no two homeowners are alike – and that goes double for older homebuyers. The children are out of the house. You don’t need all that space and all of those rooms. Maybe you want to downsize to a smaller living style. Or maybe you’re the opposite and want to at least retain some of the family gathering spaces. Maybe you want to expand a bit, so when the kids visit with grandkids in tow, you’ve got a guestroom available and space to play.

You see? Not all older homebuyers are alike. And therefore, not all empty nest home designs are alike.

“When the cat’s away, the mice will play,” said Rick McAlexander, CEO of Associated Designs. “When the kids are away and out on their own, the parents now have the option of changing things up at home. But the worry is that they will only have that one type of empty nest home to consider – small, simple and not exciting. That’s not the case at all.”

So what’s an empty nester to do? As older homebuyers transition to needing less for their family and more for themselves, there is still a desire to create a comfortable living space for family to gather. These aging-in-place home designs also feature a not-so-empty-nest mentality. Design features such as easy-to-access, ground-floor master bedrooms, walk-in showers and minimal hallways mix well with great rooms for family gatherings, extra bedrooms for visitors and outdoor living areas. You can have it all, and not have to be confined to one particular size or style.

When Less is More

A single-story home with lots of appeal, the Lostine house plan 30-942 is ranch-style living on a smaller scale of just 1,611 square feet. But don’t let the square footage fool you: There is more here than meets the eye. With no stairs and minimal hallways, it’s perfect for an empty nest that wants to take things down a notch but retain some of the room.

The great room’s vaulted ceiling flows into the dining and kitchen area for the perfect gathering space when friends and family come calling. Nearby, a covered patio extends the space when good weather allows it. Because who doesn’t enjoy an evening glass of wine with friends out on the patio? The owners’ suite also connects to the patio and includes a walk-in closet and large shower in the master bath.

“Everything is in reach in this home design,” said McAlexander. “It’s small but spacious and lets the owner age in place, as it were, in a comfortable setting.”

Just off the entryway is the second bedroom with nearby full bath for when the kids come to visit for the weekend. The bedroom also has a large closet as well as hall closets for additional storage and a built-in coat rack and foot bench near the garage door.

The Middle Range

At the heart of this Craftsman-style home plan is a richly glassed vaulted great room with a wood-burning fireplace and beverage bar. Sounds enticing, doesn’t it? For the not-so-empty-nest, this 2,518-square-foot home rests on a single floor and boasts three bedrooms and 2.5 baths. It’s a medium-sized home that gives older homebuyers the option of hosting, gathering and living peacefully with style.

“The great thing about the Heartfall is that it acts like a family home on one hand, but on the other, it has all the amenities and comforts of an aging-in-place design,” said McAlexander.

A vaulted covered patio wraps around one side of the house, connecting with the vaulted great room and corner kitchen. With all the windows, there is no end to natural light when entertaining in the great room. The owners’ suite is down a short hallway off the kitchen, complete with a huge walk-in closet. The master bath boasts a spa tub, dual vanity and walk-in shower. Secondary bedrooms share a bathroom down another short hallway, just off the entry. A large utility room gives you room for crafts, storage and other needs as time goes on.

The secret to the Heartfall design 10-620, however, is that it has a bonus room. Up a short flight of stairs is an unfinished extra space. Whether a craft room, guestroom, an office or a playroom for the grandkids, the bonus room can serve whatever purpose you desire. The Heartfall, in a sense, is comfortable, flexible living without overwhelming size.

The Grand Lodge

But let’s say you want to upsize, not downsize. Let’s say the nest is empty, but you are ready for space, room, openness and grandeur. You don’t need a lot of bedrooms, but you have a part-time business you want to keep running. You want to entertain, but you don’t want to be cramped.

The Springwater house plan 30-661 is grandeur with an empty-nester flair. At more than 3,000 square feet, the Craftsman-style, one-story lodge is rustically elegant with an abundance of indoor and outdoor living areas. It’s well suited for entertaining on a large or lavish scale. You enter the home via a lofty porte-cochere and vaulted entry porch. The foyer opens to the dining room and vaulted great room, both of which are connected to covered porches and patios for additional entertaining. An eating/conversation bar that fronts the great room rims the L-shaped kitchen. A huge walk-in pantry can store all the fixings for those parties and visitors.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Down a wide hallway lie two home offices and a guest room. But those home offices can easily be converted into bedrooms should the need arise. The vaulted master suite is the true prize, possessing both privacy and spaciousness. A covered and vaulted patio adds private living space outside the owners’ suite, but there’s also an exercise nook, two large walk-in closets and a private bathroom with walk-in shower and dual vanity.

The Springwater is a luxury house plan on a grand scale, and the perfect home for those who have an empty nest that’s not so empty after all.

Aging-in-place homes are not one size fits all, and empty nesters aren’t all cut from the same cloth. To have a bit of freedom, a choice of size, style and space, means an empty nest home design can be quite fun.

As Seen on Newswire

Solid, warm and substantial, the brick exterior of the Hearthside glories in it and the columns, keystone arches and corner quoins add to the dignified appearance.

This Craftsman home's floor plan is far from stuffy. Family living areas dominate, with a swath of informal rooms in the heart of it. The 18-foot ceiling in the foyer carries over into the street-facing, richly windowed eating nook.

In the kitchen, two islands house a cooktop, sink, dishwasher and eating bar. From the sink, you can see into the vaulted great room and enjoy the view beyond. Windows fill most of the rear wall, creating a naturally bright space. On gray days, the two-sided fireplace offers cheerful flames and warmth.

The front-facing study could be also used as a living room or guest room. A bathroom there is accessible from within, and from the hallway.

The Owner's suite and dining room both features classic coffered ceilings. In the suites bathroom, a curved glass block wall next to the spa tub rounds out the space. Other amenities include: dual vanity, large walk-in closets, and an enclosed shower and toilet.

Secondary bedrooms are in the opposite wing, as well are steps leading up to a bonus room and down to the basement. A pass-through mud room connects the house to a large three-car garage with added space for storage or workshop.