House Plan Blog

Gone are the flashy, formal living rooms and expansive garages that are so beloved in traditional houses. The home desires of Generation Y – better known as Millennials – tend to gravitate toward smaller spaces, versatility and minimalist floor plans. But that’s not to say that younger homebuyers don’t see the benefits of space or the need for certain amenities. They just like to have options.

“To the Millennial, a traditional home with big spaces and grand bedrooms can be repurposed, or up-purposed,” said Rick McAlexander, CEO of Associated Designs. “A garage becomes a workshop. A bonus room is a bedroom. They like to have a home that bends and adapts to their lifestyle.”

In a sense, younger homebuyers’ wishes are a departure from their predecessors. The great room’s ability to be great is not from its size but its ability to adapt with them. To that end, we share four ideal home designs that capture the trends of the next generation of homebuyers.

The Hobbyist’s Dream Home - Azalea 31-028

Millennials are great hobbyists, whether it’s skiing, kayaking, and mountain biking or more creative pursuits such as arts and crafts. In many cases, this means they work from home, or at least partly from home. They’d rather up-purpose a garage into a storage unit for all their hobbies.

In the Azalea home design, traditional amenities and features are given new meaning. Full of Craftsman charm, this home is spacious without being overwhelming at just under 1,800 square feet. The one-story layout includes a garage that can be repurposed as a storage space for outdoor gear such as kayaks, bikes and all-terrain skis. For the creative crafters, the garage can easily become a nifty craft room.

The other key point to the Azalea that will appeal to Millennial homebuyers is the vaulted den, which can also be used as a study or home office. And while the sleeping areas are all on one side of the house, each room has it’s own private entrance so guests and roommates can live comfortably.

“The Azalea is a traditional Craftsman home with an open-style living area,” said McAlexander. “But it’s on a smaller scale for more casual living.”

Minimalist Living with Plenty of Space - Lyndon 30-769

The Lyndon is for the minimalist Millennial – the homebuyer who wants to get more out of less. While not as extreme as the Tiny House movement, this home at only 1,100 square feet packs in two bedrooms, two full bathrooms, plenty of storage, and a bright and spacious gathering space. Two sets of double doors open to a large covered porch that extends the gathering space of the Lyndon in good weather.

Meanwhile, the second bedroom doubles as a studio or office area for the busy telecommuter. The utility and mudroom is ideal for pet owners who would rather not drag dirt all around this quaint but versatile home.

“But there’s a hidden gem with this home design,” said McAlexander. “The second floor boasts a spacious, versatile bonus room that can be utilized for anything – guest room, craft room, storage, office. Anything that a young homebuyer can think of really.”

Where Flexibility is King - Tidewater 30-997

Though small in size at just 1,881 square feet, this one-story, shingle-style home feels comfortably spacious. The home boasts a screened porch that extends the great room’s casual living space on beautiful, spring days. Just imagine relaxing with friends while casually enjoying the night air without the bother of passing bugs. And let’s not forget the Tidewater’s two-sided fireplace and spacious open kitchen with a large work island and flush eating bar.

But the real joy of the Tidewater is its flexibility.

“The additional bedrooms don’t have to be bedrooms,” said McAlexander. “They are large enough to fulfill any need a young homeowner has in mind.”

Guest suite, office, craft room, exercise space, or maybe a library for the book lover, the bedrooms of this one-story home design bend and adapt to the desires of the owner.

An Urbanites’ Dream - Larkspur 30-880

For very narrow lots or confined city spaces, the Larkspur is a dream home. With upscale features that are perfect for city living, the two-story contemporary home may look small from the outside, but the inside is a whole different story.

“It feels spacious inside,” said McAlexander. “You walk into the foyer and are greeted by a casual, open living space that connects the living area, dining room and kitchen. And the home just continues from there with more rooms and a back garage. It’s a surprisingly roomy home design and very versatile – a perfect mix for young homebuyers.”

A tankless water heater in the garage is a great space saver, allowing more room for cars, bikes, a workshop or storage. The loft and bonus room upstairs add more space to this compact 1,600 square foot design, while also adding flexibility and versatility that keeps the home adapting with the owners’ lifestyle. One of the upstairs bedrooms, for example, could easily be turned into a home office with its own private bathroom. The owners’ suite is on the ground floor, far removed from the upstairs bedrooms for that added bit of privacy.

Millennials know what they like, and what they like is a change of pace from the usual home design. A touch of flexibility, a smaller footprint, and a simple layout are not confining but freeing. Nothing is impossible or improbable for a versatile home design fit for younger homebuyers. 

As seen on Newswire

A charming combination of shingles and stone welcome you home to the Red Oak house plan. The core of this ranch home is a blend of formal and informal gathering areas. To the left of the entry is a dining room that is open to the kitchen creating a casual eating space for family and friends. Through double doors to the right of the entry, is a formal living room perfect for spending quiet time. Straight through the entry hall is the vaulted family room that features a fireplace. The owners' suite fills the right side of the home and features a large walk-in closet, dual vanities and soaking tub. Secondary bedrooms fill the left side along with the utility room and the basement stairs.

A good garage can drastically improve the value of your home. It’s something that most prospective homeowners and all real estate agents will focus on, and a little care and attention can go a long way here.

You don’t need the biggest budget or the best DIY skills either. It just takes a takes a few minutes and a little hard work to bring your garage up to scratch, as these 4 Tips for Improving Your Garage show.

Maintain Garage and Garage Door 

It’s easy to lose interest in your garage when it begins to fall into disrepair. The mold creeps in, the spiders take over, and the door rusts so much that it begins to sound like the entrance to a haunted manor house. Most homeowners have designs on making the perfect garage, on keeping it clean and useable, only to lose track and then give up when the rot sets in.

But it doesn’t need to be like that as essential maintenance is cheap and easy to perform. The first thing you should look to do is replace the torsion springs on all garage doors. According to Garage Door Nation, who lead the way in the sale and installation of these products, it should take you less than 10 minutes. That way, when you open your garage door on a morning you won’t expect to be greeted by a servant named Lurch.

The door itself may need replacing as well, but most of the time you can get by with a good clean and a few little DIY improvements. Fill the holes, replace broken/rusted parts, add an electronic opener, and finish it off with a lick of paint.

Make it Parking Friendly 

A garage should be one of two things: an extension of your home, or a place to store your car. It should not be a giant dumpster where you store everything from unwanted Christmas presents to empty appliance boxes.

If you decide to use it to house your car, then make sure it’s fit for that purpose. Remove the junk, hang a tennis ball from the roof so you know when to stop reversing, and remove anything that can cause damage to the paintwork.

If it’s a tight squeeze you should also place bumpers along the walls of your garage. You don’t need to cover the entire wall. Simply use something that sticks out in the middle of the wall. Pool noodles are great for this, as they are soft, spongy, cheap and easy to affix to the walls.

Make it Storage Friendly

If you want your garage to be an extension of your house, then add some flooring, lights and furniture. Put up a storage rack, some drawers and some other units.This way it’s still a room for storage, but the storage is neat and orderly, and it can also be an additional bedroom, a den or an office.

Don’t overlook the ceiling when it comes to storage. There are sliding storage racks, hanging storage systems and much more that will make use of all that previously untouched space. If you don’t have the budget to buy steel shelving units, then just make them yourself. You can get the raw materials cheaply and it’ll only take a few hours of your time.

Here are a few more storage ideas:

•   Screwdriver Rack: Puncture a series of holes into a length of wood, nail it to the wall and you have a handy place to store your screwdrivers.

•   Plastic Storing Containers: Use cheap, open plastic containers to store all of those smaller items for easy access. Make sure you write down the contents on a label and stick it to the front of the boxes.

•   Pegboards: A few simple pegboards can be used to store loose tools. Just hammer some nails in and hook those tools on them.

•   Tin Cans: Tin cans can be a great way to store small tools, while transparent pots and jars are ideal for screws, nuts and bolts.

Make it High-Tech 

There are a number of cool gadgets and tools for your garage. Some will make your life easier, some are just fun to play with. You can purchase devices that connect to your smartphone and warn you when you garage door is open, either because you’ve left it open or because it has been broken into.

There are high-tech garage door openers that will open and close automatically and can also run off backup battery power, just incase there’s a power cut. There are also doors that require security codes to gain access, and the more high-tech of these will randomly change the codes at regular intervals, ensuring that only the owner has the correct access code at any given time.

Alarm systems, security cameras and insulation are also a common feature of high-tech garages. They will keep your home safe and secure, while helping you to cut down on those energy bills and to reduce the risk of mold and animal infestations.

Article by: garagedoornation.com

Created for a lot that slopes to the side, the Farmington is a charming country-style two story home plan. Entering the home, you walk into the great room with a fireplace. Along the back of the great room is the dining room which is open to the kitchen which is seperated by a flush peninsual eating bar. Through the kitchen a hallway leads past a large walk-in pantry, half bathroom and to the utility room. The owners' suite is also off the main level and features a private bathroom with a walk-in closet and dual vanity. Upstairs, are two additional bedrooms, a full bathroom and bonus room.

Designed for a narrow building lot, the Arborbrook is a delightful cottage house plan. Not only is it surprising large (2200 square feet), from the exterior it appears to be a single level home but once you step inside a set of stairs takes you up to the second floor where two bedrooms and a loft are nestled into the roof. To the left of the entry is a den which could also serve as a home office or an additional bedroom. Down the entry hall the home opens up to a great room with corner fireplace and a kitchen with a large work island. In the rear right corner of the home is the owners' suite which features a dual vanity and large walk-in closet. 

When you only have so much room, you go to great lengths to maximize the space available to get the most out of less. It may seem easy to do in some cases. But maximizing space takes on new meaning – and new challenges – when building a home on a narrow lot. These slender lots require ample storage, convertible space and well-placed rooms to amp up the overall appeal of the home designs.

“On a narrow lot, you have to be smart about how things fit together in a home design,” said Rick McAlexander, CEO of Associated Designs. “It has to both maximize the space available as well as appeal to a homeowner in terms of style, personality and practicality.”

In other words, maximizing space on a not-so-wide lot can be done, but it’s all about how the home is put together. Some elements of a home are enhanced, while others are rearranged and given new meaning. Rooms that normally would have only one use can be multipurpose rooms instead. These two 2,000-square-foot homes from Associated Designs put all of those pieces together in unique and appealing ways that fit well on narrow lots.

Charming Space Saver

Just imagine relaxing on a front porch in summer, chatting with friends while sipping drinks and waving to neighbors as they pass by. That’s the appeal of the Blue River home plan 30-789 – a two-story Craftsman-style bungalow. The hand-railed front porch, tapered columns and porte-cochere all add to the nostalgic charm of the home. But the exterior charm is only one side of this three-bedroom, two-bath design. Every component, attribute and room makes the most out of the space available.

The detached garage and drive-through porte-cochere saves on building width, while the two-story design allows for the main level to be filled with gathering spaces and the second floor to be confined to the family’s sleeping areas. The great-room style living on the main floor means no space is unused, and the bungalow opens up to natural light in the living room, dining room and C-shaped kitchen. The kitchen itself saves space by putting a walk-in pantry near the covered back patio. Meanwhile, the hobby room can double as a guest suite or home office. The roof’s attic storage can be opened from each of the smaller bedrooms on the second floor, but the stairwell near the utility room boasts an under-stair closet for more storage, too.

“This home has a little trick up its sleeves though,” said McAlexander. “There are no hallways, which means there is a nearly seamless transition from room to room.”

The hobby room, utility room and main floor are accessed from only a short hallway, but only a small landing at the top of the stairs accesses the second floor bedrooms. The end result is that this home takes the narrow lot and saves space on all levels while still retaining its nostalgic charm.

Flexible Country Cottage Living

Wrapping the living area in an L-shape around the garage allows the Shasta home design 30-866 to offer all the comforts of a large 2,000-square-foot home in a narrow building lot. The floor plan is completely attuned to contemporary families, with the master suite on the main floor in this one-and-a-half-story cottage-style home. But it’s the multipurpose functionality of the home that really shines.

The den is a prime example of this as it is the home’s flex space. Whether used as a home office, a guest bedroom, a study or another gathering area, it blends seamlessly with the rest of the main floor. An under-stair closet boosts the home’s available storage, but the second floor holds even more space-saving, multipurpose charm. Utilizing dormers, the home’s vaulted bonus room and additional attic storage means there is no limit to what can be done with this house.

“It both saves space and gives families options,” said McAlexander. “But it doesn’t shy away from being open and spacious despite it’s narrow lot appeal. You can be standing at the kitchen sink and look out across a wide area of functional living space. It definitely makes the Shasta a great choice for growing families with narrow lots.”

A narrow lot doesn’t mean you are limited in what you can do and how you can build your home. Maximizing space means rethinking how a home is pieced together, creating storage and rooms that are enhanced not overlooked. In other words, it’s easy to get more out of less space with the right home design.  

As seen on Newswire

A charming wrap-around front porch and sunny dormer windows welcome you home. The Hayden is a country style house plan with all features a young family or those looking to down size will need. The vaulted great room features a woodstove adding to the warmth and appeal. The dining room which is open to the kitchen which has a penisular eatting bar. A pocket door separates the kitchen from the walk-through utility room and walk-in pantry. The right side of the home features the sleeping areas plus a study nook. The secondary bedrooms are on the front of the home and the vaulted master suite looks off the back and has a private bathroom and large walk-in closet.