Log Cabins Galore!

The Plan Collection just featured one of their most popular log cabin house plans on their homepage. I thought it looked pretty cool, so I decided to go through their entire collection of Log Cabin Plans. Let me show you a couple that I really liked:

NDG-1103

Seabourne

Jasper

If anyone finds any additional cabin house plans, let me know. They're kinda fun to look at!

Words To Live By

Yesterday I mentioned that I had been killing time by looking at some of The Plan Collection's houseplan-related articles. Not only did they have an article that completely agreed with my recent Character blog-entry; they also had an article that was profoundly deep.

The author was describing what he calls "THE 90% RULE". According to the author, professional home designer Jake England, there is no such thing as a perfect home plan. I totally agree. You will save yourself a lot of heartache and stress if you just accept this simple fact. Too many people end up with ulcers before they even begin building their new home, just because they want the "perfect home". Even if you weren't constrained by a budget, you'd be hard-pressed to find a house plan that meets your every desire.

However, if you can learn to be happy when a plan satisfies 90% of your wants, life will be a lot easier -- you might even enjoy building your new home! As Mr. England put it:

"You are asking imperfect people to use imperfect products to build you a perfect house. Guess what, it won't be perfect. It should be a great home, but it will not be perfect. " (go to article)

Now those are some words to live by. THE 90% RULE is great when it comes to house plans, but you can really improve the quality of your life by applying it everywhere. Our homes, relationships - even our meals - will be more fulfilling if we can be satisfied with 90%. It takes some effort, but I'm willing to give it a shot. After all, I'm not 100% perfect either.

So for all of you out there that are searching for your dream home, be sure to ask yourself if the plan satisfies 90% of your wants. If it does, it looks like you've got yourself a great plan!

More Character!

By now, everyone should know that I spend a lot of time surfing The Plan Collection's website. I just like to see the full spectrum of home design. Well, yesterday I found my way to their section of houseplan-related articles.

While browsing through some of their most recent articles, I found a post that nearly took my breath away -- "Character Defines Your Dream Home"!

This article repeated almost word-for-word what I had been trying to say in yesterday's blog. It also featured this:
This is CLS-2705, and it is a great example of a home with character. I don't necessarily like the fact that one of the main front windows looks directly into the master walk-in closet, but that is somewhat beside the point. I was just excited to know that someone is crazy enough to write articles about house plan character. You really ought to check it out!

Character: an Essential

For those few of you that actually take the time to read my ramblings, I want to take a few minutes to talk about Character. Please let me draw your attention to HW-3338. Now this home has a lot of character. Sure, it isn't the most practical home. In fact, I'm not really impressed with the floor plan layout at all. I just like the way it looks.

If you haven't noticed already, I really like unique home designs. I like plans with character. Not too much character -- that can get obnoxious. I just like it when a home exhibits a little bit of courage. I don't consider myself to be a radical or outlandish homeowner, but I do like a home that isn't afraid to be a little different. HW-3338 seems to have the perfect amount of character. It isn't trying to be flashy or gaudy, but it has a unique personality that won't be suppressed.

Character is hard to put a finger on, but it is something that turns an ordinary cookie-cutter home into something people want to look at. Character can come from many features: dormers, gables, hips, angles, arches, etc. Character is something that you know when you see it. That being said, if anyone finds some reasonable house plans with lots of character, let me know. I'd love to see them!

Simple Craftsman Beauty

Well, I meant to sit down and write an article three days ago, but sometimes life doesn't follow your plans. Anyway, I promised to show you a house plan that I've been keeping my eye on.



This is CLS-1501. It has a nice Craftsman style that is somewhat quaint and simple. It may not be flashy, but it is very comfy. I especially think the planters and the brick chimney are a very nice touch. I don't know why, but it just has a "homey" feel. I also like the idea of having a front and rear porch, but remember "it's what's inside that counts!"

Some people may have different opinions, but I like to walk into a home and be able to see the living room from the entrance. CLS-1501 does that, but also provides a nice foyer area for people to take off their shoes, coats, etc. I also really enjoy having a fireplace. I think it brings warmth into a room, even if there isn't a fire burning inside. The built-in shelves give the room a more formal feel, which may or may not be a good thing -- I tend to stay away from formality, but I still like these built-ins. I also like that there is a little window above each set of shelves. That does a good job of adding some natural sunlight.

I like the fact that the dining room is open to the living room, but the built-in table and benches are kind of a turn-off. I hate scooting into a bench; it's uncomfortable and awkward. I'm also not a big fan of entering the master bedroom through the kitchen, but that's just my own opinion.

The Master Bedroom itself is very nice. I like the openness and the window seat. The master bath and walk-in closet are also very pleasing. There are a few other features that I like (i.e the split bathroom and the loft/bonus room), but I've said about all I want to say about CLS-1501. It isn't perfect, but I don't think there is such thing as a "perfect" house plan. I think I'll keep on looking and wishing. If anyone finds a house plan that they think is absolutely wonderful, let me know. I'd love to hear about it!

"Small" Homes for the Holidays!

Sorry it's been so long since I last wrote. I've been enjoying the Thanksgiving holidays, and I hope you all have too. We had quite a few extended family members over for dinner, and it was really great. Everyone had room to sit and relax after eating all that turkey. In fact, there was more than enough room!

I mentioned in my last blog that my home is approximately 2,200 square feet (1,100 on the first floor and a full 1,100 square foot basement that we finished ourselves a couple years ago). We don't have the largest dining room, but we were able to procure a folding table that fit perfectly in our living room. Sure, our guests had to be split up a little, but it all worked out pretty well having an "adult" table and a "kiddie" table. Not that anyone really needs to know about our Thanksgiving. My point is that small homeplans can easily fulfill anyone's needs.

If you haven't checked it out yet, I strongly recommend looking through the "Small House Plans" category from The Plan Collection. They have some wonderful ideas that can work for almost anyone. Tomorrow I'll be writing about a wonderful "small" house plan that just jumped out at me, but I guess you'll just have to wait until then. In the meantime, go check out Small House Plans from The Plan Collection!

Is bigger BETTER?

OK. So yesterday, I revealed one of my guilty pleasures -- I really like extravagant European-style Homes. There is just something about them that appeals to me. I like steeply pitched hip or mansard roofs. I like arches. I like the "Old World" feel. There's just one problem -- I hate wasted space!

Now, it would be unfair to say that all European House Plans have under-utilized square footage, but most of them do. I hate to say it, but the Chatteau Novella (see yesterday's blog entry) is totally and completely impractical. I don't believe that anyone, no matter how big their family is, would ever honestly need that much space.

I am quite content living in a home that is approximately 2,200 square feet. In fact, I feel more comfortable in a modest-sized home than I do in houses that are a little more spacy. That's why I have to tell you about some plans that I found on The Plan Collection. The good folks at The Plan Collection have recently added a new category of "Small House Plans" (plans with 0-1,500 square feet).

The purpose for my next few blog entries will be to convince people that bigger isn't always better, especially when dealing with home design. That being said, I hope you enjoy my rantings!

Guilty Pleasures

Y'know, normally I like to consider myself as being a fairly level-headed guy. I try very hard to keep head out of the clouds by making sure my feet planted firmly on the ground.

That being said, I have to introduce you to a house plan that is kind of a guilty pleasure for me.

This is the Chatteau Novella, which was designed by the amazing Archival Designs, Inc. I first came across this masterpiece of home design while browsing through The Plan Collection. I'm not sure what it is, but something about the Chatteau Novella just catches my eye. I love the way it looks!

Upon further inspection, you can see just how luxurious it really is, but the thing that I like most about this house plan is its style. I just can't help myself. Honestly, I don't think I'd ever live in a home like this, even if my finances could justify doing so. I don't plan on ever building a home with more than 3,000 square feet, but that doesn't keep me from going back time after time to oggle at the Chatteau Novella. I guess that just goes to show that we aren't always as practical and down-to-earth as we'd like people to think we are.

The Greatest Game Room Ever Built

While looking through Habitation Home Plans list of Rambler type homes I found this design with one of the coolest basements I've ever seen.

The main floor features what is the norm for this designer. They do a good job at having a large space for everyday life with a great room and kitchen that are open to each other. The master suites are also wonderfully laid out.

With all this, it still just seemed like another plan until I scrolled down to see the basement. Most of the rooms in these houses are in basically the same format. With this said, I was surprised to see a virtual golf room option with the theater room. It had never crossed my mind that this could be done. Every guy dreams of having a private place to correct that slice that gets him every time he hits the links. Now you can. It is amazing how technology allows you to have almost anything included in a house plan! Seeing something like this can really get the creativity flowing. With the appropriate funds you the sky is the limit with modifications.

Step-by-Step Garage

I'm not sure if building a house with a separate garage would be beneficial. Whether this would help or not in construction, The Plan Collection has a garage plan that has images that show the main steps of building a separate garage. The Seaspace is a double garage a few extra features that would make it a good addition to a lot. The workshop on the side has ladder access to the storage space above. Looking at the images, you can see the everything through laying the footings and foundation to framing and doing roof work. This was interesting to see how the building would go.

Which Roof is the Best Roof?

As I have been looking at house plans I have seen dozens of roof types and I was wondering where I could found out more about all the different styles. After a quick Google search session I discovered the site that I need. RoofHelper has all the answers to any roof question you could have. I think one of the most useful parts was their Roof Types Resource page that lists 11 of the most common styles. You can click on each style and it gives you a brief description of how the roof types came about and a small list of their benefits and disadvantages.

This isn't the only thing that's on the website. There is pages on materials to use, roofing parts and components, roofing estimates and even green roofing information. You could spend hours on this site looking at roofing information. I have learned that roofs are one of the most important parts of the home. With a good roof you can save money and get long years of good use out of a properly constructed roof.

Something Resplendent

I stumbled upon a great house design today. Just the name alone makes this house sound special. the Chatteau Melliant is a luxurious European home that has about anything you could think of. It has almost 6000 square feet and a garage that could hold all of a family's cars. This plan had me hooked as soon as I saw the picture looking at the stairs and balcony in the foyer. The classy curves of this home could keep me intrigued for hours.

The Grand Room has to potential of being the leader of the home. The way the room was decorated in the photograph is only one of many techniques I can think of. Having a coffered ceiling like that and the feature of a fireplace looks exquisite with many other designs. There is so many things that can be done it would be hard to make a wrong decision.

The Kitchen is another area that caught my attention. I loved the island with the step up from the eating bar. The particular colors chosen were not quite what I am looking for. I have aways preferred dark marble and light cabinetry. I found www.marble.com that gave me a good idea of how i would mix the two together. This Kitchen's design is great for people that need storage space but not cabinets that wrap around the whole room. This keeps it broken up with good-sized cabinets in each corner.

The rest of the home was a great design but it these two rooms were what caught my attention. I suggest taking a good look at it and seeing how you would decorate this house if you had the chance.

A Fun Passive Solar Home

I was looking through some Passive Solar home plans on The Plan Collection website when I came a cross this gem of a home. It has a fun look to it and it can provide some energy efficiency that everyone is looking for these days.

LS-H-935-1 has a lot of deck space with most of it being covered on the main floor. This would be a great home to build in a location such as the one depicted in the rendering. You have the potential of sunbathing on the clear days and then you could watch a rainstorm like never before.

The stairs in this home are not your usual straight up and straight down staircase. They have an office building type stairwell that wraps around to the different levels. Now, I know the last thing you want to think about is your office but these have a great look from the outside.

Included with the exciting looks of the house, having skylights and a solar panel on the roof could really save some money. Figuring that this home would probably be a vacation home, it would be smart to have these features so you don't have to pay a lot of money for something you only use occasionally. Not only will these help with heating your home but you would get waves of natural light that makes the house light up with joy.

What its all about.

Hi everyone. This is my blog about house plans I decided to start so that I can keep track of houseplans that I like and different features I would like in my next home. This is more for me than anyone else, but feel free to comment on ideas you like or don't. Any input from others helps make better decisions, right?