Amid numerous climates and regions of America, ranch house plans have an association with traditional or contemporary house floor plans. Architected with a built in garage, an asymmetrical profile shrouded with a low-pitched roof, these flexible house floor plans afford a wealth of expansion possibilities.

From  favorite resource: House Plans and More.com peruse more than 18.000 home designs with photos.

Despite its post Victorian history, Arts and Crafts house plans remain a timeless domicile. Functionality paired with an intelligent use of space, this house plan’s enduring design embodies an attention to detail.

A single home, covered by shallow roofs, depicting floor to ceiling windows and open arches leads to a spacious courtyard. These features characterize Mediterranean house plans. Depending on the lot and the house floor plan, same floor and second level add-ons house a growing family.

The open house plan typifies spacious living. When designed with solar panels and renewable energy, Energy Star qualified appliances, and American Disability Association (ADA) compliant, the open house plan takes on sustainable characteristics.

Whether the objective is to add a second level, solarium, extra guestroom, make sure the exterior landscape allows for future expansion.

What is your favorite  house plan and does it allow for future expansion?

Victorian house plans, log cabin homes and bungalows typify house floor plans distinctive to the late 1800s in England, the 17th and 18th  centuries and the 1950s, respectively. House plans also embody  architectural styles.

The  size of a property’s lot and the preferred construction type helps homeowners select  house floor plans. Common construction classifications include bi-level, multi-level, duplex, single-story, split-level, and two-story.

Other house floor plan considerations encompass the foundation. Does the homeowner plan tio have a basement; will it be a finished basement; or is a daylight one  more practical? An architect or homebuilder should be able to provide the best option based on the property, house plan, and municipal building codes.

Please click on “House Plans and More”  to view over 18,000 home plans.

What type of garage is conducive for the  house plan?The car capacity of the garage combined with the layout of the garage side entry, detached, rear entry are other choices to take into consideration  when reviewing house floor plans. (Make note of easements and traffic flow around the property line).

Last but not least, selecting the best house plas entails prioritizing the domicile’s amenities. This is when the real fun begins. Choose amenities based on lifestyle, furnishings and other features that will contribute to a cohesive new house plan.

Review the list of amenities:

• Atrium
• Bar
• Elevator
• Fireplace
• See-Through Fireplace
• Sauna/Hot Tub
• Vaulted/Volume Ceiling
• Wheelchair/Handicap Accessible
• Media Area
• Guest House
• Open Floor Plans
• Sitting Area
• Second Floor Laundry
• Solarium
• Wine Cellar

 Tell us about  your favorite house floor plans and amenities?

What is the name of the organization responsible for standardizing green building and house floor plans? The LEED® Green Building Rating System (TM) implements the national standard for building commercial and residential green house floor plans. THE LEED® rating system also certifies house plans according to the following criterion:

• Sustainable site
• Innovation & Design
• Energy and Atmosphere
• Water Efficiency
• Material and Resources
• Indoor Environmental Quality

What are examples of the types of components building a green house floor plan? Around the home, a myriad of appliances and utilities exemplify energy savings and efficiency, ultimately reducing the carbon footprint. For instance, light-hued siding designed to diminish heat retention would have to meet LEED certification.

Aside from LEED certification, are there any other methods for architecting a green home? The REAL model home is also an ENERGY STAR®-rated home. The house floor plan consists of a precisely appointed selection of appliances, fixtures, and products aimed at maximizing the home’s natural resources (energy, water).

In the bathroom, dual-flush toilets conserve on water. A gray water system recycles bath and laundry water to flush toilets. A geothermal heating and cooling system is another example of efficiency. Additionally, ENERGY STAR®-rated appliances such as a dishwasher, ceiling fans and even compact fluorescent bulbs are other household products available in the REAL model home. 

If a homebuilder, who is already certified with LEED, designs my home– how can I be sure that my home is being developed accordingly? Throughout the development process of your green house floor plan, LEED built homes have to pass inspections to ensure that your home is being built according to the standards established

 Please click on “Building Green” house floors plan” to learn more about LEED certification.

 It depends on the architectural structure of your house floor plan. A homebuilder, who is experienced at updating house floor  plans can provide you with the accurate information. For an accurate response, grab your home’s original blueprints. It will help an architect determine if there are any plumbing electrical or other infrastructure limitations.

We live in an Adobe style home. Although, we love the layout of our house floor plan, we’d like to update the exterior. Can you recommend ways to modify the exterior of our home?

Not all house floor plan updates call for a total renovation.

The home design ideas for updating the exterior of your home are abounding and not restricted to renovating the entire house floor plan. We’ve included a short list of design ideas to consider:

• Replace or add an awning over the entrance
• Change exterior shutters
• Paint the home a new color
• Install bricks or stones to create a patio
• Change the landscaping (shrubs, grass, flowers, vegetable garden)
• Add exterior lighting

Aside from changing our house floor plan and a room expansion renovation, are there any other design ideas for making rooms appear larger?

There are three design tips for giving a small room the illusion of spaciousness:

Opt for lighter walls.

Paint the walls a light paint color, avoiding dark hues, which tend to make spaces feel smaller.

Create reflections.

2) Mirrors, glass and other reflective wall furnishings make spaces appear larger.

Furnish it right. 

Select furniture that harmonizes the room’s space, omitting any pieces that are disproportionately sized for the room. (Organize and de-clutter the space)

Which other website(s) maintain a comprehensive catalog of home floor plans and design ideas?

At House Plans and More, there’s a complete database of home floor plans, builders, terms, an online calculator and a wealth of home design tips articles.

Unlike many sites, which feature digital renderings, the homebuilding site presents house plans with photos. This makes it easier to discern the difference between house plans of any style. (Well, at least that was my personal experience). Not to mention, it includes a complete directory of house floor plans.

On the first page, of the house plans home designs site, is the presentation of the top selling house plans, along with the popular styles. I loved this feature, as it provided me with an overview in knowing what other prospective homebuilders are doing.

In addition—to the home page lacking the cluttered characteristics, as seen on most other house plans home designs Web sites, the navigation almost felt intuitive. And, the resource center comprised of a national index of builders. was an extra bonus.

The resource center even presents a library of home design glossary terms and how-to articles.

House Plans Home Design Site features house plans with photos

I highly recommend that anyone, who is confused by “green energy” check out House Plans and More’s resource center, which provides succinct notes on the “going green” concept.

As for the difference between cabin cottage and log house plans, I found the information that I needed within seconds of being on the house plans home designs site. It was the other information-packed pages that inspired me to bookmark House Plans and More for future reference.

Although it’s true that new home floor plans have a way of breathing new life into a home’s architecture, many heating and cooling contractors advise that homeowners start with an energy efficiency update, as in the whole-house system’s approach.

The whole-house systems approach affords a bevy of advantages. Primarily, these energy efficiency components are devised precisely to curtail both maintenance and utility costs. Even more appealing are the health, safety, home floor plan durability and comfortable living characteristics that the whole-house systems approach affords. In other words, these element play an critical role in building green.

Green building evaluates everything from how the occupants interact in the space, the climate to other  other home floor plan components, including:

• Insulation and air sealing
• Entrances, Doors, skylights, and windows, doors
• Water heating
• Natural light and lighting
• Space heating and cooling
• Energy efficient appliances and home electronics

As a result, the efficacy of using the whole house system’s approach to determine the design strategy for the new house floor plan is vital.  Consider the following green building elements to help select the right home floor plan:

• Earth-sheltered
• Energy Homes
• Log Homes
• Manufactured Homes
• Solar House Plans
• Straw Bale Homes

Be sure to bookmark Best House Floor Plans and More as we will be reviewing the aforementioned floor plans upcoming weeks.

When it comes to building a new house floor plan, or customizing a building project, landowners and homeowners have two financing alternatives: the one-time closing loan and a construction-only loan.  The one time closing loan finances both the build and the home loan–whereas the construction loan is for architecting the house plan.

With the one-time closing loan or the “all-in-one construction loan,” it  eliminates the extra step  process of shopping around for a mortgage or home loan. Most borrowers opt for the one time construction loan to have one closing, ultimately reducing closing costs. Prior to opting for the one-time closing loan, make sure that the lender will not require interest payments while the home is under construction.

To calculate the cost of building a new house floor plan, House Plans and More.com has an easy to use House Design Estimating software, click on house plan estimation to calculate the cost of a construction loan and review the download details. 

Upon the house floor plan’s completion, the construction loan transitions into a long-term home loan.

In general, construction loans range in duration from six months to a year, requiring a “draw schedule.” The draw schedule acts as an outline of when specific tasks are to be completed, and the corroborating terms of releasing funds to the builder.

A construction-only loan is a two part financing process. The first closing begins with the construction. A second closing is necessary to refinance the construction loan, transitioning the mortgage into a permanent home loan.

Review other home buying tips.

Although the one-time closing loan saves on closing fees, it inhibits the borrower from shopping around for a home mortgage with a lower interest rate.

On the contrary, the construction loan tends to incur upfront costs, offering more flexibility and an opportunity to recuperate the savings over the mortgage loan.

Read more about obtaining a construction loan to build a new house plan.

In this installment of Best House Floor Plans, we’re talking basics. So, we are backtracking to the fundamentals of what defines a floor plan. Below are ten concepts to understand about floor plans:

A floor plan includes…
the interior and exterior designs schematics of a home.

Floor plans are developed by…
architects and home designers. Draftsmen can render modifications; however because copyright laws are applicable to floor plans, owners are required to purchase house plans.

Stock floor plans…
are less expensive than hiring a home designer or architect to customize a brand new floor plan.

Selecting the floor plan is…
the first part of building a new home.

Various companies offer home floor plan…
customization services. For a fixed price, they can take a stock floor plan and tweak it to the homeowner’s specifications.

Before deciding on a customized or stock floor plan…
be sure to check with your area’s local building codes, copyright laws as well as any other requirements. For instance, prior to homebuilding approval, certain municipalities mandate the review and approval of any house floor plan.

Redlining is a…
house floor plan term that means to amend the blueprints. To illustrate any modifications, homebuilders used to take a red pen to the floor plan. Today, red-lining is considered an affordable means of making changes to the house plans. But, again make sure the changes are within your town’s building codes.

Most designers recommend…
floor plans that merge comfort, contrast and texture.

When it comes to hiring a specialist to modify your house plans, select a local draftsman. The reason is that a professional from your area will know the building codes, hence incorporating municipal guidelines with your design specifications.

Here are some great articles on floor plans and finding the right one for you from House Plans and More:

• Floor Plans For Your Families Needs
• Open Floor Plans
• What’s the Right Plan for You?
• Why Buy Stock Plans?

Greenhouses are the latest trend in going green and maintaining the eco consciousness.
While many of us may have a green thumb itch to start a green house, there’s a bevy of questions to consider. So, before you spring into greenhouse floor planning mode, here are a few matters to weigh:

• Purpose/objective of the green house
• Green house Zoning/Permit Issues
• Greenhouse Budget
• Climate appropriateness
• The Magnitude/Size
• Green house style

Purpose/objective of the green house
How do you plant to use your greenhouse? Are you planning to use it to prepare for spring (i.e. extending the growing season or start seedlings)? Then a cold frame greenhouse or collapsible one is suitable. Will the green house be used to grow vegetables during the winter month? For obvious reasons, like budget and size, how you plan to use your green house influences the floor plan.

Green House Zoning/Permit Issues
Before you invest a moment into your green house floor planning, check with your local municipality’s by-laws to determine if there are any restrictions. Also, find out if you will need a building permit and how much it may cost you.

Budget
Given any permit fees and your budget, your greenhouse floor planning begins. Since most financial situations are subjective, there are a number of considerations: 1) Is your climate conducive for cultivation in the winter? 2) Do you plan to use the greenhouse for self- sufficiency, as in a vegetable garden? 4) For the next several years, can you afford the time, cost and maintenance of a greenhouse investment?

Based on your budget and utilization, the green house could be quite cost effective.

Climate appropriateness
To save a lot of time and heartache, conduct a little research about your climate’s capacity to harvest vegetation during the winter months in your region. Also, be sure to investigate the best place to position your green house. This depends on what types of botanicals you are growing and where the sun is during the winter months.

Magnitude
If you plan to grow flowers, herbs and vegetables, you’ll need a sizable space to accommodate all that cultivation. To map out the green house floor plan, measure one of your rooms, and sketch out a blueprint of the greenhouse floor plan. Remember certain fruits, in example tomatoes, need more headroom or height for growth.

Style
The style of your green house has a wealth of components. Here are a few concepts to explore:

• The exterior design
• Material for the structure green house
• Windows
• Insulation

Well, that’s it for this week’s installment of Best House Floor Plans. Although, we touched upon a few ideas about green house floor planning, we barely covered the surface.

In the meantime, for more in depth greenhouse information, check out Greenhouses.com.