House Plans

Okay, I know I have been slacking some, but only because I broke a tooth last week and been suffering with it since. Yes, I have seen the dentist and work starts Monday morning (3/30/09) to repair and then cap it. I'm not one who cares for dentists...okay, I have an utter detest for them...happy now? LOL

Back on topic...these blueprints are of a house that I wish to build "someday" when I have the land to do so. The house is generally small. First floor is 840 sq ft and the loft is roughly 168 sq ft. The layout is based on one person, since I am single, but I can easily fit 4-6 people with the addition of the loft bedroom and empty loft above the living room. I'm not one for cathedral ceilings as I believe in being simple, and conservative and frankly, how does one clean a cathedral ceiling? I've taken great pains to study the designs of homes based on those found in the 1800's and this is as close as I can get with a custom design.

What is interesting about the design, is that it's very open. The living room is open to the dining room which is open to the kitchen. The loft sitting room rails are low enough to look over the dining room and kitchen area and the ceiling, though not pictured here, has skylights and solar panels...thus I would be off-grid.

The Master Bdrm is large with a sitting window and a door that opens to the 4 seasoned porch in the back, walk in closet is under the stairs, but a bigger one can be fashioned next to the wall of the pantry.

The bathroom would have a nice tub for soaking, but one could use a shower if they wanted. Plus I have designed it in the corner so that I can situate two windows for natural lighting. The toilet would be a composting design, thus hopefully eliminating the need for a septic system that requires emptying every so often. My parents get their tank pumped once every 3 months, but they suffer from leakage and will need it fixed, costing a fortune which they may never have. I could also add another sink IF I had a significant other and yes, have made room for that in the plans.

In the Dining area you will see "Window S" next to the fireplace...this is a window seat as well, but is bumped out a bit so that one has storage under the seat and can talk to the cook (whoever that may be) while not getting in their way. Next to that window would be the wood cook stove and a window between the stove and counter top...I love natural light and the more I can get of it, the happier I am.

The kitchen which is small, is pretty cool. Not only would it have the cook stove, but also a hand water pump on the side of the sink to accompany the modern faucet. This could be used to wash veggies or serve as a backup in case something goes amiss with the faucet. The sink itself would be a thick porcelain farm sink. The window by the sink would be bumped out so one could grow some plants and then to the right of the sink would be the refrigerator. Extra cupboard space would come in front of the walk in pantry.

One thing my house wouldn't have is carpet...carpet is a dust collector and can lead to unwanted allergies and sometimes mold. Plus, one has to replace it after a while, leading to extra expenses. The flooring would mostly be wood, but in the kitchen and bathroom the floor would be cork. Cork does not hold odors, does not mildew, does not rot and it soaks in water and dries so no damage underneath is done and it's cheap. As one can imagine, I love wood and so most furniture would be wood and cloth, but not leather or vinyl. In the coming weeks I will be posting photos of two Civil War era chairs. One is a rocker the other is a recliner. These two items will be given to me when the parents pass on, and so, I hope to furnish my house with old decor that fits the era of these two chairs.

I know that if this house was built, would probably leave me with a little larger house and that is fine, as long as it's under 1100 sq ft. I just dislike huge houses that take up more space than required, plus I don't like raping the land of what I don't need. So enjoy the plans and if you want a copy, then by all means let me know and I'll send you them.