Small House Plans That Work

In today's hard economic times, everyone is looking for high efficiency living. One way of accomplishing this is to create small house plans that work. When designing small house plans, it is very important to carefully plan out every square foot of space for maximum utility and comfort. This process needs to start with you--the homeowner.

Everyone has different needs and wants from their homes. It is hard to argue that an efficient home, in terms of energy consumption, is not important to everyone. One advantage to small house plans is that they allow you to design with energy efficiency being a top priority. There are many areas that can be focused on to increase efficiency.

One area that can make a big impact is windows and doors. A small house plan will usually have fewer windows and doors, which are typically very expensive components of a home. So, by reducing doors and windows, you can stay on budget. Windows and doors is also where much heat (or cooling) is lost, so by reducing them you can use a smaller HVAC (heating/ventilation/air conditioning) unit, thereby saving money. In a small house plan, HVAC units can be smaller and more efficient also because they don't have to heat and cool a huge space. Insulation can also be upgraded at a reasonable cost because of a smaller space.

One of the most important things to keep in mind is how you are going to use the space. Plan ahead for things such as a home office, exercise room, or media room. Try to take into account a future expansion of your family, and whether you will need extra bedrooms. Finally, you want to think about resale. We all build our dream home thinking it will be our forever home, but unfortunately, jobs, family, and needs change. So keep in mind that most people are interested in a minimum of a three bedroom/ two bathroom house. This will help you be able to appeal to a wider variety of people if and when you need to sell.

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind when designing a small house plan:

1. Design space for multiple uses. An example is designing the outer edge (seating area) of a kitchen island countertop that's curved, so it can double as a dining room table.

2. Use pocket doors. Pocket doors can be put to great use in today's homes, especially for small houses. The use of these space saving doors offer not only practicality but also a unique look. The space saved by not having a "swing" area for a door is amazing. Pocket doors are not expensive for a builder to install, but in a small home plan, they can make a huge difference.

3. Situate stairs wisely. Because stairs can be a big space eater, they should be as small as possible, yet still allow safe comfortable-size steps and space for moving furniture. Spiral stairs use less space, but they can be dangerous and difficult to use. However, the storage space beneath traditional stairs can be quite valuable.

4. Increase your ceiling height. This is an inexpensive way to make your spaces feel much larger than they are. A typical ceiling height is 8 feet, but if you increase that to 9, 10, or even 12 feet, you've gained a tremendous amount of space and visual appeal for very little money. Then, add floor-to-ceiling cabinets for storage, and ceiling fans for air circulation. (Just keep a step stool on hand to access that storage!)

5. For two-story small house plans, consider using a gambrel style roof. These are the roof styles you see on many older barns. They allow much more ceiling and floor space than a typical roof peak.

There are a lot of innovative space-saving techniques and items available to homeowners. By doing your research and planning ahead, you can maximize a small house plan to fit your needs.

Mike O'Gorman is a managing partner at Wise Home Design, LLC. The firm specializes in low cost, custom, and energy efficient home plans. Visit our site for a wealth of information on energy efficient homes: http://www.WiseHomeDesign.com