The Tower

The other day, I was messing around with another silo barn type house and it morphed into this 3 generation church steeple bell tower type house. On top of the office/bedroom tower is a birds eye view attic type room accessible from a pull down ladder in the master bedroom. Let me show you around.

The main floor has a large bedroom for Grandma and Grandpa with a private deck. It is on the same level as the main kitchen and the laundry area. An office with and outside entrance sits off the kitchen. It could also be used as a formal dining area.

Off the laundry room is a private area under the master bedroom deck just perfect for hanging laundry.

The second floor consists of a loft open to the living room with it's own deck and a private sanctuary for Mom and Dad with a large bathroom, jacuzzi style tub, his and her closets, a private deck and of course the tower room above the master bedroom. My picture doesn't show it, but I envision it with skylights in addition to the panoramic windows. A perfect place to pray or enjoy God's beauty night or day.

The full walk out basement is the perfect starter apartment for a young couple and the kids. The outside entrance opens into a family area with a kitchenette. behind that are 2 smaller bedrooms for the little ones and a larger bedroom with a sitting area for the young couple across the hall from the bathroom. I'd put full fire escape window wells in the children's bedrooms and the private sitting room and make the windows in the couple's bedroom high and small.

I'll probably play around with this design more. I'd kinda like to make the tower a stairwell in the next one.

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

The Crows Nest

Well, here's a rare treat folks! A picture of the house from the outside. I don't normally post these because my program is rather limited, only one roof type, the house is in the sky, no way to make the place look like a barn, that type of thing, but with this one, it seemed to be the best way to show you the defining feature of this house: the crows nest.

Grampa Tom has told me for years, he'd like to have a crows nest type retreat room so he could see everything. I've resisted because a. I think it would be hard on the heating bill (although the design would probably be a plus if we lived further south) b. I can't figure out how to put a closet and a bath up there without obstructing the view c. He's always pulling the curtains so he won't have a glare on the TV anyway so I don't think he'd really use it that much and d. I hate working in the kitchen when he's holed up far away so I can't talk to him. I think I have somewhat solved the d. problem with this design, so while I'm not crazy about it, I could live with it!

On the main floor, this house is fantastic on storage space! Anyone who lives in it for any length of time will have a rough time moving out because you will just accumulate too much stuff!

One thing I really like about this house from a cost point of view is that for the most part, all the water is located in the same general area and all of it is on inside walls.

The master bath has a large walk in shower, a jacuzzi style tub and separate sinks that could be different heights for him and her.

The large laundry room has plenty of storage space and a large closet/utility room.

The kitchen has lots of counter space, a range and double wall ovens, a large pantry with a mop sink and a super huge built in refrigerator and freezer. It is part of a larger great room that opens up into the crows nest loft above the bathroom area.

I put a lift in here 'cause Grampa's knee doesn't do stairs all that well, but you might not want to. I also added a cozy fireplace.

The floor plan of the crow's nest is way out of proportion to the mail floor image, but I'm including it anyway so you can kind of get an idea of how it is laid out.

I sure wish I could show all this better, but I do the best I can!

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

Hillside Dream

Well, I've been dreaming again. Don't have clue one what the dream was about, but I saw this house so of course I just had to draw it!

It is designed to be tucked into a hillside with lots of windows for a fantastic view, and a wrap around deck for outdoor living. The main floor has 2179 square feet of living space with a vaulted living room and open kitchen area.

The kitchen has a generous pantry, a built in refrigerator and freezer, a gas range as well as a double wall oven and plenty of counter space. Perfect for entertaining! Off the kitchen is a generously sized family room that opens into the master bath and onto the private master bedroom deck as well. These doors provide a private space so one spouse can entertain while the other escapes!

The master bath has a large walk in shower, a jacuzzi style tub and double sinks with lots of counter space. There is also an office, a guest bath and a laundry room on the main floor. The office has an optional outside door to maintain family privacy for that home based business. Ample walk-in closets in the master bedroom, office and laundry room provide plenty of storage space.

And then ... there's the basement! You could put a whole other family down here!

Three bedrooms, a bath, and a family room with a view. You could easily put a kitchenette down here too! There is a large storage room, which I of course envision as kind of a root cellar, which is why I choose to separate it from the utility room, you of course wouldn't have to have that wall there. I would put fire escape window wells in the back two bedrooms or maybe even eliminate them and have a crawl space instead.

Happy dreaming!

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

Olivia's Courtyard

When I was in 6th grade, I was invited to a birthday party at a really cool house. I had never seen a house with an outside on the inside. I was fascinated. Yesterday, my daughter and I were surfing the net looking at real estate when I noticed my classmate Olivia's house was up for sale so I decided to try to create a court yard house that had all my essential elements.

With 2831 square feet, this is one of my bigger houses. I chose to make the bedrooms fairly large so that intergenerational living would be fairly easy, but the bedroom wing of the house could easily be sectioned off to accommodate another bedroom or two. The master bedroom has direct access to the inner courtyard as do the family and living areas. The large laundry room opens into the master bath, featuring a garden tub and a large walk in shower. The family room can be opened to the kitchen with large double doors, or hidden from view if entertaining guests in the formal living and dining area. Of course there is a large pantry and plenty of closet space. The court yard itself has endless possibilities ... a hot tub, small pool or pond, enclosed with a skylight roof, or no roof at all ... Hope you like it!

God Bless You All! ~Grama Sue

Darlene Dream House

OK, so I had plans to make noodles today, but I had this dream in which my friend Darlene was showing me her new house. I woke up and just had to try to draw it. This is pretty close. You know how dream houses are ... in my dream the house actually had 2 kitchens and the hall on the bedroom side was like several blocks of narrow path through a huge snow drift which fell on me and I had to dig myself out. I was hoping my DH would come and rescue me, but he didn't and I was mad at him ... you've had dreams like that. Don't deny it! Anyway, in spite of the snow drifts, it was a really cool house (no pun intended). Here it is:

In the dream the area to the left of the living room door had skylights and a beautiful indoor garden. I put in a dining area where the second kitchen was in the dream. I also added a double wall oven and a built in full size refrigerator/freezer unit.

Floor plans are so much more fun than noodles!

God Bless You All!

The 24 Series Plan 1

Sorry, this house plan has nothing to do with the popular series "24". It's just descriptive of the dimensions of this house! Basically, I've taken three 24 x 24 foot sections that could be moved in as six 12 x 24 foot modules and created floor plans from them. This is just one of many designs. I'm not terribly creative in naming my house designs. Where do professional designers get them from anyway? The phone book?

This 1703 square foot house is designed with a cradle to grave mindset.

The master bedroom is hidden away at the furthest corner of the house giving maximum privacy. A walk thru closet connects it to a bath that is also connected to the laundry room. This closet, as well as the other bedroom closets are made with reinforced concrete for storm protection. The bathroom here has separate sinks that can be made to different heights for Mom and Dad.

The master bedroom opens into a multi-purpose area that can change as your family's needs change. First a nursery, then a sitting room where Mom and Dad can enjoy some privacy as the children grow, or possibly even becoming a home office with a public entry for enterprising entrepreneurs.

The laundry room and sitting room open into the great room. The kitchen area boasts a large wall to ceiling pantry cupboard and plenty of counter space with a sink facing the living area so those doing dishes don't feel left out! There is also a deck off the dining room area for back yard fun.

Across the great room is the bedroom wing. Spacious bedrooms give plenty of room for the 2.5 child family. Once they are grown, these could serve as guest rooms or eventually become a "Granny Wing" and then room for live in help as you grow older.

God Bless! ~Grama Sue

The Monitor

This is another favorite for "our house". I envision this house in a Monitor style horse barn. The center section would have an elevated roof allowing for light and airflow. In my imagination, these windows can be opened or covered with insulating blinds by remote control for passive solar purposes.

My world revolves around my kitchen. This home has a professional kitchen at the center that easily accesses every other aspect of the home. Pass thru's and doors allow the kitchen to be opened to the living room and family area, but can be shut to provide privacy when entertaining. The office too, is close to the kitchen, yet has an outside entrance for family privacy.

This home has a large pantry/storm room. If a basement is wanted, this room could become a stairwell.

The mudroom has a large walk-in closet, a laundry center with a double laundry sink as well as both a hand sink and mop sink. There are 2 doors into the mudroom to provide both an outside and garage entry.

The master bath features a jacuzzi and a walk-in shower and connects with the mudroom.

This 2387 sq ft home maximizes privacy and access for an enterprising country family!