Birth to Grave Romance

This is the third major revision I have made on this floor plan, but I think I'm satisfied now. This 2/3 bedroom mid-sized home has lots of built in privacy and storage. The pantry even doubles as a storm room and has a strategically placed mop sink. I would hate to be stuck in there and not have a drain!

Check out this master suite! It's big enough for Mom and Dad and a crib when the little one is to small to sleep in her own room or a little bit seating of a few years later. No need to plan a date night out here. Just hire a babysitter and retire into your own little bit of heaven! Off the bedroom is a cozy enclosed porch  that opens into the master bathroom whirlpool tub. I think I'd spend every night out there, and probably a few mornings and afternoons too!

The master bathroom also has a huge walk in shower that is located close to the mud room for filthy people coming in from outside. It also has a private toilet stall.

This mid-section of this home contains a large country kitchen and a spacious family room. The kitchen receives natural light from a row of celestory windows along the hall/living room wall. There is lots of counter space and plenty of room for multiple cooks. A handy hand sink and a breakfast bar make this kitchen the perfect social and/or family space. 

All the bedrooms have window seats. Use both for little ones while the kids are home. Later, turn one into an office and the other into a guest bedroom until Grandma needs some extra care. She will be close to the kitchen and bathroom and can still have her own space because the family and the living rooms are on opposite ends of the house. 

What do you think?

What would you change about his home?

I thought this was the last revision I would make on this home, but I was wrong. There's one more. It's  smaller, with a basement. Grampa Tom says it's better than any other's that I've done. I'll post it next week!

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

Jesse's Place

My youngest son is a farmer and he absolutely loves houses with wrap around porches so I named this one after him. It's an  inter-generational home designed for country folk who produce a lot of their own food with a wrap around porch to satisfy his heart's desire! Maybe he'll build something like this by the time I need to live with him :)

The spacious 20' x 15' mud room sports a walk-in cooler and freezer, a large closet, and plenty  counter space to process either your meat or veggie harvests. There are plenty of sinks. A hand sink, a mop sink and a deep double laundry sink make keeping things sanitary easy.

The mud room opens into an attached garage, the family room, the kitchen and the master bath (which has a large handy walk in shower right inside the door).

The gigantic country kitchen gets plenty of natural light from a row of clerestory windows along the family room wall. If you don't know what those are, (I didn't.) Check out the windows on this garden shed from the Mother Earth News. It is at the heart of the home. 

The second bedroom opens into a sitting room that has a private outside  entrance. The sitting room could also be an office or a third bedroom depending on your needs. The living room has double doors for ease of moving furniture in and out of the home.

The master bedroom has a large walk-in-closet and a window seat. And the master bath has a large whirlpool tub!

In my book, this home has plenty of room, but if you have a lot of kids like my boy wants to have, you might want to have a little more room. I wouldn't put a full basement under it unless it sat on a hillside or the basement went all the way out to the edges of the porch. I just have this thing about natural light and fresh air. 

What I'd be more likely to do is put a  root cellar/storm room under the laundry room and then put a second floor over the sections that have the kitchen and bedrooms.

You could put two or three bedrooms and a bathroom up there. This is just one of a few options that might work for you.
Showed this to Jesse and told him I'd be moving into the granny suite someday. He told me I'd be going to live with my daughter. No way! She lives in the city!

What do you think?

What would you change?

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

Margret Mae's Courtyard

You and your folks will be fighting over which master bedroom suite you want in this generational home! Both feature large closets, plenty of room for a king size bed and a chair or two, direct access to the spacious inner courtyard, whirl pool tubs and large walk-in showers!. 

We currently live next door to my wonderful in-loves and plan to care for them should the need arise. If we were to build this house, I'd put them in the 18 x 14 bedroom, mostly because their hermit son would be more comfortable if he had a little more privacy. He could hang out in the office and living room area. There are double pocket doors between the kitchen and living room that could be closed to give him the privacy he needs. 

Mom and Dad on the other hand have always been very public people and would be quite happy with the semi open family room area for their primary living area. By the way, I named this plan after my mother-in-love, Margret Mae :)

Besides the courtyards and the two master bedroom suites, the other really awesome thing about this house is 4, count 'em, 4 toilets! Old people tend to sit on the throne for elongated periods of time. With four of us in the same house, we'd always be able to find a place to rule from!

Are you planning to take care of your folks when they are older?

What do you like about this house?

What bedroom would you choose?

and What would you change about this home?

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

Carol's Court Yard

The #1 floor plan on this blog so far has been  Olivia's Court Yard. A couple of weeks ago, I asked my mom which was her favorite and it was her's too. So I decided to do a couple more court yard plans. This one is named for her.

If you want to see a bigger version of the plan, all you have to do is hold down your Ctrl button and push the + button!

This plan is a little smaller and I've tried to incorporate some alternative energy into it too. The court yard has a rocket thermal mass stove with a hot tub providing the thermal mass. The court yard would have a translucent retractable roof and a large ceiling fan to circulate air. It opens into the great room, the formal living room and both bedrooms. 

The master suite has a large dressing room, a garden tub and separate his and hers sinks that can be custom designed to suit each person's height. It is also close to the mud/laundry room which features a large walk in shower and a large walk in closet.

The second bedroom, the guest bath and formal living room are grouped together and separated from the main family area. This way they could easily form a second designated living area for an inter-generational family. 

Off great room is a green house which maximizes the passive solar and food production potential of this home. It also provides a delightful walk way from the garage to the great room and the mud room.

What do you think?

What changes would you make to this plan?

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue