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

Intergenerational Homesteader

This home is for the inter-generational family that  is serious about producing their own food.  In between the mud room and the kitchen is a processing  room for washing and packing fresh vegetables and meat. It's a little bigger than some of my other homes because of this, but  the walk-in cooler and freezer make the extra space well worth it.

Remember, 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!

When you enter this home from the attached garage, there is a large closet to your left and a door to the master bath on the right. My bladder would really appreciate that! Grampa Tom would also appreciate it because right inside the bathroom door is a large locker style walk-in shower. He could take off his stinky clothes, throw them in the washer and step right into the shower. 

The master bath also has a double sink and a Jacuzzi type garden tub. Did you know that at one point I was considering making a run for president on the platform of "Cash for dub tubs" I really think there ought to be a government program where you can trade in your plain old dub tub for a whirlpool tub. Think about it! All of us would be relaxed and stress free. The production rate in this country would make the GNP soar!

OK, enough campaigning. The mud room also opens into the family room. The family room is at the back of the house, has it's own little half bath and access to the sun room. Double pocket doors to the kitchen allow it to be closed it off to the rest of the house when company comes. 

I envision the roof line of this home like two shed roofs with a row of clerestory windows on the wall separating the kitchen and the family room. This would give natural light to all of the middle rooms. To see an example of this type of roof, check out this garden shed plan from Mother Earth News.

 Off to the side of the kitchen is a granny suite with it's own sitting room, access to the sun room and deck and a door to the company bathroom. I love this arrangement. I've done elder care for many years. Having easy access to the bathroom, the kitchen and a nice sunny space would be such a delight for someone who is having trouble getting around. This home, like all my other homes has 36 inch doors and is easily handicapped accessible. 

The kitchen is center of this home. It opens into the the family room, dining room, living room,  processing room and granny suite. There is lots of counter space. a pantry and a breakfast bar. There is also a handy mop sink and hand sink right inside the processing room door.

The front of the home has a formal living room and dining room. If a basement wasn't wanted, The stairwell could be eliminated and the utilities could be located in a closet along the freezer/cooler wall.

There is a small office off the dining room that could be used as an extra bedroom if you didn't want the office. I put it at the front of the home so that if the home has an entrepreneur among the members, the clients would have easy access to the office without going through the family areas. I am currently the township assessor. In the boondocks here, that is a home office type of position. It would be great to have a place like this in my home to meet with taxpayers. As it is, I go to them. My house is just to small. 

Hope you liked dreaming with me!

What do you like about this plan?

What would you change?

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

The Farmer/Gentleman

Grampa Tom has absolutely no aspirations to be a gentleman, but there's a lot of classy college educated farmer's out there. This home is for them. This guy can come in from the fields covered with mud on one side of the house and emerge in a smoking jacket for an evening of intellectual pursuit in the study on the other side of this 2000ish square foot home.

Remember, 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!

The spacious mud room connects with the master bath, master bedroom, the kitchen and the study. It also has a large walk in-shower and a walk-in closet.

The master bedroom has a huge closet and  connects to the mudroom, the study and the master bath. The master bath has a jaccuzi style tub and a double sink for the gentleman and his lady. The study could also be used as a sitting room for the gentleman and his lady or as a nursery for a growing family.

The study has double pocket doors on the living room wall making it a versatile space that can be private or used as an extended living room space when entertaining. 

This arrangement also makes this home quite suitable for inter-generational living that can give both the homeowners a sense of privacy with a buffer "public" space between them and the two bedrooms on the other side of the house that could easily serve as a Granny house. 

If no basement is desired the area for the stairwell could be enclosed and made into three big walk-in closets, one for the living room, one for the bedroom and one which could be used as a bigger pantry than the small pantry that is just off the dining room. One or more of these could also be fortified to become storm rooms. 

The compact kitchen has lots of cabinets and counter space and is open to the living room and dining room.

The dining room has double doors which open into the sun room, which also has double doors to the outside, making it easy to move furniture in and out of this home. Face this side of the home towards the south and the sun room also becomes an important source of passive solar heat. It could be extended along the entire side of the home to maximize this potential. 

This home is designed so that it can be manufactured at a modular home factory and transported in two 16 foot sections. It also has 36 inch doors through out the home for ease of moving furniture and wheel chair access. 

Hope you are having fun in my play land and getting lots of good ideas! 

What do you like about this plan? 

What would you change?

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue