Contemporary House Plan 2

Ground Floor Plan

Upper Floor Plan

This contemporary house design is 1,966 SF, 80 feet deep and 38 feet wide. The plan may suit a single person, a couple or as a retirement home. It is relatively small yet will feel very spacious with rooms opening onto rooms and a 15'6" high ceiling in the Great Room. The Loft above the Master Bedroom could be a media center, home office, or made into a third bedroom. The center of the house is Great Room with a kitchen and flanked by an outdoor courtyard on one side and a covered porch on the other. This allows a lot of light into the home and a direct connection with the outdoors without compromising privacy if place on a narrow city lot. The house can rely on natural ventilation because there is positive cross air flow in nearly all rooms, reducing dependency on air-conditioning in moderate climates.

The Garage Carport configuration allows use of the garage to be flexible, either for storage, workspace or "man cave". For those people with one car it can still be protected by the carport when the garage is used for other purposes, together with the advantage of being able to unload your stuff and get it inside while undercover on those rainy or snowy days.

The stair to the loft is actually cabinetry so all the space can be captured as storage or display space for the kitchen. All the halls in the house have windows on one side so they feel open and help connect the outside terraces with the inside. The laundry room has a 12' long counter so it can become a project area for art or crafts.

This is a plan that wraps a house around private outdoor spaces and gardens providing an efficient home with a very spacious open feel.

Contemporary House 2 Exteriors

A long single slope roof punctuated by a vertical chimney plus a clerestory to light the entry forms the shape of this design. The simple roof means there are less hips, valleys or intersecting walls that can cause future water problems. The roof lends itself well to solar collector applications. Courtyard walls in a contrasting material provide massing relief while at the same time visually extending the size of this small narrow plan.

Contemporary House 2 Interiors

Wherever you are in the main living areas of this house you get long diagonal views into other areas, and sometimes through windows to other parts of the house. This makes the house feel very large from the inside despite the modest size of rooms. Courtyard walls and high side windows allow views and light from the side even if placed on a narrow lot with nearby neighbors - without having to have the drapes pulled all the time for privacy. A pair of pocket doors allow even the small Guest Bedroom space to open up to the outdoor courtyard and to capture the space of the hallway to expand the feel of room size.