Without knowing what your budget IS, and your location, and the amount of sweat equity you are prepared to invest, no one can tell you if that house is ''affordable''for you or not.

What is it about "the look" you love?

Analyse what factors you like and getting that effect in a floor plan would not be difficult.

Don't let the rendition of these houses affect you ... if you need 2400 sq feet max and a first-floor master bedroom, start with those as search parameters in any plan site.

Here's one with a nice porch:
http://www.houseplans.com/plan/1374-square-feet-3-bedrooms-2-bathroom-country-house-plans-0-garage-35856

hollysprings - I wasn't asking if the house was "affordable" I was asking if my wants as far as design goes were realistic but thank you for your response, I do appreciate you taking the time to respond.

lazygardens - thank you. I love the simplicity of the look. In our efforts to keep costs down I am really liking the simple box and gable roof, from there we can add the craftsman/farmhouse details such as the picture above. We built the house we are currently in and the rooflines are outrageous . . . . but tell that to a first time homebuilder that doesn't know better =( I just saw the wow and fell in love. Unfortunately it is really hard to find a plan that has such a simple footprint/roof. All the plans that I see that are box styles have the master on the second floor, or if they do have a main floor master the plan bloats to way more square footage than I can afford or desire. So then I ask myself is it possible to keep a main floor master? I see plenty of 1 1/2 stories with what I am looking for but then the roofs become more complicated and sometimes that doesn't translate well inside for the upstairs of 1 1/2 story as far as wall heights and such. Trust me, I am well aware that this will be a custom plan but I would like to have more direction when I walk into the designers office. If the above picture and my needs/wants do not meet I am well prepared to run with the 1 1/2 story.

I like floorplan, however would be a little concern about valley between house and garage.

Garage is very nice...

Probably the best way to accomplish what you want is having 2 wing, one for garage and the other one for the master. Or just make the garage wing bigger so you can accommodate some of the area you need on the first floor , in which case master will work better near the garage.

Probably the best way to accomplish what you want is having 2 wing, one for garage and the other one for the master. Or just make the garage wing bigger so you can accommodate some of the area you need on the first floor , in which case master will work better near the garage.

I agree about the valley between garage and house.

I think you can do what you want in that house shell.

I think it may be difficult, unless you have the master be a wing that juts out beyond the box. I say this because our first house was a simple 2-story with a gable roof, 4 beds and 2 baths up, and was 2462 sq ft. The downstairs had a 12 x 13 dining room, a 12 x 13 "parlor", and then a 13 x 15 family room, a breakfast room, and a decent sized kitchen (oh, and a 1/2 bath and very small laundry down.) I suppose since you only want one dining space and one living space down, you could use the square footage allocated to the parlor + dining room in my old plan for master bed + bath + closet, but the family room was so small in that plan...I know you would need bigger if it was your only space (the breakfast room was too small for an only dining space for a family, also.) Your 2 beds + playroom up would seem very spacious compared to the room sizes down.

I don't know what it would do to the cost to build, but we have a master down in a 2-story that juts beyond the main facade into the back yard. It works great in our plan. If we had kept the master within the 2-story box, our upstairs would have been way bigger than we wanted or needed. We already have 3 beds, 3 baths and a large playroom up there...didn't want anything else up. I know you wanted to keep your plan a simple box, but if your master wing is on the back, it won't affect the colonial or farmhouse, or whichever 2-story look you like on the front.

Thank you all for your input. I definitely agree about the garage . . . . Living in MN that valley between the house and the garage would be a nightmare with our winters. In addition the garage would have to be front loading due to land constraints. Well, I have maybe a glimmer of hope that we can stick with such a plan. I will look a little deeper into some plans that have some of your above suggestions, or If any one else happens to stumble upon one please send it my way. I have a 1 1/2 story in my back pocket ready to go just in case. Thank you all so much!

We have a 2400 sq. ft. simple 2 story, and I think if you put the master on the main level, the balance of bedroom vs. common space would be off-- too much of the house would be bedrooms.

A work-around I've seen a lot is having a simple 2-story that contains living spaces on the main level and kids bedrooms up, with a 1 story master bedroom wing. The master bedroom wing could mirror the garage in the plan you posted (although the middle part would be a little smaller).

The plan you linked reminds me of one built by my neighbor. I'm not very computer savvy, but google Ivory Homes, their Hampton plan. Very similar to what you linked, but with a main-floor master. It's a beautiful home!

Think about a simple T shape with the tail of the T being only one story. It works well with the craftsman feel of your picture and provides more first floor space to get everything you need in. It's not a whole lot more expensive than a simple box and creates a lot of possibilities-- you can put the bedroom in the back and cluster all the plumbing for the kitchen, master bath, powder room and laundry around the join in the T (saving a bunch of money), or put a kitchen/eating area/sitting area in the back with great windows on three sides.

Probably the best way to accomplish what you want is having 2 wing, one for garage and the other one for the master. Or just make the garage wing bigger so you can accommodate some of the area you need on the first floor , in which case master will work better near the garage.

The house is looking nice but be sure that you don't compromise on the space you guys need in the house so don't over-utilize space and try to keep the garage airy and comfy...when we had our house built we gave special attention to the garage which we got made by http://www.waterloostructures.net/garages/2-story.php#.U4bOpfmSwYE. It'll be a personalized place for you and probably the place where you'l be the one to spend the most time. Why don't you go check out some house plans on the internet. They'll help you.

You should ask for a front elevation to see if water will drain properly from the porch roof where it fills the space between the main house and the garage. If the house is in a northern location I suspect the roof design will need to be modified.

The stairway appears to be open to the basement unless it is drawn incorrectly. In amy case, it should be designed more carefully.

The plumbing chase for the upstairs shared bath is not shown in the lower plan but it could be in the outside wall if the climate is warm. The fixtures should be moved to the other side of the bathroom to avoid unwelcome noise in the living room unless the office is used often and must be quiet. In any case I recommend using a cast iron waste pipe for this bathroom.

A link in the Link box would avoid copying and pasting the URL and would encourage members to review the drawings.