If you google "house plans" you will get millions of plans to look at!!! You can even put "farmhouse house plans" in the search and you will still get tons of plans. Dh and I looked at and purchased a house plan off the internet after looking at them for 2 years!
Good Luck!

Wading through home plan sites can be distracting and discouraging.

Your plan requirements seem minimal so a designer could put something together quickly since he/she would understood your lifestyle, the features of the site, and the applicable codes.

You should start by collecting exterior and interior photos of designs you like so others can understand what you are looking for and better assist you.

Here is a link that might be useful: wisconsin farmhouses

macv,

In YOUR opinion, "wading through home plan sites can be distracting and discouraging". Many people I know search house plans on the internet for ideas of what they want.

I like Natalie's designs. We didn't build one, but they seem to be in line with what you are looking for.

I disagree with macv. I think a search through the plan mills is worthwhile just for the educational value. By that I mean learning just how varied the home plan marketplace is and how dubious some of the values and trends are.

At the same time, arm yourself with some books on home design and home building. I recommend browsing the bookstores. A quick thumb through the available titles is much more informative than ordering blindly on the Internet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Country Home Plans

I didn't say searching through plan mill sites would not be educational, but it would be a lot like trying to learn English by watching television.

You need to start with the good stuff so you can recognize poor proportions, trendy cliches, and inappropriate juxtapositions of historic design elements, then look at the mediocre stuff armed with that knowledge. Designing a house is a very difficult task and involves a great deal of money so it deserves a careful deliberate thoughtful approach. This isn't like buying a new car that you will replace in 5 years.

Try the book linked below if you are not familiar with the common pitfalls of home design. Not all of it makes sense but it sets some good ground rules.

Here is a link that might be useful: Get Your House Right

Here is another useful book about common design ideas to avoid.

In 40 years as an architect, I have found that designing houses well isn't something anyone can learn to do in a few months and few can do it in a few years. The most common homeowner mistake I see is refusing to believe it's that difficult until it's too late to correct their mistakes.

Good luck with your project Karen.

Here is a link that might be useful: Traditional Construction Patterns (Design & Detail Rules of Thumb)

I own both of those books macv and they are excellent.

BTW ckmayer, if you have money I would use either someone with skills like macv or the guys listed below. If you don't have the money and want stock plans then Southern Living is a great place to start. Good luck and keep your mind open. You may be suprised what kind of house you end up with.

Here is a link that might be useful: historical concepts

Thank you for the advise - I am one to really research - I do see how hours and hours and hours could be spent looking at plans that really don't apply to what we want. I just didn't know if there were certain sites that were more "casual" if you will? I guess farmhouse might be the wrong term - I just really want a house that fits in a rural setting, but that isn't too rustic looking. I can see already that "farmhouse" and "country" can be interpreted many ways. I need a house that is very thought out, and I know that I will need help with that.

I will look at the links and books suggested -
Thank you so much for your replies

Karen

mavc - thank you so much for all of the links - time to start reading and learning...

K

http://www.bostondesignguide.com/guide/architects-boston
http://neffarchitecture.com/shingle-style-homes.html
http://www.russellversaci.com/
http://www.hutkerarchitects.com/portfolio/architecture/traditional/cotuit_residence_1.html
http://www.thompsonplans.com/plans/all/2000-plus
http://www.connorbuilding.com/GroupView.aspx?ViewTypeID=1
http://www.williampoole.com/home_plans/
http://www.allisonramseyarchitect.com/planbook.cfm
http://www.antiquehomesmagazine.com/info.php?info_id=21
http://www.moserdesigngroup.com/manor.htm
http://www.robbramhallarchitects.com/index.html
http://www.slhouseplans.com/exec/action/plans/browsemode/details/filter/attid.113/page/1/planid/24685/planname/sl1408?pvs=tot.49
http://www.tailoredtrends.com/Default.aspx
http://www.originalhome.com/design_your_own.htm#
http://www.slhouseplans.com/exec/action/plans/browsemode/list/filter/bedmax.4%3bbedmin.3%3bhstyleid.13%3bsqftmax.2250?pvs=isrp.true
http://www.wtbaker.com/Sh_Home.html
http://www.coastalcontractor.net/article/6.html
http://www.whittenarchitects.com/ruralandlakes.php

www.frankbetz.com is where we found a plan we liked, then tweaked it.

We are also building in WI, but are at a much different stage of life than you--we are building our retirement home. We do have some needs in common, though. We also have 2 dogs, and are putting a dog shower in the mudroom off of the garage. Good luck to you!

I would check out all the links that macv and others posted above. I see some new ones in there that I will check out myself, I am still learning something new on here every day! Some knowledgable people hang out here. I love the Boston Design Guide web site, macv!

I have gotten an immense education in my quest towards building a home and it began over a decade ago with me picking out plans that I saw in plan books and online. Some of these plans were so unrealistic and ridiculous in one way or another, that I laugh when I look at my choices now.

In my opinion, you have to cast a wide net, then narrow and rework your choices as you whittle down the list of things you need and some of the things you want. Yes, you could sit down and tell an expert at an architectural or design firm what you want, they can question you and do some calcuating and BAM, draft you some plans that would be excellent for your circumstances. If you have the means to to do this, I don't think you could go wrong, even if it is just to get them to tweak a plan for you that you have already decided on. I don't think the majority of people can afford a custom design done for you by an architect, but we can take some elements from those and use them.

But the whole plan searching process is SO much fun! I literally get a charge when one of my favorite design firms releases new floorplans (something that is not happening much since the recession, but before that, everyone was releasing new plans almost weekly). Stalk their websites. Register on the site and sign up for all their newsletters to come to your email.

In my mind, after you have this list of details you THINK you want in a home and you find ones that seem to fit your requirements, then you you need to stop and ask yourself, WHY am I drawn to these features? Is it purely for looks? Does my lifestyle actually fit these features? Will I actually use this space or feature? If I have to give up some pricey things to make this house happen, what is my list of priorities, what can I compromise on and what would be a deal-breaker for me? Look at as many actual photos of the houses as you can if there are any available. Keep clippings and old mags with examples of things you like. Learn the some of the terminology of building so that you won't be clueless.

The most helpful adjustment in my mental thinking has been that I know now that I can adjust almost any detail on a plan. There is a cost involved, certainly, and sometimes the cost kills the idea, but almost any room can be renamed, repurposed, made bigger, made smaller. Walls can be moved and re-moved. But if you find that you have to make a long list of major changes, you probably would be better off making another selection that more closely fits what you want with fewer changes.

I am providing links below to my personal list of sites that I visit to check out house plans. Happy plan hunting!

http://www.dreamhomesource.com/ and http://www.eplans.com/ (the same company runs both these sites, but eplans has a price range feature that helps to keep you from being totally unrealistic about what you can afford)

http://www.dongardner.com/
http://www.frankbetz.com/
http://www.stephenfuller.com/
http://southernlivinghouseplans.com/
http://www.designbasics.com/
http://www.designerdreamhomes.net/
http://www.nelsondesigngroup.com/
http://hgtvpro.homeplans.com/
http://www.danze-davis.com/search.htm
http://www.mascord.com/Default.asp
http://www.ahmanndesign.com/

Good links from macv. Many of my favorites!

However, we used one of the listed architects by macv and it has been a very expensive and laborious process - one I wouldn't repeat, I don't think. I have had multiple questions posted to the board over the past few months where macv has commented "I would expect more/better advice from an architect" . . . All this to say using a "name" is not necessarily a good thing. The websites are beautiful though and are a great place to look for ideas, though!

I fully understand the desire of a family to search for house plans on the internet when they decide to build a house. It all seems available for free so why not search until you see something that feels right.

After designing houses and other building types for 40 years I have realized why this approach can so often confuse and wear people out.

Ideally the design of any building starts with the unique needs and desires of the users, the site features, the zoning restrictions, the climate, the local architectural traditions, and the budget. Starting by looking at completed house designs on the internet is to start at the middle of the ideal design process and then be forced to modify the design for many of the important design issues as if it were a renovation project.

Unfortunately it is rarely possible to just "tweek" a design; changes usually cause design consequences throughout the house and if they are not investigated fully, problems can arise unexpectedly later.

On several occasions clients have brought me plans from other sources or their own sketches. I find that it immediately puts the design process into slow motion as I discover the purpose of each design idea and offer alternatives that work better with the design as a whole or are technically better or cheaper for the same effect. Sometimes structural issues are cost prohibitive; sometimes there is a code prohibition. It really slows the process down and in the end there is usually very little of the original design remaining.

Here is a house where the owner wanted a French Inspired appearance but wanted a gambrel roof in order to provide additional space on the second floor and reduce the footprint of the house. The spaces he wanted on the ground floor determined the footprint so in reality there was more space on the second floor than he needed. And a gambrel roof would not sit well on top of the other features he wanted. I must have wasted a week trying to dissuade him with drawings and photos and finally the builder offered to tell him that the gambrel roof would be much more expensive and we were able to get on with the design.

On another project he owners disliked the 1960's atmosphere of their two story Yankee Barn living room space and wanted spaces that could be more easily heated and lighted with more privacy for the bedrooms. They hired an architect and worked on it for six months. When they called me their architect had created a huge addition with a "winter" living, dining/kitchen space and a master bedroom above. The addition was separated from the old house by doors that could be opened in the summer. The architect had done everything they had asked for but the cost was twice their budget.

After I was assured that the architect's contract had been terminated and he had been paid, I started trying to convince the owners that a second floor bedroom could be added above the existing living room. They offered endless reasons to not do that but eventually agreed to it if I could reuse the windows they had installed two years earlier.

Here is the view from the new bedroom with the existing windows rearranged:

I show you all of this to suggest that preconceived design ideas often hinder rather than help a design process and that the best way to get the most for your money is to hire an architect with whom you can work easily and start the design process at the beginning and let the experience of the architect guide you.

In response to Athensmomof3, you should certainly choose an architect carefully by calling their references and looking at his/her work. Unfortunately, the well known ones have junior staff who do the work for typical residential projects. I'm sorry to hear that yours did not work out well for you. There are so many good ones and right now they're hungry, especially the sole practitioners.

I would simply add that after browsing lots and lots of house plan web sites, I can say that it will be difficult / impossible to find a home of that square footage that does not have a formal dining room. I am with you -- the house we have designed does not have a formal dining room AND a "breakfast" room, it just has one large dining area that I do not intend to feel "formal" per se. I found one architect nearby whose plans sometimes feature just the one space, so he was on the same page as us. Any of the plans I saw, even in our square footage (1800-2200), usually had a formal dining room. Sure, we could have turned that into an office, but then the remaining "breakfast" area would have been small and would never have allowed us to have a large enough table for big family (i.e. holiday) dinners. So in just that one aspect I think it would be hard for you to find an existing plan.

Also, the computer workspace -- though likely very practical and probably something many people could use / would like -- is not going to be found on house plan web sites, at least none I've ever seen.

What I have used the web sites for is to get ideas about typical room dimensions for the size house we designed. In another life (LOL) I would like to be an architect, so I guess that's why I actually drew out our house, literally to the square inch on graph paper, and brought the plans to the architect. He charged us a very reasonable fee since he didn't have to do too much. He said (maybe he was just trying to be nice, but I hope not) that I had designed a very well-laid out house. And all three builders who bid on the project said how much they liked our plans. I'm a realtor and I see the same house over and over and over, so we just really wanted something different. Now, that being said, we haven't built the house yet, so.....who knows!

I spent about a year pouring through all the major house plan sites (eplans, monsterhouseplans, etc.). We finally found a plan with at least the right "bones". I then had an architect from that site tweak the plan according to my sketches because I had some very specific ideas about what I wanted in the interior layout. I am overall happy with the final product, but would warn that the architect did exactly as I requested, not necessarily making suggestions to improve upon my ideas. I am not an expert in any way, and am now realizing that my ideas were not perfect. Sitting down with a "real" architect and having a discussion about the best way to go about making the types of changes that I wanted would have probably been much more expensive, but would have had a better thought out result.

I like many of the home designs that are on this site:

Here is a link that might be useful: Riverside Retreat

We searched for about a year looking at plans on the internet. We were looking for a Old New home design. The process was not fruitless, because it gave us a lot of good ideas that we implemented in our design. We decided to design our own house with the help of a draftsman.

We found that most of the home plan sites offered the same houses with a few minor changes. The sites below offered refreshing ideas.

www.williampoole.com/
www.thebungalowcompany.com

Here is a link that might be useful: Designing a Old New Home

Analyze your life, life style, hobbies, interests, requirements, wants, desires, budget, and then add design to net zero or passive at the lowest possible costs.

Note: standard designs are not energy efficient and will cost you on average $50,000 per 1000 square feet in utilities over the buildings life. Start with someone that will offer you an energy efficient design that can be built for near the same cost. This is a much better investment.

Brian

Here is a link that might be useful: Holistic Integrated Design using Engineered Natural Systems by OH Inc