My Brother and SIL built the 2576 model from this semi-custom/not really custom builder. (click on floorplans, and then choose the 2576). It is a really nice layout in a house not too big. It is also nice to have the extra room there as a playroom/family room. But, another plan on their site uses that space as a 3rd garage stall if you would rather.

But, this might be a useful plan to take to an architect and tweak larger as you need.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hiline, choose 2576

Very doable for that size. Get an architect! Well worth the money. We liked the Great Room in this Southern Living plan and went from there.

Co

Thanks for the help!

This may be crazy, but we are trying to buy an existing floor plan and modify it and skip the cost involved in an architect, as the added cost would take a lot of the cushion out of budget.

The one above is a great find, and gives a good starting point. I'm looking for something along the same lines in a single story, that somehow manages to keep windows in the kitchen!

We bought a 2.6 acre lot, so we don't have any real constraints in length and width!

Do the city or county regulations allow you to build without an architect stamp? We can't where we are. Buying an online plan (had we found one we liked) would have still required an architect review and stamp. Granted, not as expensive as starting from scratch but some sort of architect involvement may be needed. We also need a engineer to review and approve the plan. City won't issue a building permit without it.

I see the design process from a different perspective because I've done it for a living for a very long time. Asking others to help you find an open contemporary plan won't be much more helpful than looking at plan mill sites has been so far. I base that opinion on what I have so often discovered in the first design meeting with a client: their search so far has caused them confusion and family stress and they are happy to leave it behind them.

Starting with the "plan" puts you in the middle of the design process and forces you to work out of sequence forward and backward to make everything work not unlike a jumbled building sequence. I recommend that you ask for help by telling us the location or climate and describe the site restrictions and opportunities and give us a list of your needs and wishes. Offering photographs of some houses and spaces you like would be helpful but a completed plan contains so much specific information that it can constrain the preliminary design process.

As for saving money by not getting professional assistance, someone must draw the project well enough to get legitimate bids from contractors and provide the necessary construction information to avoid misunderstandings and oversights and to provide quality control and assurance during the construction phase unless you have the skill and experience to do that yourself too. Generally, unless the house is going to be very simple with standard builder detailing, the design, documentation and oversight fees that you save will probably end up in the pockets of the builder and/or his favorite subs and suppliers not to mention the cost of correcting mistakes that can be blamed on inadequate documents (just read the posts on this forum if you don't think that can be expensive and stressful).

The cost of providing adequate contract documents and field oversight should not be a part of your construction budget. IMHO, reducing the quality of the design, documentation and quality control to pay for additional features is not a wise use of limited resources.

Laura, as someone who's been remodeling for 25 years (and finally building a total house) I can tell you that I underestimated the value of an architect for far too long in my early years. Penny-wise and pound-foolish. Architects are just like lots of professions - good, average, and bad; expensive, reasonable, and cheap.

We've moved a lot, and twice we've found experienced architects who used to be with big firms and now works part-time out of their homes. They came with great references and are extremely reasonable.

I think you should rethink using one. They give you all your drawings, they know the local protocols and codes, and have knowledge and ideas you'd never think of but will appreciate for as long as you're in your home. You will avoid mistakes and they save you from yourself, if you know what I mean. We had to learn the hard way, but luckly we were just remodeling and not building.

Thanks for the feedback everyone! A little more information, we live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the local building department allows us to only have an engineers stamp, it isn't required to have an architect.

Additionally, our builder (while not an architect) has a lot of experience drawing up plans, and if we could find a floor plan that only needed some modification then he could draw up the plans.

Maybe we will end up going to an architect after all, however at the moment I'm just trying to collect some floor plan options to see if we can avoid it.

Ideally, we are looking for a single story home that has a large great room, windows in the kitchen, 3-4 bedrooms and about 3000 square feet. We don't need a seperate dining room, or formal living room, though if a plan has a dining room we will turn it into an office, or some sort of other "flex" space.

Thanks!!

I really like John Tee's plans. Have you checked out Sand Mountain? Sounds like it might be a good starting point for you. It has a formal dining, but you can amend that, if it's not something you really want.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sand Mountain

Here's a 3 BR contemporary 1 story open plan house from Architectural Designs

Here is a link that might be useful: contemporary 1 story

I know you've heard this advice over and over again, but think about it this way. if you are building a custom 3000+ square ft home in the SF area, it can't be cheap. The floorplan and elevation are the hardest things to change later on. I would Definately spend the money on an architect and defer other cost until later.

But the more homework you do, and the clearer you are with your wants and needs, the less it will cost you. I do think it's a good idea, looking at plans and showing several that up like to the architect. They can also customize th plan to your lot. I would also go to open houses and look at other homes. Try to take note of what works and what doesn't.

We did spend a lot of money on an architect, and at the time I wasn't sure if it was worth it, but 3 years later, I can say it Definately was.

I'll echo the others re: the architect. We have an open concept, informal home and that's the route we went. We went through so many revisions based on our wants and needs because during the process he thought of things we never would have thought of had we not used him.

But if you do decide to go the plan route, I do like Tee's plans and some of the Southern Living plans. You can look at the SL plans and see most list the architects. If you see some you like, go to that architect's site and see if they have more designs you like.

This site has a lot of open floor plans. Hope it helps.

http://www.designbasics.com/

The first thing you need to do is decide whether you want a "contemporary/modern" house or something more traditional.

John Tee offers 4 house styles:
- Americana/Country
- Cottage
- French Country
- Southern Traditional

Some of those are called one-story but they are actually 1 1/2-story houses with attic dormers.

For others to participate effectively in a problem solving exercise you need to better define the problem.

Here is a link that might be useful: link

We are looking for something contemporary, without being too modern.

Thanks for the advice everyone, it is really helping! I'm not sure what else I can add for further detail, but I'm not sure what else to add :)

Thanks!

I can picture changing the use of the room without a problem, the larger issue is finding single story floor plans where the kitchen has windows.

www.designbasics.com has a few along those lines, so that is helping with some inspiration!