Dr Joan, You are correct. My clients who have been asking for the ranch plans are mostly empty nesters or one child or a parent who is living with them who want easy access to the whole home even if in less than perfect health. This then also appeals to a wider range of potential buyers for resale. The house also appears to be larger on the lot and in my opinion adds to the percieved and actual value of the home. Both of these are generally ranch plan. The first having the bonus room over the garage and both having full or partial walkout. The first has much more potential finished space as there are 2 bedrooms and bath in the lower level as well as space ready to be finished off for wet bar, rec room, family spaces etc as time and budget allow. The flexibility and potential is very valuable to the owner and any future buyers. The pricing I spoke of was gained through extensive price shopping and great internet purchasing and a year of planning prior to construction. Your pricing seems very reasonable to me based on my experience and not knowing your details of finishes etc. The trick is keeping it that way. Up front its your plans, builder and checkbook...as you move along it becomes emotional...as in gee honey the carpet floor looks fine in the great room...But wouldnt the reclaimed Heart Pine wide plank flooring look fantastic ???? The key is doing your best to be honest and complete in your selections up front as possible.

Chipsa, if one climbs stairs from one habitable level to another habitable level there are two (2)habitable floor levels. What we may have here is a real estate/consumer terminology vs. the building code/architectural terminology. In determining floors, it matters not if the second level is under the roof, has pony walls or full height walls. Horizontal or sloped ceilings have nothing to do with the number of floors. The historical Cape Cod simply was an economical approach to a 2-story house, with the second story in the attic, under the existing roof framing! Dormers may or may not have been added for light on the rake side of the roof. But it was clearly a 2-story house with habitable floors on two levels. History is full o examples of buildings with unusual floor definitions. The mansard roof, for example, was a device to add a floor in Parisian houses without having to pay taxes for another floor in the house (it was under the "roof", not a normal floor enclosed by walls as defined by the tax regulations). Today, no one questions that it was a habitable floor despite the fact that it was under the sloping "roof" and illuminated by dormer windows. To determine floors, just count the floors connected by stairs--it's that simple! If there are stairs connecting two habitable levels it's a 2-story building. Conncecting three habitable levels means a 3-story house. The definition of floors really has nothing to do with wall types, wall heights, types of ceilings or types of windows. The only way one would have 1.5 stories is if one floor is only a half level above the next. Sometimes these are called "split levels", but even these most generally have a portion with one habitable floor above another. All of that said, it's really not that important whether one prefers to call something 1.5 stories or 2 stories. It's just important to remember whether one is talking in marketing terms or in terms of the building code and design/construction. Whatever floats one's boat!

A story? Well, one of the first things we did was an exercise out of the Not So Big House books: We made a list of the words we want to describe our house. In our case, we had a lot of words about function: Efficient, energy-efficient, good storage. And a lot of words about the "feel" of the house: Cozy, charming, nostalgic, friendly, inviting, light-filled. And words we don't like: Dramatic, modern, impressive, funky, trendy. That's not a story exactly, but it's kind of like setting a goal for how we want the house to work /feel /look. And we're very clear on what we want: A small (1600-1800 sf) house for the two of us after the children are gone, which will be built on our 45 acres of farmland. We want it to be age-friendly and to have all the everyday living spaces on the main level, and we want it all to be easy to clean and low-maintenance. We want every space on the main level to be used every day. We want to have a small upstairs for guests. We want a great outdoor kitchen with ample seating and a small pool. And we want it all to be mortgage-free. That doesn't feel like a story to me; it feels like a goal. Two comments on this thread with which I can really agree: While I believe in electricity, plumbing and even central air...I do love old houses. So while I would never be considered a 'purist' my perfect home would probably be similar to a car build on "Fast and Loud" LOL. I want it to look vintage, I want it to pay homage to vintage....but I want the car to go fast, stop on a dime and have air conditioning :) and I guess our not-yet-finished house's story would be 1920 meets 2014 technology I like the door picture ... but I'd say it's a cottage door leading to a small, picturesque home.

I just posted to the "McMansions" thread before I read this one, where everyone is saying pretty much exactly what I was trying to.... Anyway, I subscribe to the TNSBH concepts and looked for a house with a flexible, fully usable floor plan. We went from about 3500sf with full basement for storage to our current 2000sf. Had to declutter all the big stuff and still quite a bit of the smaller stuff to go. Added elderly mother and two guinea pigs to the already existing husband working at home, two kids, dog and three parrots (but the parrots live out on the lanai). Sailboat in backyard serves as 3BR/2BA guesthouse; or guests can opt for the pullout sofa or blow up mattresses. My SIL lives in what I'd guess is a 3500sf house and put an offer in for a larger short-sale in her neighborhood. She's kind of stuck because her house has a weird, inflexible floor plan with lots of open floor space. For example, you could hold a small yoga class in her bathroom because it's just huge with all the bathroom stuff around the walls and open floor in the middle. And it has upstairs and downstairs foyers that are as big as our small bedroom. Can't do much with a foyer. So her only choice is to go bigger if she wants to stay in the same schools because they only built giant homes all around. Her neighborhood in Rocklin is one of the older ones so the homes there are "smaller" than all the newer ones. It's going to be interesting to see what the builders start doing in her neighborhood now...(although it's almost all built out now so that I can barely find her house.)