I have built a house with 4 bedrooms like that under ~1560 sq ft.[when you could build these for 60k in the 90s]. Here is the concept.

Your post reminded me of a recent gardenweb home builder named sweetsarahbeth. They have four children, I think their house is around 1500 square feet and they moved in within that past few months. Here's HER BLOG. You might have to dig around for a floor plan. She is incredibly nice, so I'm sure if you have any questions about her house you could ask her via her blog email.

Thank you both for your responses! Brian, that may be something we can go off of. We're wanting to do a detached garage at a later date..maybe we could use that space in the house for a bedroom. I really like the square front lol of a saltbox. Was your garage included in your sq footage? Benjisbride, thank you and I will check out her blog!

This plan by David Neff came immediately to mind. 1535 square feet, 3 bed, 2.5 bath. Doesn't have the roof line of a salt box, but has a pretty efficient use of space and a galley kitchen. In terms of square footage, great room and mud room could be scaled down a bit to fit a nook for your business somewhere. As far as a fourth bedroom goes, a higher pitched roof with a third floor loft or a walk out/daylight basement could always work and keep the footprint down. He's included a lot of high end details, but it's definitely a concept that could be scaled down a bit.

http://shinglestylehomeplans.com/plans/sandpiper-lane/

Something else to look at is Ross Chapin's site, not sure if he has any 4 bedroom plans but he's also great at making smaller homes work. This one is 3 bed/2.5 bath/1662 square feet and has some very flexible second floor spaces which could b divided into more bedrooms.

http://rosschapin.com/plans/small-houses/plumrose/

Also Brooks Ballard at Home Patterns has many well planned smaller homes. Website has a nice search feature where you can plug in square footage/bedrooms. Plan below is 1352 square feet 3 bed/2.5 bath. Very efficient shape and floor plan, with room to add more space where you need it.

http://homepatterns.com/jordan-26.html

Thank you, Nick! This is great info! I really like the idea of creating a steep pitched roof and having a third floor for the girls' room. Here is a question...what is it called when you have a look of a saltbox on the front but not steep roof line in the back...just the same façade as the front... It's not a four-square because that's more...square. This is a rectangle. I just can't figure out the term for it. When I type in colonial I get lots of different looks. As far as the kitchen goes, I'm thinking it will definitely have to jut out from the back. I will attach pictures. And thanks again!

Ok Nick...wait for it.... we live in Oklahoma. Yes, land of the 110 degree summers. Ha. This kitchen has haunted me in my dreams. I know it's not practical. I'm going to have to scour Craigslist and pray for most of the windows to come in one buy from there. Yes, I noticed there was no stove/oven. I wondered if it was actually just out of the picture. That's how I've been drawing it up in my plans. I make floor to ceiling storage cabinets on both sides coming in, plus the stove on one side (with full wall behind it) and the refrigerator directly across the aisle with wall behind it and then you go into the window area... which I could then put the sink like they have done and all the lower cabinets. I also will not be able to do the gable window area. That window area alone will cost quite a bit. Plus, hopefully sheetrocking it in will help with some energy efficiency.

One more question, in adding a small third story... will this add a crazy amount of costs to the house? Just because it's third floor? I love the look of the steeper roofline. It lends even more to the saltbox façade.

Thank you for all of your help! I drew up a tentative house sketch a couple days ago and it came to about 2300 sq feet. Ha. It appears I have some paring down to do.

Others will have better answers regarding cost/styles. If you're willing to post your sketches, I wouldn't mind giving it shot at shrinking what you have.

I am going to finish a sketch I started working on today...hopefully tomorrow and I will post. Thanks and remember, I am in no way a contractor! I rarely even use a ruler to make the lines...

If you search for "colonial reproduction" or "saltbox reproduction" you might get the more traditional facade of a colonial that you are looking for.

Thank you, Emily! Going to Google now...

I'm not being snarky or anything when I ask this just genuinely curious but how can the kitchen you want be functional for a family of 6?

Do the kids have to have their own separate bedrooms? If you go to Houzz photos and search for "bunkhouse," you'll see lots of examples where the kids have single or double-decker bunks lined up in rows. This gives room for a play space and could also makes the house as a whole smaller. The "bunks" could also be a semi-private alcove inside the larger room, maybe curtained off, with space for a desk and chair.

Thank you, Marcy! Your plans look good. I appreciate you taking the time to do that. I was up all night last night coming up with a new plan. And I actually think it will work. It's coming in at about 1600 sq ft. but it seems to do the trick!

Victoria, ha. Believe it or not, when there were only 5 of us, we made it work with a kitchen less than half of that size (of course, no one was allowed in the kitchen when I was in there working and I did want to cry every day about mealtime...lol). But actually, the kitchen I posted isn't going to be indicative of the full size. That just gives a good idea of what I want the windowed portion to look like. I have it down now as about 9 ft wide but in addition to the part in the picture I have backed up about another 6 or 7 feet into the house to afford space for the fridge, oven and lots of floor to ceiling storage. I will post pics when I can. Just prepare yourself...they will be amateur!

Scone911, that is a good idea..but our oldest two are at the age where they really need some privacy (15 and 10). And with our youngest two upstairs on the same level we can watch them more closely.

O.k., in that case how about a space that's semi-separated, like a walk out basement, or the space above the garage. You could take a space like that, and set it up for a future kitchen, as well as its own bath, for an in-law, guests, your business, or rentable space later once the kids are off on their own. An attic means another flight of stairs, and a basement is cheaper.

@ Victoria, I just tossed that rectangle in to indicate that the kitchen wasn't included in the rest of the house. It could be any shape that Jennifer wants it to be. For that matter, part of it could cut back into the house. That was a rough little drawn, meant to strike up a conversation to meet basic requirements. You gotta start somewhere, you know. :)

@ Jennifer,

You are welcome. I wish you the best of luck in building your ideal home. Smaller spaces are somewhat of a challenge, but it can be done, and when it is, you can't beat the cozy feel that a smaller home offers.

I hope when all is said and done, you'll sit back and say, "I wouldn't change a thing!".

Keep us posted! I'd love to see what you come up with it. There are so many possibilities!

I already see several things I'd change in the above plan to make better use of the space. But that plan was done as a challenge to myself to see if I could squeeze in 4 bedrooms + a work room , etc., and stay within the limits. Selfish huh? LOL

Take care. Marcy

jenniferlynn

"Here is a question...what is it called when you have a look of a saltbox on the front but not steep roof line in the back...just the same façade as the front..."

It's a British folk form common in the Tidewater South and known historically as I-houses with 2 rooms on the first floor and two on the second floor. The form predates saltbox and Cape Cod houses. They often had porched and rooms added some in the saltbox tradition.

Okay, I finally have what I think is my house... I hope! Below are the plans I've come up with. As far as I can tell, the space for each interior wall can be absorbed into the rooms with no problem. Please let me know if you see something that's just not going to work. I'm hoping that I provided enough space for the stairs and the step-off area at the top. I would like to maybe turn the top three steps or so of the stairs toward the upstairs hall so that when you get to the top of the stairs you just keep walking down the hall and don't have to run straight into a wall. Also, I know it's a pretty big upstairs bathroom for a small house but I'm trying to put the space where we'll use it the most. The kids always end up in our room watching movies, etc so we put a little more space in there, too. Plus mama and daddy need some zen space! We will be building on hopefully 10 acres or more so they will have plenty of room to run when the house starts to close in. I'd appreciate any thoughts or advice and thank you so much for everyone who has commented and helped!

Oh, and the hot water heater will likely go in either the Est. Room or if by some miracle it can also fit under the stairs it would be great.

Reconfigure the entrance to the master bed so you can make use of the end of the hallway; that end should be the master closet or laundry instead of hallway. You can also eliminate the entrance to the bath from the master closet and make a laundry room accessible from the hall. Then you can use the wall that had that third entrance for linen storage. Put the sinks on the same wall as the toilet; minimum for 2 sinks is 5 feet.

The girls' closet doesn't work. Clothes take up two feet, and two feet is not enough to walk in a closet that long. Make it a reach in closet accessible from the other side.

Looks like there's wasted space downstairs by the stairs and in the little hallway between the bedroom and est room.

Most salt boxes have the stairs in the middle of the house and load bearing walls underneath/parallel to the roof ridge. Just wondering how you know this plan is structurally possible? I assume you will have a professional engineer or architect... Why not enlist this help now?

Oh no. *Head in hands... I have an uncle who is a home builder as well and I was going to have him look over the plans to see if they needed tweaks. But if I have to run walls parallel to the ridge line...that will change everything. Yikes. I haven't seen a lot of salt box interiors. I know I see a ton with that chimney jutting up from the middle. Thank you so much for your help. A couple things... there are some things I've done with the hallways that weren't the best use of space but I wanted more of a formal feel. The space between the LR wall and the stairs is like a foyer/hallway area. I left 5 feet for that, wanting to do maybe a long bench area that leads to the kitchen...but still has airy cased openings. That is a good idea on the girls' closet. I will change the door side. As far as our room. I liked putting the door all the way at the end of the hall for some reason...I like the look of that long hallway.. I did think about turning the laundry room door into the hall but decided if I did my closet access and the washer dryer all through the bathroom, I could minimize the doors in my bedroom which is another pet peeve. Ha

Oh boy, I hope I'm not back to the drawing board with this!

Quick question... do load bearing walls have to run parallel to the ridge line? I moved the kids' downstairs bedrooms out a bit so that I could get two good walls running almost the entire depth on both sides.

Well, I'm not a pro, but lots of saltboxes and colonials around here in New England, and yes, floor joists run perpendicular to the ridge which means they rest on load bearing walls parallel to the ridge. See these plans: http://www.historicaldesigns.com/index.php?action=searchresults&pclass%5B%5D=&sq_feet_search=&style%5B%5D=Colonial+%28Georgian%2C+Federal%2C+Williamsburg%2C+Saltbox%29

I like the CC1940 Cape May for you. Replace master bath downstairs with another bedroom or est room. Expand kitchen into breakfast room and get your kitchen with lots of windows. I think you're better off buying a plan and tweaking the non load bearing walls.

This plan doesn't have an extra room for your business, but it demonstrates a pretty good use of space at 4 bedrooms in 1500 sq ft... Maybe it will inspire you. Go Logic

"Here is a question...what is it called when you have a look of a
saltbox on the front but not steep roof line in the back...just the same
façade as the front..."

Hi Jennifer,

In answer to your question....

I am attaching a drawing (a picture is worth 1,000 words) depicting a soft drop in bearing heights, using an 'uneven bearing' truss. This is the terminology our firm used, but other vendors may refer to the condition as something else. Anyway, you can achieve the same goal using stick frame construction, but trusses alleviate the need for interior bearings.

Different roof pitches, front & back on the same roof is referred to as dual pitch .

The
exterior of the roof shown in my example IS NOT a dual pitch, but it
could be. My point is that you can control both the exterior of your
roof and the interior of your ceiling heights to gain more room inside
and control roof lines outside. This design, a little something I was
playing with to learn Revit shows the use of trusses in combination
with stick framing.

Also ... while I realize you are heading in another direction with your
design, that quick footprint I posted for you in our first conversation
bothered me after I studied it a bit, so I tweaked it to soothe my own subconsciousness
mind. Given the fact that the drawing is done, I thought I'd share the results
with you. The closet space isn't what it was in the original layout,
but the 2 minor bedrooms are bigger.