Garages are not just for cars any more! Americans are expanding the functional living spaces of their homes by adding garages with offices, studios, bathrooms, porches and more.

Here are a few samples of garage design trends:

1. Garages with Apartments.

This includes any garage with integrated living space such as an apartment or studio. These plans offer a sleeping room, kitchen, bath and/or living area suitable for housing purposes. See the whole collection by clicking HERE.

2. Garages with Bathrooms. Garages with one or more bathrooms fall into this collection. There may be additional living space or storage space too, depending on the plan. See our garages with bathrooms by clicking HERE.

3. Garages with Bonus Space. Any garage that offers a finished space that can be used or designed to suit your needs is grouped into this collection of garages with bonus space. The bonus space may be above the garage or on the same floor, and is versatile enough to serve as a playroom, hobby area or home office. See the collection by clicking HERE.

4. Garage Plans with Lofts.

A garage with a finished upper-floor space can be found in this collection. Because the lofts are finished, their square footage is considered living area. Depending on the plan, the lofts may be designed for a specific use or left up to you to use as you wish! Click HERE to see garages with lofts.

5. Garages with Offices. Looking for an office space that offers quiet and privacy, but is close to home? A garage plan with office space is the perfect solution. Incorporating an office into your garage will maximize your garage investment with added function and convenience. See our collection HERE.

6. Garages with Porches.

Yes, you can build a garage with a porch! Complement your home with a stylish garage with a porch or choose one of these garages to get the porch you always wanted. Lots of different sizes and styles are available in our collection HERE.

7. Garages with Workshops. If you’re a handyman or just have a lot of tools, you’ll appreciate a garage with a workshop. This extra work space will allow you a space to organize your tools and get dirty – and it’s out of the house. Check out the collection right HERE.

We recently wrote a blog post about how easy it is to modify your home plan’s foundation if, for example, you want to change a slab foundation to a full basement (or anything else for that matter).  Someone commented on that post and asked what the foundation options were.  I guess they want to know what they have to choose from!  So, we thought we’d share the list of foundation options with all of you here:

Full Basement
Usually the same square footage as the main floor, a standard (or “full”) basement offers the advantage of adding living and storage space at a fraction of the per-square-foot price of upper floors. This is because a basement involves adding only minimal depth to the footings that were necessary for building a home with a crawlspace (instead of digging down four to five feet for the footings, dig down eight feet below the frost line and pour a concrete slab). One disadvantage to a standard basement, however, is that when putting a bedroom in, a window well must be added in order to install a window that is deep enough to exit in case of an emergency. A basement may not be used where the water table is too high, since water may seep into the basement.

Partial Basement
This is a basement where the lot dictates that the square footage of the basement be substantially less than the square footage of the main floor. Areas with rocky or unstable soil conditions, or sloping lots, often require a partial basement. If you want a full basement but can’t dig on certain parts of your lot, put in as much basement as you can.

Daylight Basement
For a sloping lot, whether front-to-back or front-corner-to-back-corner, this is the basement of choice. Simply put, a daylight basement sits at ground level and opens to a side yard and/or the backyard. The big advantage is that this allows the basement to be an indoor-outdoor space, with the outdoors accessible through French or sliding glass doors.

Partial Daylight Basement
Just like a partial basement, the square footage of a partial daylight basement is substantially less than that of the main floor. A partial daylight basement is often used when the slope of a lot would only allow building a basement under part of the main floor, but the owner would like to have full-height windows and perhaps a door to the backyard.

Crawlspace
This type of foundation is an option when soil conditions or a high water table do not allow the construction of a full basement. Footings for a crawlspace are extended down to the frost line, but not below it, as with a full basement. In cold conditions, a well-insulated crawlspace will result in a warmer main floor than would a concrete slab.

Slab
A slab can be poured right over the ground with little or no soil preparation, making it the least-expensive foundation option in home construction. First, forms with steel reinforcing are placed on the ground. Concrete is then poured over and allowed to set before placing the house on top. Cost-effectiveness is the biggest advantage to slab foundations, but they are also beneficial in areas that have insect problems, e.g., termites or ants. The downside is that with a slab foundation you give up the low-cost living and storage space that a basement would provide.

Pole
This foundation type may be necessary in coastal areas where homes are built either partially over water or in flood plains where water periodically rises. The poles allow the main floor to be built high above the ground and keep the home out of harm’s way.

Pier
Like the pole foundation, the pier foundation may also be necessary in coastal locations with periodic flooding; however, the more likely use for a pier foundation would be in mountainous or coastal areas that require you to drill into rock to place steel rods and pour concrete. As with a slab foundation, cement posts offer the advantage of durability and insect resistance.

As I mentioned in the earlier post, our modifications team can change any foundation in any way you want.  And they’d be happy to provide you with a free, no obligation cost estimate to give you a price. If you have any further questions about foundations (or any other house plans-related questions), please feel free to call us at: 1-888-447-1946!

Want to save money with a slab foundation? Or are you dreaming of a daylight basement that will take the best advantage of the lake views on your sloping lot? Or maybe you want to warm up your main floor by adding a crawlspace underneath?

If you are interested in a home plan that doesn’t offer the foundation that you want or need, we want you to know that this is a VERY EASY modification to make to the design! We have a modification team that can, quickly and inexpensively, create the right foundation for you.

Foundation modifications typically cost about $550 but the actual price will vary depending upon your house plan and the type of foundation you want to add.

Call our modifications team for a free, no obligation estimate: 1-888-266-3439.

Or go to the free modification estimate page on our website, fill out the form and submit it. Someone from our modifications team will get back to you shortly with a price. CLICK HERE to get to that page.

South Carolina customers, Jeff and Wendy, told us they are “in love” with their new home — built from home plan DW-2112.

(CLICK ON ANY PHOTO to get to the detail page and see floor plans, more photos, and other information about this home plan!)

Wendy & Jeff built this lovely farmhouse design in the South Carolina countryside and have been thoroughly enjoying it with their two dogs. They were first drawn to the home because of its wraparound porch, open floor plan and abundance of windows, light, high ceilings and French doors and say these are still their favorite features.

(Above) View into Great Room. (To see more photos from Jeff and Wendy, view their Customer Testimonial by clicking on the photo above!)

(Above) A view into the kitchen showing the island and breakfast nook. (To see more photos from Jeff and Wendy, view their Customer Testimonial by clicking on the photo above!)

“Each unique, custom detail stands out, and the unique architecture makes our house stand apart from the rest,” say the couple, who fell in love with their home when it was first built and relive that feeling each time they walk into it.

Asked if they would purchase a stock plan again, the answer was a definite “Yes!” Stock plans offered them hundreds of plan choices and the ability to see many of them that were already built in the Customer Testimonial presentations. Their future plans include finishing the room that they added above the garage.

(Many of our home plans include customer testimonials with details and photos. Click here to see all homes with testimonials. Then select “Customer Testimonial” from any plan’s detail page.)

(Heidi, from our Customer Service Team, agreed to share her “fantasy house plan” with us and we thought our blog readers would be interested too. See details on this plan by clicking on any of the images below.)

The house plan that I love and actually printed off and posted at my desk, right above my phone, is Plan L-774-VSB. The moment I found this design I knew it was for me. One of my goals is to build this house for me and my family. The design is a Queen Anne-style Victorian with 4 bedrooms, 3 and 1/2 baths, and 2 stories.

What are my favorite features? 

First of all, the front porch! It seems to just go on and on! There’s a cozy rear porch too (pictured above). I can imagine myself sitting on one of the porches, enjoying the fresh air while visiting with neighbors, watching my daughter play in the yard, working on a project, or just thinking.

The turrets add so much style to the exterior of the house and I love the rounded rooms they create on the interior, in the study on the main floor (shown above) and the alcove and bath on the upper floor.

There are enough bathrooms and they are situated to allow for privacy when family visits or if a parent needs to move in with us down the road. And check out the garden tub in the master bath (above)!

The rooms, like the family room above, are spacious enough to accommodate large furniture pieces.

The kitchen (above) is open and airy.

The foyer is so warm and welcoming (above).

I cannot say enough good things about this house. It’s just a big, classic Victorian on the outside with all the interior amenities that today’s families want. Seeing it built on the shores of a beautiful Minnesota lake would be the icing on the cake!

(To see more floor plans and specifications for this plan, CLICK HERE.  Select “Customer Testimonial” to see photos and read about how one family customized this home to make it their own.)

I’ve been asked, by at least a handful of customers, what “universal design” means. They saw the term “universal design home plans” on our website, or they heard about it elsewhere. One customer recently asked if universal design meant the same thing as wheelchair-accessible.

My answer to that is yes AND no.

The idea behind universal design is that accessible features benefit everyone. The example we give on our website is raising the height of an electrical outlet: it definitely makes it easier for a physically challenged person to reach, but it also eliminates the need for anyone to bend over as far, making it universally more comfortable for everyone. Other examples of universal design features in our home plans include sloping walkways to the main entrance, wider doorways, wider interior passages and closet doors, lever-style hardware on cabinets and doors, and convenient heights for things like thermostats and light switches.

So, while universal design home plans are comfortable for wheelchair users, they are not necessarily designed for wheelchair users. Rather, they are designed to be comfortable for everyone, regardless of age or ability. And who doesn’t want that?  Retiring baby boomers are particularly interested in universal design as it relates to “aging in place” (a.k.a. staying in the same house as you grow older) because it virtually eliminates the worry of a floor plan that becomes more difficult to navigate over time.

Another good thing about universal design – when it’s well done, it’s virtually invisible to the homeowner. You and your guests might not consciously notice the wider doorways or lever-style hardware, but you will find yourselves moving about the house with ease and comfort. See our collection of universal design house plans here.

Universal Design Home Plan: PSC-1269

We had to share this adorable cottage plan with you. It was recently added to our website and is already turning heads.

House plan AM-1151 fits into several categories: cabin, Craftsman, vacation home. From its covered front deck to its light-filled dining area, it’s full of pleasant surprises. With 1225 finished square feet and an extra 225 unfinished in the lower level, it’s a compact and efficient design that could work well on a narrow or hillside lot, yet it certainly has enough living space for comfort.

The exterior is constructed of cedar shake shingles and stone (on the chimney stack) for a charming, natural look. Inside, find a vaulted Great Room at the center of the main level, flanked by two decks and warmed by a fireplace. The kitchen and airy dining area are close by. A bedroom with window seat in a box-bay window and full bath are at the front of the main level. Just step downstairs for two more bedrooms with plenty of closet space and another full bath. Walk out of the lower level to a lovely covered patio. This plan includes special space-saving touches like storage under the stairwell.

Exterior of House Plan AM-1151

Main Floor AM-1151

This cottage plan was created by designer, Alan M. See all of Alan’s plans here.

Today’s garages are so much more than just places to park your cars. We get a lot of special requests for garage features.

Some customers are looking for garages with apartments — places for guests to sleep or permanent living quarters for elderly parents or adult children who have returned home. Others want garages with lofts for storage or studio space. Woodworkers and other hobby enthusiasts are often looking for garages with workshops. There are even garages with porches, for a little extra entertaining space in your yard.

We have garages with boat or recreational vehicle storage space, garages with bathrooms, garages built for specific site features (like hillsides), carports, 1- to 4-stall garages, and so much more. There are even garages designed to suit the style of your house, be it Colonial, country, or contemporary.

But if you’re just looking for space to park your car, we have that type of garage plan too! Just visit our Garage Plans section at Homeplans.com and you’ll find something to fit your needs or call us and we’d be glad to help: 1-888-447-1946.

(Note that many of our garage plans are available in quick download -PDF- format!)

Garage Plan with Studio/Loft, DRU-3980

Garage Plan with Porch, APS-601

Carport Plan, HDA-009D-6002

Garage Plan with Boat/RV Storage, GHD-4012

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At Homeplans.com, we get many requests from customers who want to know where a home has been built or if we have photos of a home that has been built. We encourage all of our customers to share their stories and the photos of their new homes by sending them to us. When we do get a photo or letter, we put them together and include them on our site so others can see what the homes look like when they’re done and what ideas and changes can be made to personalize a home to make it truly yours. We call these personal building experiences our customer testimonials.

A customer testimonial is our only real means of tracking built homes. Because customers order their home plans from one address and build at another—and may take several months to complete their home—we have no way of contacting past customers. The Customer Testimonial section of our site allows us to capture and share these stories with you. Each story and photo is unique and exciting—because each customer adds their own personal touches to the homes. As such, you should keep in mind that differences can be found in the customer’s final design and the original design featured in our home plan search. One customer may make a kitchen bigger, add a porch, expand a crawlspace to a basement, for example. The testimonials highlight these changes.

To see all of our exciting customer testimonials, including the one below, click here.

As summer sets in this month, we’re doing more thinking about our vacation house plans collection. And recent blueprint sales indicate that our customers are doing the same (although the winter doldrums can sometimes bring on a spat of vacation plan sales as well).

Our vacation house plans collection includes cabin plans, chalet house plans, A-frame house plans, log home plans and others. Often of smaller square footage, vacation house plans usually use traditional architectural details, and frequently include a large deck at the rear. Prow-shaped exterior wall lines with large windows are common, too. Nearly 800 vacation house plans that cater to your need to get away from it all are available at Homeplans.com.

Chalet House Plan H-930-1

Country Cottage House Plan DD-1141