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.)

With energy prices hitting all-time highs, energy-saving home designs are a hot topic for today’s home plan buyers.

Plan E-2107 is an example of an energy-efficient home that packages energy efficient technology with an appealing design. The designer of this home bases his energy-efficient designs on two criteria:

1. The home must have a maximum heat loss/gain of no more than 16 btuh per sq. ft. per hour of the thermal envelope. In plain terms, this means that it must be about twice as efficient as a standard home.

2. The home must have optimum value, which means it must cost the least to save the most.

Although there are many key elements that go into making a home a super energy saver, some of the most important elements are 2×6 exterior walls and insulated exterior doors and windows.

Plan E-2107 is designed with 2×6 exterior wall framing.

Click here to see more of Plan E-2107.

This same design is also offered in an alternate version that uses Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF) for the wall framing—see Plan E-2113 for the ICF variation.

To see more plans by this designer, click here.

Oregon customers Ralph and Beverly are retired and wanted to modify home plan DD-2452 to fit their needs. They had found the perfect lot that overlooks a river and vineyards. Home plan DD-2452, a sprawling Southern style design, was a great fit for the lot because of its floor plan layout that included creative outdoor spaces like a front porch and backyard patio. 

Our home design team happily took on the modifications project. Beverly is in a wheelchair so needed all passageway doors increased to 36“. She also wanted some accessibility features added such as a roll-in shower instead of a tub. In addition, the couple requested some rooms that weren’t included in the original floor plan: ”endless pool“ room, sewing room, game room, and equipment room. We made additional modifications including: changed the 3-car garage to a 2-car, moved the range to the kitchen island, converted the master bedroom office area to a walk-in-closet, added a master bathroom skylight, put in a 3‘ wall between the breakfast room and great room, added window wells and a Bilco door in the basement, made some modifications to outlet locations, and made a few other customizations.

The end result?  Happy customers with a home that is customized to their distinct tastes and a much more affordable price tag than a “from-scratch” home design.  No blueprint modifications request is too simple or too complex for our home design team. If you have a favorite home plan, but are curious what it would cost to make some specific changes to it, just call us and we’ll provide you with a quick, free cost estimate. 

House Plan DD-2452

Floor Plan of DD-2452

This Southern-inspired design captured the attention of many customers last month! Plan APS-2020, by designer Jim W, was the most purchased house plan from our collection during the month of May.

Elegant round columns and a subtle arch above the entry dress up the exterior of this beauty. Three outdoor living areas, including the front porch, a screened porch and a deck, expand options for entertaining. Highlights of the master bedroom include a tray ceiling, a separate sitting area and a well-appointed private bath.

We think this one will be an all-time favorite.

May’s Best-Selling House Plan: APS-2020

Modifications to existing house plans are a speedy, inexpensive way to get a custom home. Our house plan mods team can alter any aspect of a house plan – including house size, foundation type, room additions, changing exterior finishes, adding or changing special features, etc. We recently completed a project, on home plan J-9818, for a couple in Tennessee. They wanted several changes including:

• Convert the exterior finish on the master suite/garage/laundry wing to a thin cultured stone veneer.
• Convert the remaining exterior finish to Hardi-board siding, with a cultured stone based from the finished floor level down to grade. 
• Provide cultured stone approximately 32” up all porch columns. 
• Adjust all porch columns to be 8” square above stone base. 
• Add the garage storage closet space to the master walk-in-closet. 
• Shift the laundry/garage common wall into the laundry room by 1’. 
• Create a new walk-in pantry that is the same width as the laundry, but extends 4’-6’ into the garage space. 
• Shift the door to access the house from the garage into the garage 4’-6’. 
• Shift the front wall of the garage and the overhead garage door forward by 4’-6’. 
• The area in the left-rear corner of the garage will become a workshop/storage area. 
• Shift the rear exterior wall of the master suite back 1’ to enlarge the master bedroom and walk-in-closet. 
• Add a 30” wide knee space along the master bathroom vanity. 
• Show a fireplace in the rear-covered porch adjacent to the fireplace in the great room. 
• Convert the first two column bays of the front covered porch into a screened area. 

Our modifications experts accommodated all these change requests and the customers now have a completely unique home.

House Plan J-9818 as designed (before modifications)

Main floor plan for home plan J-9818