There was a time when the most desirable homes were large, dramatic, and dripping with the notion of conspicuous consumption. It seemed as though everyone aspired to one day own a sprawling manor, and the mark of success was having a bigger house than everybody on the block. Lately, however, there has been a new trend emerging, particularly amongst successful artists, architects, designers, and other creative types: owning small homes that allow for innovation in décor and use of space. Regardless of your income level, if you are planning to build a home, small house plans might be the way to go, as they allow for flexibility, innovation, and individuality.
Okay, so it might sound a little bit crazy to say that designing small house plans as opposed to large house plans will provide you with more flexibility. A large home should give you more flexibility because you have far more space to work with, right? Well in theory that makes sense, but it rarely works this way. The thing about designing small house plans is that it brings out your creative side. It forces you to be flexible and find creative ways to use your space. When you are working with large house plans, it’s so easy to make conventional choices about where to place things, how to arrange things, and how to lay out each room. If you limit your square footage, you really have to get creative about where you’re going to put each room, and even which rooms are going to make the cut. You probably won’t have space for the traditional living room/dining room/kitchen/family room setup, so you’ll have to decide how you’re going to combine rooms.
Small house plans often make for some of the most breathtaking houses. Despite their small size, they can really stand out in a neighborhood. One extreme example was recently built in Warsaw, Poland. The triangular four-storey house occupies the narrow space between two tower blocks and at its widest point it is only four feet! Working with such extremely small house plans meant the designers had to make some accommodations, such ladders leaning flat against the wall instead of stairs. And speaking of stairs, though there is a set to get into the house, they’re hardly of the conventional nature. They can be raised and lowered to street level to let visitors in like a draw-bridge.
Decorating for small spaces can be a bit of a challenging task, but a rewarding one too. Sometimes the décor has to be built right into the house when you’re dealing with small house plans. A detached bookcase might take up too much space, but you can easily build one in under a staircase. Dealing with limited living room floor space? Why worry about an extra sofa when you can plan for windowsills deep enough to accommodate window seating. The furniture you buy will often have to play double duty as well. Trundle beds for linen storage; solid coffee tables that feature deep pullout drawers for magazines, DVDs, or extra cords; flat, wall-mounted, panel lighting instead of floor lamps – all of these innovative ideas will save you space and get your creative juices flowing. If you really get creative with your small house plans, you might not even notice that your space is any smaller than anybody else’s. If you are efficient and exercise discretion with the pieces you buy, you will have plenty of extra space to spare.
Going with small house plans when designing your new home has other benefits too, namely cleaning and organizational ones. Why clean a 2500 square foot home when you can clean one that’s only half that size? It ends up saving you a lot of time, so that you have more time to relax and enjoy your home and other activities. Many people with small houses also find that they tend to stay more organized. When you live in and have had to decorate a small house, you wind up constantly in efficiency mode. It’s much easier to keep your home organized when you are forced to have a place for absolutely everything.
Designing a new home is exciting, but before you get carried away with elaborate designs consider experimenting with some small house plans. You might be surprised to find just how creative and innovative you can be.
