My Small House Floorplan

Here's the floorplan for my small house. It has 584 square feet of interior space, plus 120 square feet of porches. As you can see, the two-story house has just four rooms - living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

First floor plan.

Second floor plan.

I designed a two-story house because I'd admired the two-story Charleston Single Houses. And I really wanted a second-floor porch. The house also takes up only a small portion of the lot, so there's room for expansion and big gardens.

A one-room-wide home like mine is great for cross-ventilation in the summer. Many of the old Victorian homes in town (built around the turn of the century) are one room wide.

The 8x8 galley kitchen has plenty of counter space and more storage than you'd imagine. A larger kitchen would just add steps without adding function. The same amount of space serves the bathroom upstairs. It even has room for a stacking washer and dryer.

Four large south-facing windows warm the house in the winter. In the summer they'll be shaded by bahama shutters. Two east-facing sliding glass doors let in more early sun in the cold months, and are shaded by the porch roofs in the hot months. They are also oriented to our prevailing breeze, which comes from the east.

Current photos of the exterior of the house follow. Go to my home building diary blog for many more photos.