Floor Plans
By: Kristy Annely

A house is built with hands, but a home is built with hearts ? so the old saying goes. However, too much choice in the form of floor plans can be confusing sometimes. Therefore, an understanding of the different styles and how they suit the individual?s needs and tastes is an essential step in the process of building a home.

The bungalow floor plan, for example, suits a laid-back and comfortable lifestyle. It is a popular floor plan throughout America. They are smaller than other modern floor plans. However, they are extremely livable because the living area is open and planned for ease of access. The roof hangs low, the rafters and ridge beams are uncovered, and porches are large, with narrowed quadrangular columns.

Colonial floor plans are elegant without being ostentatious. Moreover, they have an element of history attached to them. These floor plans come from the early American settlements of the East Coast. Colonial architecture ranged from New England to Georgia and, therefore, there are regional variations in style.

Colonial floor plans introduce symmetry, with doors that are centered along with a sensible array of windows. The second story is very similar to the main floor in terms of size. They have brick-facing exteriors or clapboard siding, typically. The contemporary colonial house will have modern facilities.

Country style floor plans represent the quintessential farmhouses that we have so often seen in the movies. Country homes are planned in such a way as to feel comfortable. The floor plan of a country home delivers a rustic and relaxing atmosphere - it doesn?t matter where it is built. They are characterized by roomy porches and large kitchens which are situated right next to the family room. Some country houses have steep roofs and irregular layouts. Still others have a front face that is not symmetrical, a pitched roof and a spacious front porch.

The ranch floor plan is conventional and matter-of-fact. The roofs are low pitched with a large garage attached to the house. Ranch homes are single-storied. Split-level floor plans are not unusual.

The fa?ade is brick or wooden, with large windows. Ranch homes typically have an L-shaped hall which combines the living room and dining room into one area, with a hallway leading to the family room and a group of bedrooms all on one side of the house. A patio at the back with a glass sliding door leading to it is not unusual for a ranch house.