I get asked if I would be willing to share my floor plan all the time, and the answer to that is YES!! In fact, I'll break all the rules and stick it right here on top for ya!

Read on to see what elements we love about this plan, modifications made and important copyright info anyone building any plan need to know.

Photo Credit: Wild Lemon Photography

We searched far and wide for the perfect floor plan that had everything we wanted; first floor master, open kitchen and family room, high ceilings, 4 bedrooms, a 3 car garage, and under 3,000 sq feet.  We really weren't sure if we would end up going to an architect with a wish list to design from scratch, or if we should find an already existing plan and modify from there.

We ended up filtering and searching through the thousands of plans on Architectural Designs  There were a few plans that we loved, but we knew as soon as we found ours that 62544DJ was THE ONE.  Such an exciting feeling!

We worked with our builder on the modifications from the plan that included eliminating the 3rd side porch, reworking the upstairs to eliminate the 3rd full bath and reworking the upstairs jack and jill bathroom to provide a singular hallway entrance. We also did a walk out basement, bumped the basement ceiling up to 9' high and eliminated the second fireplace in the living room.   

We questioned if we should just use the elements of the plan we liked and take it to an architect to design from there.  What we learned is that the plans online, which cost about $1,000 already have the measurements of everything and the electrical already mapped out.  If we started from scratch we would pay a premium to have this all drown up custom for us.  We decided since we loved most everything in the plan, and are modifying some things, it made more sense to go off the plan.  We know people who have spent around $10,000 to have their plans drawn up from scratch, so there was a $9,000 savings right off the bat!

One important thing to be aware of as you consider a plan is the copyright.  The designers have copyrights to the plans that are shared online and when you buy the plan you have permission to use it.  Using a plan for inspiration without purchasing could potentially be an issue if the end product your architect draws is determined to be a derivative to that original one.  I personally had never thought of this, but it does make sense and I keep hearing about it more and more. It would be wise to look into this more if you are building, I read the legal description of "derivative work" and it sways heavily to the benefit of the copyright owner. 

I hope this was helpful, hop on to my Instagram and let me know what you think about this post and see loads more photos of our house!