10 Top-Selling House Plans Under 2,000 Square Feet

When we wrote about the top-ranked best sellers from our house plan subsidiary several months ago, one discriminating respondent, commenting on the relatively large size of these plans, said that given the state of home building today, it would have been more useful to review the best-selling small plans.

So, here they are—10 of the best-selling house plans under 2,000 square feet. Once again, the selection is based on data provided by our house plan operation, the largest in the country, which provides the plans for dozens of house plan books along with the search engines BUILDER House Plans and ePlans.

Most of these homes owe their best-seller status to a pleasing elevation that could fit into many neighborhoods, though usually not in the master planned communities in which large production builders toil. That’s because usually house plans are chosen for use on scattered lots and must be more versatile. On the inside, you will see striking similarities among these plans, most notably the prevalence of great rooms. Living rooms get left on the cutting-room floor in house plans of this size. Also, in virtually every case, the great rooms connect to kitchens and even breakfast nooks to create the impression of a bigger house.

Another common denominator? Bonus space. Most of the plans give buyers the option of using space over the garage as an attic or as finished space, but some do an ingenious job of integrating additional space into main living areas that can be converted into an extra bedroom, office, or media room. You’ll also find that at least one room in each of these plans—in addition to the bonus room—can serve several functions if family circumstances change. A playroom can become a media room can become an office can become an in-law suite, which represents an important nod by plan designers to the circle of life at home.

A surprising variety of garage configurations are present—everything from side loads to turn-ins to front-loads. And, though many architectural styles are represented, most of the homes go for the cozy charm of country or cottage looks that seem most at home in a small plan.

Boyce Thompson is editorial director of BUILDER magazine.

The nostalgic appeal of this Southern farmhouse probably has a lot to do with its popularity. Who wouldn’t enjoy lemonade and conversation on its wrap-around porch? Who wouldn’t be proud to entertain visitors in its large and comfortable country kitchen or host the entire family for a holiday dinner in its spacious dining room?

If the plan evokes a simpler time and lifestyle, it also provides all the amenities buyers have come to expect in a new-home design. Take, for instance, a large downstairs master suite with a bath that includes space for a whirlpool tub and walk-in closet. Or consider the great room that combines with an eat-in kitchen to produce a wonderful living space for a family.

Main level.

A more formal entry hall greets visitors, who can look through the columns to the great room, which is warmed by a fireplace. An archway on the right leads to the bayed dining room, with French doors that lead to a porch that wraps completely around the house.

This modest Arts and Crafts house could easily find a home in most communities. Simple details—flower boxes, highlighted roof brackets, and well-proportioned columns—give it an elegant understated appearance. “The inviting exterior will complement any neighborhood,” says president of Frank Betz Associates Russell Moody, who designed the plan.

If families take pride in the front elevation, they will be rewarded by the interior as well. At 1,700 square feet, this one-story plan includes all the necessities and comforts of family living, starting with a vaulted family room with an extended-hearth fireplace and moving to an adjoining country-style kitchen with a nook. A formal dining room is delineated by columns, adding to the open feel of the plan and saving the expense of building interior walls.

The bedrooms are housed in two wings. In one wing, a 13x16-foot master suite with a tray ceiling includes a master bath with a vaulted ceiling and radius window, and a separate toilet and large walk-in closet. In the opposite wing, two bedrooms, each with ample closet space, share a hall bath.

Main level.

The 53-foot-wide plan includes a side-loaded garage topped by a bonus room that could be used either as additional space for storage or recreation, or as an additional bedroom or study.

Just because home buyers today demand a home that promises a relaxing lifestyle doesn’t mean they are completely willing to part with formality.

This classic, 1,900-square-foot home from Don Gardner delivers both. It features a stately brick veneer and a nearly symmetrical façade that would fit into nearly any city, suburban, or country setting. Its traditional aspects carry through to a columned, two-story foyer illuminated by a Palladian window, with what could be a study or bedroom to one side and a formal dining room to the other. Throughout the home, elegant ceiling treatments give the home a custom feel.

Main level.

Nearly hidden at the rear, the master suite includes a bath with dual vanities and more skylights. On the opposite side of the house, the bedroom/study and another bedroom share a hall bath. The plan features bonus space, also sky-lit over the garage, which could be configured in multiple ways.

Gardner points out that the plan is long on storage, which research consistently shows is very important to buyers. It offers two generously-sized storage areas in the garage, plus a walk-in closet in the master bedroom, large closets in the secondary bedrooms, lots of cabinet space in the kitchen and utility room, a large linen closet, and an oversized coat closet near the foyer. Built-in cabinetry in the great room offers additional space for storage and the display of decorative items.

This plan has been one of House Plan Gallery’s most popular for several years, and designer Mark Mathis has a pretty clear idea why. It’s the optional bonus room above the garage--a cost-effective way to get additional space. Though most plan buyers elect to build it out, people on tight budgets could start with the stairs and use the space as an attic.

“At the point where they want to build out the space, all they would have to do is finish out the walls, ceiling, and floors,” says Mathis, who includes a bonus room in 90%of his designs. “That’s a fairly simple and inexpensive process, especially compared to doing an addition.”

Like some of the other best-selling plans, the traditional-country style, one-story home includes a side-loaded garage. But unlike many plans on the market today, the garage bays are large enough to accommodate trucks and SUVs. But Mathis added such extras only where needed. “This plan has an absolute minimum of wasted space,” he says. “That is one of our primary considerations on every new plan we design.”

Mathis also tries to design homes that will work for multiple buyer segments. The “split” floor plan, with a master bedroom on one side and children’s bedrooms on the other, would hold great appeal for families. The large area for congregating in the center of the house, including a great room, kitchen, and dining area, would be ideal for entertaining by empty nesters or retirees. In nice weather, guests could spill out onto a rear covered porch with an outdoor kitchen.

Like the bonus room over the garage, a smaller room off the great room could be used for multiple purposes. It could become a media room, a playroom, or an office, for instance. “We tried to provide a very flexible layout where the use of spaces can evolve to meet the current and future needs of the homeowners,” says Mathis.

With its two garage bays facing the street, this one-story plan may not be ideal for buyers interested in New Urbanism. But it could definitely be put to good use by builders and home buyers working with street-fed lots in many subdivision settings.

Designers at Frank Betz did their best to draw attention to the home’s cottage charms, including planter boxes above the garage, two dormers, and a covered front porch articulated with columns and keystones. Those elements, coupled with horizontal siding and a shingled roof, contribute to the home’s warm appeal.

Main level.

The plan packs a lot into its 54-foot-wide frame, including a vaulted great room, complete with fireplace and radius windows, and a kitchen with a serving bar and breakfast nook. Stairs lead to a bonus room above the garage that could be left unfinished as an attic or finished to become a fourth bedroom, home office, or media room, among other things.

As with another Frank Betz plan in this collection, the entrance into the house from the garage leads to a combination mudroom/drop-off zone/laundry room with lots of storage opportunities. It provides the ideal place for jackets, shoes, backpacks, and sports equipment.

The rear elevation of this home, with its huge deck, many windows, and walk-out basement, makes the obvious statement that this is a lake-house plan. But if the exterior responds perfectly to its environment, the interior plan considers the needs of seasonal owners as well.

An entry vestibule holds a generous walk-in hall closet with plenty of room for storing boots, umbrellas, and coats. It leads to an angled kitchen with an island workspace and snack bar that affords a view from the rear of the home, to the lake beyond.

Main level.

Upstairs, two large bedrooms--one with a walk-in closet--offer enough space for extended family and guests. The bedrooms share a good-size full bath.

The plan is part of a collection of coastal and vacation homes that include a schedule of low-maintenance and storm-secure products.

Only 36 feet wide, with a friendly country elevation, this plan could work with little objection in either an established community or a new one with narrow lots.

The designers at Frank Betz Associates have expertly made its front-facing garage doors recede gracefully into the background. Second-story massing above the garage, along with gables and a nicely trimmed porch, create strong curb appeal that draws attention to the overall design of the home.

This is an eminently buildable plan, with few interior walls on the first floor and only a couple of bump-outs on the exterior. The upstairs is a model of economy with just enough hallway to navigate the bedrooms and hall bath.

The foyer is lit by a second-story arched window. An angled hallway directs visitors into a family room with a fireplace on the back wall, flanked by windows. The plan leaves enough space for an ample powder room and coat closet, conveniently situated across the hall from the garage entry.

Alan Mascord, who designed this deceptively compact traditional home, believes it’s the covered back porch that attracts the many buyers of this plan, which see it as great place to relax or entertain. “It suits young couples expanding into a family, as well as those with older kids and beyond,” says the Portland, Ore.-based designer.

But buyers also are no doubt drawn to the plan’s classic design, which would fit in virtually any neighborhood. At 36 feet, this is a narrow home, but triple front gables, dual carriage doors, and a high porch entry combine to give it strong curb appeal.

Simple forms, minimal bump-outs, and no wasted interior space would make this a cost-effective plan to build on small lots. Yet the two-story plan manages to fit in some great amenities, including a great room with views to the backyard, a dining room that connects to a porch for outdoor cooking, and a large pantry and desk space in the kitchen area.

The home may seem narrow from the street, but it reads large once inside the front door. The foyer offers a clear view into and through the great room to the outdoors, showing the two-story room, which includes a traditional fireplace and a window wall, to its best advantage.

A spacious kitchen is, of course, also important to young families. This one includes plenty of elbow room, along with cabinet storage and countertops and a separate island with a breakfast bar.

Upstairs, a large vaulted master suite features a separate walk-in closet and private bath. Two additional bedrooms, which share a hall bath, and a utility room provide all the necessities on the second floor.

If the kitchen is the center of all household action, this plan certainly holds the key to life at home. Meals can be served from a 12x11 kitchen to a breakfast bar on the nook side and to a serving bar on the family-room side. You could even eat from a desk in the kitchen.

But that’s not all it offers. In addition to accommodating a casual lifestyle, the plan incorporates a formal dining room, separated by a column from the family room. Other luxury touches include a dramatic master suite with a double step tray ceiling and a vaulted ceiling in the entryway.

The plan is long on indoor-outdoor connections, as well, making it seem much larger than its 1,787 square feet. A door from the family room leads to a screened-in porch with skylights and a deck beyond. The porch can also be reached from the master suite, which features a comfortable sitting room with views to the backyard.

Main level.

The one-story plan provides plenty of room for expansion—in both the basement and the bonus room over the garage. Its economical footprint, with only one bump out, facilitates quick and easy construction, and its simple, nearly symmetrical elevation with a usable front porch would look at home in many regions of the country.

What makes this plan a best-seller? Is it the home’s gracious exterior, accented by arches and pleasant gables? Or is it the elegant floor plan within?

Russell Moody, president of Frank Betz Associates, believes it’s probably all that and more. “The courtyard entry allows this home to be built on many different lots,” he says.

The only turn-in garage plan in our top 10 small-plan list, this design would look right at home in many contemporary master planned developments. Forty-nine feet wide, with 1,429 square feet in living space on one floor, the plan can be built over a variety of foundation configurations as well, from a slab to a walk-out basement. This gives it wide regional appeal.

Main level.

It’s a simple journey from the garage to the kitchen to drop off groceries, passing a laundry room with storage along the way. The easy flow around this home provides a very spacious feel despite the modest square footage.

The plan is divided into separate bedroom wings for parents and children. Moreover, parents can close pocket doors to the children’s wing and watch television without waking them. Or they can retire to a 12x15 master suite with a tray ceiling and take a whirlpool bath in the vaulted master bath.