Simple One Story House Plans & Small Simple House Plans From

Sunshine is a compact home with many special features. It is especially well suited for retired or childless couples, or for singles. It has also been designed for wheelchair accessibility.

Like all of Ms. Coleman's designs, Sunshine was originally designed for a client who wanted an energy–efficient, passive solar home. You can build this house facing in whatever direction suits your needs, but if you're interested in building it as a passive solar home, please read the section below titled Passive Solar Info for specific information on orientation.

First Floor
The large and inviting front porch is one of our favorite features of this charming house. It opens into an airlock entry foyer with elegant French doors that open into the great room. The entire great room, kitchen and dining area have a cathedral ceiling that vaults to 11'6" as does the master bedroom, which also has a skylight over the bed for stargazing. Windows line the entire rear wall of the house, providing great views along with abundant natural light.

The great room shares an optional 2–sided fireplace with the master bedroom, and doors from both rooms lead to a semi–circular patio. The kitchen has two pantries, and an interior window box behind the sinks. The wall behind the stove area is a 4' high brick wall. This could be extended up for those who like a more private kitchen and more cabinets above. A French door in the dining area leads to a covered side porch that can be screened in.

The master suite has a very large walk–in closet. Pull–down stairs just outside the closet lead to attic storage. The master bath features separated sinks, a whirlpool tub with a window box next to it, and a private toilet area with a large shower. The laundry is conveniently located in the bath area.

To the right of the foyer, double French doors open to a small room that can be used as an office, study, or guest room. The door that opens to the pantry would only be installed if this room were to be used as a bedroom, with the pantry space then used as a closet (with the door opening to the kitchen removed). It connects to a half bath that can also be used by guests. Across a short hallway that provides access directly from the kitchen to the front porch there's a mudroom/utility room, which leads through a covered walkway to the garage.

Garage
The optional two–car garage that comes with the plans has a shop area at one end with a large shower pan for dog washing. The garage is connected by a covered walkway to the mudroom, or it could also connect directly to the porch.

Passive Solar Info
To maximize its passive solar design, the front of the house should face north. Slab on grade construction makes it easy to install the thermal mass flooring. The 35 pages of specifications that come with these plans (see Please Note below) will give your builder precise details on all the passive solar issues pertinent to the construction of this house.

Construction Info
The plans for this house call for 2x6 stud exterior walls. However, they can easily be changed to 2x4 stud walls by your builder, or to SIPs walls by a dealer in your area. If you plan to change the walls, we recommend that you purchase the plans in CAD format.

Foundation Info
This house was originally designed to have a slab foundation. You can of course change it to a full or partial basement, or to a crawlspace, but you will need the help of a local builder or designer, and the new foundation plans should be reviewed by a structural engineer prior to construction.

Please Note
Ms. Coleman's plans include 35 - 8.5"x11" pages of specifications to help your builder construct this house as it was designed. These technical specifications are organized to follow the CSI (Construction Specifications Institute) format, and apply to the various aspects of the home. They also include detailed information on numerous passive solar and energy–efficient aspects of home construction.