Solar Home Plans & Southern Home Plans From

The clerestory atrium brings sunshine down into the central staircase of this unique home. Like all of Ms. Coleman's designs, Adirondack Atrium 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
A large curving front porch and patio welcome you to this charming home. The foyer leads directly into a main living area that is surrounded by windows, providing unlimited views along with abundant natural light. To the right of the foyer there are double doors leading to an away room that could also be used as a guest room, an additional bedroom, or a home office. The great room is vaulted (with exposed beams), and it includes an ideally located fireplace or wood stove, as well as bay windows with a window seat. A door from the dining area leads to a large patio that includes an optional hot tub at one end. The kitchen is next to the dining area, and it features a breakfast bar/island, a pantry, and a sunny window box behind the sinks.

The master bedroom suite features his & hers walk–in closets, and a large bath area that contains both a tub and a shower, and two separated sinks. The central hallway features a glass block wall between it and the stairwell, a mail nook, and space for boots and coats near the two family entries. A laundry room and a half bath are at the end of the hall, next to the garage entrance to the house. This room can be accessed from the front patio as well.

Second Floor
The spacious second floor is full of delightful spaces, starting with the atrium above the loft overlooking the great room. The variety of vaulted ceilings and nooks gives this upper level charm and character. Two large bedrooms share a full bath, and the walk–in attic storage (which can connect to the space above the garage) provides ample space for less–used items.

Basement
The unfinished basement has its own stairs from the garage, making it perfect for mechanical equipment and possibly a large workshop.

Garage
The attached, extra large garage can accommodate three vehicles, with space for a workshop or storage.

Passive Solar Info
To maximize its passive solar design, the front and the garage doors of this house should face southeast. Since each south side of glass receives sun only half of the day, no additional thermal mass is needed to maintain interior comfort. 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 first floor and basement ceilings are 9', while part of the great room and the upstairs are vaulted.

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 basement foundation. However, if you prefer a crawlspace or a slab foundation, these are fairly simple and inexpensive changes that your builder can often make for you. If the basement design is not displayed in the Floor Plans, it's because it is unfinished.

Modification Ideas
For smaller lots, you may want to detach and move the garage. For larger families, add a shed dormer for another bedroom upstairs. Replace the fireplace with a TV entertainment center. Turn the laundry into a full bath for bedroom 2 and move the laundry into the garage.

Similar Versions Available
There are seven similar versions of this plan – Adirondack Atrium 2, Atrium, Atrium 2, Atrium Breeze 3, Cottage Atrium, Garden Atrium, and Mountain Atrium – available on this site. For easy access to these other versions, click on the Architects button on the left side of any page in our website, and scroll down until you see Ms. Coleman's name and photo. Red links to each of her plans appear below her bio, in alphabetical order.

Please Note
All of Ms. Coleman's plans include 35(!) 8.5"x11" pages of specifications to help your builder construct this house exactly 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 built home. They also include complete details on passive solar issues.