Southern Living Home Plans & Craftsman Style Home Plans From

This house can blend in with a Craftsman neighborhood with narrow lots, or be built in the middle of the woods in the country. Like all of Ms. Coleman's designs, Sunset Bungalow 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 comfortable and inviting front porch leads to a foyer that brings you directly into the main living spaces of the home. The great room and dining area are surrounded by windows that provide views along with an abundance of natural light. The great room wall facing the front juts out to allow for a long interior window box. The kitchen features a center island with seating, and a large pantry. A door located between it and the dining area brings you to a glass–enclosed sunroom that would be convenient as a breakfast room, which then leads to a large patio for outdoor dining and entertaining.

The hall leading to the back of the house has lots of built–in shelves, and sky tubes above to bring in natural light. The first door on the right leads to a bedroom with a walk–in closet and a bathroom with a tub or a large shower. This bathroom does double duty as a guest bath as well. The first door on the left (made of metal for security) reveals a safe room that could also be used for storing wine. A mail nook is situated further down the hall.

The master suite has his & hers closets that lead directly to the laundry room. The master bath features a large shower with a glass block wall, and a private toilet area. Next to the laundry is another room that can serve as an additional bedroom, a guest room, a studio, or a home office. This home also includes a large interior shop area that connects to the 2–car carport (which can be finished as a garage if that works better for you).

Passive Solar Info
To maximize its passive solar design, the front of the house should face west (or east if reversed). The slab on grade construction covered with tile floors is the most economical way to add thermal mass to the house, which helps control interior temperatures and 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.

Since the sunroom is not tucked within the main house, its temperatures will swing a little more in the seasonal extremes, but the glass on east and west will allow for great views year–round and cross ventilation in summer, just like a screened porch.

Construction Info
The dining area, great room, and kitchen all have vaulted ceilings. The other rooms have 8' ceilings. The entire roof is designed to be constructed with trusses. There are several sky tubes throughout to bring light into the middle of the house.

The plans for this house call for double staggered 2x4 stud walls. However, they can easily be changed to 2x6 stud walls by your builder. 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.

Modification Ideas
Shrink the interior shop size slightly to add a closet in bedroom 3, or shrink it even more to create a larger room. Turn the sunroom into a dining room if you need more space in the great room.

Similar Versions Available
There is a similar version of this plan, called Sunset Bungalow 2, that is also available on this site.

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.