Simple One Story House Plans & Eco Friendly House Plans From

Northern Lights 3 is a relatively simple home to build, and it has a wonderfully open character. Like all of Ms. Coleman's designs, Northern Lights 3 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 wide front porch wraps around the entire side of the house, all the way to the rear left corner off the breakfast nook. Upon entering the house through double French doors, you're looking into the great room, and beyond to a view of the outdoors. The great room has a cathedral ceiling that rises to 12' in the center, and an optional wood stove. The dining room is separated from the foyer by a low wall, creating an open feeling that's enhanced by the large windows facing the front of the house, and the double glass doors leading to the porch. Next to the dining room is an efficiently designed kitchen (also vaulted to 12') that's separated from the breakfast area/sunroom by a counter with a breakfast bar. The breakfast area opens onto the porch as well, for easy outdoor dining.

On the opposite side of the house, there are two bedrooms (one of which could also be a den or a study) that share a full bath. The master bedroom is located in the far corner of the house for privacy. The master bath includes both a tub and a shower, and a private toilet. Also included on this floor are a laundry room, a utility room, and a mail nook. A permanent set of stairs in the utility room leads to a large attic that may be used for storage.

Garage
The garage is attached to the front of the home, with access to the house through the utility room. The doors could be moved to the front of the house on tight lots.

Passive Solar Info
To maximize its passive solar design, the front of the house should face north. With the ICF exterior walls extended down to the frost line, a concrete floor slab can be poured even in colder climates. This allows the concrete floor slab on the south side of the home to act as the thermal mass of the house when covered with materials such as ceramic tile, brick pavers, or stone. 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 great room, kitchen, and sunroom are vaulted, while the ceilings in the bedroom areas are 9' high. The roof can be framed with trusses. This house is designed for the exterior walls to be constructed with ICFs (insulated concrete forms), but SIPs (structural insulated panels) or stud–framed walls could be substituted. 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
Detach the garage and make the porch go all the way across the front.

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.