Passive Solar Home Plans & Contemporary Home Designs From

Like all of Ms. Coleman's designs, Sun Dance 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
From the foyer off the large front stoop, the great room is on your left, the master bedroom is on your right, and the kitchen is straight ahead past the central stairway. The great room is quite large, and it features a fireplace at one end next to a bay window with a window seat. A door between this room and the dining room, and another between the dining room and the kitchen, lead to a large wrap–around covered porch. The kitchen is separated from the dining room by a breakfast bar, and it includes a pantry. Next to it are a half bath and a desk/computer nook. The laundry room sits behind the kitchen, and it's spacious enough to include a freezer, a place for coats and boots, and a back foyer leading to a back porch and the detached garage.

The master bedroom also has a fireplace, and a large walk–in closet. Views to the front match those in the great room, letting in lots of natural light during the day. The master bath has two separate sinks, and room for both a whirlpool tub and a large shower.

Second Floor
There are two good–sized bedrooms upstairs that share a full bath, and have access to both an insulated storage area and an uninsulated attic above the dining room.

Daylight Basement
The basement foundation was designed for 6 inches of stone on the exterior. The stone is designed to be flush with the wood framed walls above. The basement has a game room large enough for a pool table, and a fireplace of its own, as well as a bath, a sewing nook, and lots of storage.

Garage
The back porch links the house to the parking area, whether it is a detached or attached garage.

Passive Solar Info
To maximize its passive solar design, the front of the house should face south. The thermal mass that is necessary for indoor comfort in our full passive solar version of the Sun Dance has been placed on the walls instead of the floor, making this home more economical to build. The home is designed for the mass to be stone, but brick could be substituted. 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 ceilings on the main floor are 8', and on the second floor they 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.

Similar Versions Available
There is a similar version of this plan, called Moon Dance, 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.