Classic House Plans & Custom House Floor Plans From

Like all of Ms. Coleman's designs, Four Seasons 6 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 French door off the front deck opens into a large family room. On the right is an optional wood stove, on the left is a door to a screened porch that runs from the front to the rear of the house, and straight ahead is a spacious seating area with a bay window at the end. Moving through the house, you pass the dining area on your right and the stairs on your left. The dining area is filled with light during the day from the long bay window. A breakfast bar separates it from the kitchen.

A mail nook is conveniently located near the kitchen and a family entrance at the rear of the house. This family foyer accesses a full bathroom, and leads out to another screened porch at the rear of the house. Also off this foyer is a den that could also serve as a guest room.

Second Floor
Going up the stairs you come to a landing large enough for a desk, or built–in shelves. At the top there's a hallway that leads to all five bedrooms. The dashed lines you see running left to right through each room on the floors plans indicates the 10' peaks of the ceilings. The master bedroom has a huge walk–in closet that can access eave storage on either end. Bedroom 5 was originally designed to be a sewing/activity room. Bedrooms 2 and 3 have large walk–in closets that can access eave storage, and they along with bedroom 4 share a full bath.

Basement
If your lot slopes appropriately, the garage includes space for two cars. If not, you may consider using this space as a playroom for the kids.

Passive Solar Info
To maximize its passive solar design, this house should face south. The brick (or stone) wall with open arches separates the front entry from the dining area, serving both as thermal mass and as a major design feature of the home. Brick walls on the main and upper levels eliminate the need for excessive thermal mass in the floors, although thermal mass is still designed into the entire family room floor. 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 entire second floor has exterior walls 8' high at the outer walls for a cottage–like character, but have ceilings that slope up to 10'. The first floor has 9' ceilings.

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 a design professional, or to SIPs walls by a dealer in your area. If you plan to change the walls, it is highly recommended 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.

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.