You're going to be told to consult an architect.

Otherwise, simply search via your favorite search engine for "One-story house plan" and you'll find thousands.

and all those plans could be modified

Here we go again. Doesn't anyone search the archives?

Imstill and new-beginning thank you for your suggestions. I appreciate them. Virgil so sorry I didn't think quickly enough to check the archives. It's really a shame you couldn't have nicely suggested I look there instead of your snarky answer. With replies like yours you'd have no one posting for fear of reprimand. There may be people who visit this site who do not even know they can search the archives so how about giving people a little break?

hi Nanci! Congratulations on this exciting step!

You'll get a lot of advice to consult an architect, and it should definitely be considered.

If you want to start looking at plans online, I've found that houseplans.com is a good place to start. You can filter by all sorts of options and see what appeals to you.

Those plan sites can be very overwhelming! However, you can be pretty specific with the search engines on plan websites. If you know what your building envelope will be, you can put in those dimensions. That will narrow them down quite a bit and you won't waste time looking at something that won't fit on your lot. You can always modify any plan using a designer, or you can get something custom by using an architect.

If you find a plan or two you like, post them on this forum and trust me, frequent posters will tell you everything wrong about the plan and question why in the world you would ever consider it. :-)

Did you find a builder yet? Is this for the FL house and if so, who are you considering?

If there are any new build communities near you, you may be able to look online at the plans they offer and actually walk thru a model. It may be easier to figure out what you like/don't like when you can see it in person.

I like the dreamhomesource site for browsing, if you narrow down the search criteria it may not be as overwhelming.

http://www.dreamhomesource.com/house-plans/dhs/catalogsearch/advanced/#criteria[hw_num_bedrooms][]=3&criteria[hw_num_baths][]=3&criteria[hw_num_stories][]=1&criteria[hw_num_garage_stalls][]=2&criteria[hw_amenity][]=Split%20Bedrooms&criteria[hw_sq_ft][min]=1900&criteria[hw_sq_ft][max]=2200

Thank you for all the helpful hints. I have gone on some sites and plugged in my wants and some still didnt filter. I appreciate all the help.

CP, I see your house is just about finished. Exciting after all you have been through. My home in Florida is all done. We closed last October! This is my main house that I wanted on the market LAST YEAR. My husband tends to be a bit of a procrastinator. We are looking at roughly 3 weeks for the house to go on the market. Will be renting if we get this sold while the new home gets built. Luckily very few homes on the market here and our home is turn key ready with updated kitchen and bathrooms. Realtor says it looks great.

Thank you Kristin. I have been looking for awhile as we were trying to decide between stick built or a manufactured home. Now that we I have found some I like by Mascort. What is most difficult for me is looking at the plan and visualizing how it would look set up.

Sunnysmom great idea but there are no communities being built here in my town or even near me in RI. There were tons to go through in Florida where I could visualize how it looked laid out and see how furniture would fit and how big the kitchen was laid out and how much room between counters, etc. I was trying not to have to go through an architect (not that I have anything against them!) and was hoping I could find plans I loved. I figured out to put single home plans into the search bar on the forum. Im sorry to bring up a topic already discussed multiple times.

nancy....have you thought about ICF for obvious reasons in FL?

Start by doing some of your own 'filtering'. Even if you use a design professional, you need to consider lots of things. What is the land like? How much room? Any views? Think about what direction the rooms face in relation to north, south, east, and west. Try to find a plan that works with that. For example, we have a view to the back of our house. I finally hit on the idea of looking at waterfront plans, and bingo- they are laid out with the assumption that having waterfront behind the house will want view opportunities in the back. I did not end up using a stock plan, but it got me going in the right direction.

Here in the hot, sunny south, I put the garage on the west side to block the hottest sun of the day. I wanted morning light in the kitchen and our bedroom, so they are on the east side of the house. Keeping these various factors in mind can help you quickly reject many plans.

"nancy....have you thought about ICF for obvious reasons in FL?"

robin0919, she stated her Fl. house is finished!

As an architect I would say not every situation calls for custom design. Online plans are generic by necessity for generic lots and generic families. If your situation isn't generic i.e. you have elderly parents that visit often, an incredible view (or a bad one you want to block), work at home etc., then an architect may be in order.

Glad you found something you like! I’m in Portland, where Alan Masacord is located, and I’ve seen him recommended locally as an architect with whom many are very happy, so I could see him having good stock plans, as well. If you post the plan I’m sure you’ll get good feedback here, too. Good luck to you!

(Also, i I totally didn’t mean to imply you should have been posting, just recommended reading through archives to get a sense of what to look for in a plan in addition to your post :-).

Thank you everyone. The lot is flat. No view but because of the way the driveway co .mes up the garage needs to be on the right.

I have a general idea of what I like but know there is so much that I am probably not aware of (why going through open houses and new neighborhoods is fun but none of that near me). The lot is more wide than deep (unlike most lots in Florida). I think I'd like a closed in porch in the back and a nice deck. The hardest thing is looking at the kitchen and trying to imagine it's size.

I will be checking out more plans and submit them for critique and suggestions.

I realize everyone's wants, needs, preferences are different.

We are mid 50's and thinking this will be it until we die, go to a nursing home or assisted living.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Krista your comments were fine! It was another poster who wasn't as kind with the suggestion. I just wasn't even thinking of the archives. My fault!

We have a really strong 'Kitchens' sub-forum here. In some cases the good people on there might be better than an architect, once you get to that point. Just don't go so far down your design path before you start the kitchen conversation.