Contact a local architect to design a home with you that has the character you like, meets your needs, meets local codes, and fits your site.

It's amazing how little space people got by with in the past. There's probably nothing design-wise that would prohibit you from building that plan. I hope you're thinking of a larger kitchen and bathroom! I don't think you owe anyone anything for the design. You'll have to pay an architect or other service to provide construction drawings. The details of building a house have changed a lot over the years.

oh, I love small! my wife had to talk me out of buying a garden shed to live in. thanks for the reply, good to know :)

It is cute, but the closets are very small. The vanity is almost nonexistent.

I love the corner window.

I would write down all the things you love about the house. Take that to a recommended local architect and see if you can come up with plans that are just a bit larger and more functional.

Dysfunctional for today, unless you show me your studio in Manhattan, which you will be trading for this in Poughkeepsie. In which case it will feel gigantic.

Show me your closet with three t shirts, and two pair of pants as well.

Build 2, side by side. Then you’ll have room for storage and living for 2.

Super adorable house. Do you currently live in a small space? Is it just the 2 of you? If you like it, take the picture to a well-regarded architect and see what other suggestions they may have for you. I'm sure some improvements can be made, but people don't need nearly as much space as they seem to think they do.

I'd read up on Sarah Susanka and look at her books and blog for small-living done well. https://susanka.com/not-so-big-house/

I agree that small is the way to go. However, what about a garage and laundry room or even a porch?

I believe you can still find a very small vintage appearing homes that includes those items.

https://www.dfdhouseplans.com/plan/3613/

https://www.dfdhouseplans.com/plan/7310/

http://houseplans.southernliving.com/plans/SL2056

http://houseplans.southernliving.com/plans/SL1254

Sarah Susanka's books a worth reading!

I'm doubting the patent still exists for this and other catalog ordered homes. So, do think you will have any legal issues. You can always hire a draftsman or architect to draw your construction documents. As you say - the house will need to meet all building codes applicable. As others have said, it is a small house. You might want to consider hiring an architect to expand the house and make it more livable for todays lifestyle. You can keep the footprint small but I really think you would need to expand including adding a garage.

I do think you will need to add at least a laundry room somehwere it looks like it has a basementso that is where the laundry was for a long time after W/D came on the scene. I don’t have huge bathrooms in my house and honestly can’t see the point of any biggger than needed. If you are into living small go for it. I do agree you need to get an architect and work to get what you want.IMO for 2 people this can work if you have guests that small bedroom can only handle a twin bed .The biggest hurdle you will have is a place to build this where the HOAs would not allow it. So if you have property build what you love and need, BTW my son works for a company that builds tiny homes and they can’t keep up with the demand. This beats the heck out of some ugly mcmansion. Where I live we have many catalogue homes in town.

we live in vermont, where basements are a requirement, so we plan to use the basement for laundry and extra storage. as for garage, we want to go with a detached one, unless there's a good reason not to?

and yes, i'm aware of how teeny tiny the closets are! we both live pretty compact lives-- we share clothes and products, and don't d much entertaining.

First bravo on building just what you need an no more. I, like you, love old house plans.

I would instead of completely having a detached garage do a garage with an attached covered and heated breezeway. Make that your laundry/mudroom. That solves two problems. You're not traipsing through snow with groceries, etc, and you've moved your laundry to the main floor which makes it easier not shlepping laundry up and down stairs. Much more convenient and pleasant than having to go into a basement to do laundry. (Ask me how I know.) Plus, it will give you some much needed storage space. That is the main thing this house is lacking.

I know you said you only need small closets but I've lived in old houses with closets like that. You'll be lucky to put 3 shirts into the closet. Plus having lots of closets and built ins with storage means less clutter in the actual rooms. I would rethink the idea that those closets are adequate.

Do you ever entertain or have more than you and your wife eating a meal together? If so, then that dining room will be way too small. The dining room is 8' wide which is 96". A standard table is 42" wide. 96 - 42 = 54". You need 36" from table to wall all around.

I notice in the bathroom, the shower is narrower than is allowed nowadays by code. And being we are taller and larger than people even 100 years ago, anything less than 36" wide will feel tight.

You might want to consider another 1/2 bath for those times, um, when both are needed at the same time. Let's just say I can recall a time when DH and I ate some bad food.

Realize that kitchen was for a time when appliances were smaller. Consider if you cook, in that kitchen with modern appliances, you'll have no room really for prepping food.

In the guest bedroom, what are you planning on using it for?

In the master bedroom, there is room for a queen bed and that would be about it. A queen is 60"w x 80"l. That will give you 40" at the head of the bed which is plenty to walk around but will not allow for a dresser. You'd have to put the bed off center on the back wall, and the dresser on the side of the bed so you maintain enough walking room on either side. 144" - 60" = 84"

84"/2 = 42". Again You need a minimum of 36" for walking on either side of the bed.

You don't mention your ages, but if you plan to age in this house, you need to take that into consideration too and honestly this house will not work for that unless it's enlarged a bit. Just some food for thought.

Do not build a little house.

Do not build a big house.

Build a house sized to meet your needs.

The Durbin was a kit house from Sterling System Homes, a branch of International Mill & Timber in Bay City, Michigan; Sterling was in business from 1915 to 1971, and the company dissolved in 1975.

From what I can see online, the Durbin was a 1945 offering. If the Durbin house plan was in fact copyrighted, copyright law in effect at the time would have been one 28-year term with a 28-year renewal. Which would be a total of 56 years for a house plan created 75 years ago.

By the way, this website has some of Sterling's plans, including others from 1945 (not the Durbin),

http://www.antiquehome.org/House-Plans/1945-Sterling/

I have a 924 square foot home built in 1950, likely from one of those plans. Add a laundry room/closet, larger bathroom, and larger closets. I remodeled the kitchen, bathroom, repurposed the dining room, and will convert my enclosed porches to living space. I need to add a bathroom upstairs, too, along with larger closets. The house is in a great location, but just needed a little redesign to make it more comfortable.

IMO comfort is derived from what you actually need to be comfortable and this OP is comfortable in a smaller space than you. I will however have a chuckle at the horrible thing of having to walk through the snow from the garage. IMO I would rather do that than have a front drive garage anytime but doing laundry in a breezway in Vermont in the winter does not work. I grew up in Calgay with the normal(for the time) garage off the alley we all survived the walk in the snow.

The house plan has about 700 square feet. The main change I'd suggest is to see if your beds will fit comfortably in the bedrooms. If you use a double bed and one twin, they'll be okay. If you want a queen or king to fit, an architect can make the necessary changes in the supporting walls and expand it slightly. Overall, it would be useful to put the plan into google sketchup (or similar) and then see how your furniture templates will actually fit it the rooms. Also walk through a typical day in the house. That is, for example, a "one butt" kitchen. Do you prefer a kitchen where one person can cook while another gets coffee ready?

It is interesting to contrast what we think is "essential" today with what many of us had (or didn't, have) growing up, and even more so with what those who came before us grew up with. The scale, proportion, and detailing of traditional cottages lend a certain charm, but it's important to carefully evaluate your lifestyle needs before committing to replicate an old design. Consider that homes in Colonial Williamsburg are charming, but none were designed with indoor bathrooms or kitchens and not many with closets. Rooms were all multi-purpose except in the homes of the very wealthy. They wouldn't suit a modern lifestyle without some significant modification.

Designing a small home which suits a modern lifestyle is a significant design challenge. Some sources for inspiration:

Craftsman Bungalows: 59 Homes from "The Craftsman" edited by Gustav Stickley 1988 Dover Publications.

Small Homes (From the editors of Fine Homebuilding) 2003. The Taunton Press.

Cottage America's Favorite Home Inside and Out. Connolly and Wasserman. 2005. The Taunton Press

Lucia's Little Houses: A Portfolio of Small-House Designs by Robert W. Knight 1997.

Best wishes for designing and building a great home!

I know it's not the question, but since everyone else is stuck on the size: IMHO, this would be totally livable with two adults. Things I'd consider: reverse the staircase if possible so that you have an easier walk to the laundry, and swap the kitchen and the dining spaces (then possibly expand the kitchen slightly, but that depends on how much and how you cook).

Someone might still own the rights to the plan, but the prospect of getting in trouble for using it is slim to none. (This is not legal advice.) If you are worried about the moral implications, make a list of the things you love about this plan (and maybe a handful of other vintage plans) and take them to an architect. You may end up with something you love even more.

Would you like a patio?

I grew up in Calgary with the normal (for the time) garage off the alley we all survived the walk in the snow.

I live closer to Edmonton than Calgary and a lot of the older houses in our nearby town have detached garages and everyone manages to make do : ) . My SIL in Toronto, in the Beaches, has a similar arrangement and is just thankful to have a garage at all.

We do plan on having at least one kid, and I had her look at these comments. I've been convinced-- I'll look at something a bit bigger. she agreed with the powder room idea, and I like the idea of having more storage space. Tiny living space just doesn't bother either of us, she grew up sharing a bedroom the size of a closet with her sister and says she wouldn't have it any other way.

Would anyone mind sharing some floor plans/floor plan websites you'd suggest? at least 2 bedrooms (doesnt matter how small) and at least 1 bathroom. Two stories is all good, if it means more efficiency. We'd need a basement, and preferably no bigger than 1000-1300 sq ft. Thanks!

A friend of mine lives with his girlfriend in a tiny house, off the grid, in northern MN. It certainly can be done - but it wouldn't work for most people. He doesn't have to snowshoe to town - he has sled dogs.

we have a detached garage. we only drive about once a week, so it's no big deal. but even if we did drive more I don't think we would care. one con is that I'm always working on something, so running to the garage for tools is annoying. major pro: we have a wifi door opener, which means we can use Amazon Key. we can get safe deliveries while nobody has access to our actual house.

one other thing: our garage is a glorified shed. little gaps between the boards and whatnot. if I lean lumber or furniture against the wall for storage, it gets moldy. it's extremely dusty and spidery all the time. plus a rat quite easily made a home in there, and took to chewing on our car wires. do yourself a favor and make sure the garage is sealed up well!

Ok.. with a kid all bets are off the table. You'll want your own bathroom, and likely real closets. I *loved* my 1952 house with a small family, but we don't do basements where I'm at, so it wouldn't help you. I will say that it had really awesome storage for such a small (900 square feet) house--which made a huge difference. Do you have land yet?

Do not look for some floor plans/floor plan websites, look for local architects/local architect websites.

Just get the architect to the site. Please.

Yes, get one! Even if you are a granola chomping minimalist. If you are that?

All the more reason to get the arch!

We haven't gotten land yet. Wife and I are still very much in the "envisioning" stage-- making a budget, researching local contractors, and deciding exactly WHAT we want (I figure it's best to go to an architect knowing that you want a,b, and c in your house rather than just saying "I don't know"). Budgeting is very important to us, so we are really trying to do research around the cost of land, services, and materials. As a young couple of women, we need to be super educated in order to not get taken advantage of. Hopefully I don't sound dumb. Anyway, moral of the story is no architect yet.

Ask prospective architects (if you go that route) how many houses under 1000 sf they have designed.

We live in 1100 sq ft. House was originally a 2/1 and 870 sq. Ft. I love having a smaller home. We added the additional sq. Ft when we had a 16 yo and 2 yo (11 yrs ago). i will say with COVID all of us are home ( minus the now 28 yo) and the house feels a little tight but normally it’s perfect and so easy to keep clean. i think houses have so much wasted space these days so I applaud those who really take into account what is truly needed. That being said if you are set on building you need an architect. Plans that small from previous generations are not typically designed for modern life so an architect is a must, but buying an existing small renovated home would likely be a cheaper option.

That's funny, I alway hope I don't sound dumb to my female clients.

You don't need to know that you want a, b, and c in order to start with an architect! An architect's job is to figure out what you need, and how to design for it. I told me architect how I live. She was the one who then figured out that a, b, and c would work for me.

The kinds of things I told my architect included: I love taking baths, I read a lot, I don't cook much and don't want a big fancy kitchen, windows are the main area I want to splurge on - everything else I want relatively low budget, I might eventually have my horse on the property, I need a space for my piano, I live alone but might get a dog in the near future, I work from home and need a dedicated office space - stuff like that. From there, she asked me questions, and we had discussions, and she came up with a beautiful plan that fits my needs and most of my wants (some wants inherently conflict with each other, and some wants are simply above your budget, so you will have to prioritize).

My architect was also a HUGE asset to me for getting bids from different contractors (of whom she knew the reputation and had worked with before) and determining which would be the best option for me.

It's fine to get a general idea of costs and services (recognizing that you will never be able to learn everything as a non-pro), but if you're at the point of trying to figure out house plans, then you're ready for an architect.

I really echo the advice to have at least two toilets in your home. My husband and I live in a one bedroom condo, and we semi-often run into two people needing the facilities simultaneously. It's definitely been more of an issue since the pandemic hit, but it was always annoying and uncomfortable for the one who had to wait.

And you NEED a home office, two dishwashers, a media room, walk-in closets (his and hers), a kitchen island the size of a car, a home gym, a man cave (and she cave), and a guest room.

You are not the only one day dreaming over vintage house plans!

I think you all are at the stage where looking at a lot of stock plans of smaller homes can be really useful. As you imagine how your daily routines would work and where you would value having space allocated, you will begin to be able to identify good traffic flow, wasted space and ideas from one plan that could be incorporated into another. It's a good way to try things out in your head and will help when you go to an architect or residential draftsperson to help you finalize a plan that will work for your family and for your lot.

Pay attention to the floor plan...the exterior can usually be made to look reflect the exterior style you like.

I have been helping a friend who will be building a small, lower cost home. Looking at plans online has been helpful to her. One company that had quite a few 2BR, 1Bath homes in the 900-1100 sf is drummondhouseplans.com. There are many others.

Being that you expect to have a basement, it will offer additional living and storage space so your main floor need not be large. You might consider having a 2d bathroom downstairs along with a family room (and plan for a possible 3d BR in case you need it later). Stack the bathrooms for cost savings.

If you make the ceilings full height, insulate well and finish this lower area well, it will not feel like a "basement" but just another part of the house especially if you have a walkout or lookout foundation. Keep in mind that a straight flight of steps down will make it easier to get furniture downstairs if you don't have an exterior door in the lower level.

One thing that I found when living in small homes is that as long as you have one room or open area that feels spacious, the other rooms can be compact. The suggestion to read the Susanka books is a good one. When there are real estate open houses again, walking through smaller homes may give you some ideas ,too. You might even find one you like. Given the huge recent price increases of lumber, an existing home might turn out to be a good choice.

Good luck!

re: bathrooms and kids: I know a few families who live in small homes and prefer simpler lifestyles. they make small homes work just fine, but any of them will tell you that two bathrooms are an absolute must. especially when the kids become teens.

heck, even me and my husband feel like we can't go back from two, even though we don't have kids. it was really appreciated when we had guests (back when people used to be able to travel and stay over).

to ILoveMod: good point! I think a powder room or 3/4 bath is probably a good idea. In my childhood home we had a toilet and sink in our laundry room which was very useful... I think we can nix the one-bathroom idea and figure out a way to incorporate that into the plan.

I think you can get by with only one full bath, but do try to get a powder room or 3/4 in there. I'm thinking about when (if) we can ever have gatherings again, I prefer to have a separate powder room for guests to use. A 3/4 would be a bonus for overnight guests - it's always nice to be able to over them their own space.

http://houseplans.southernliving.com/search/style/cottage?sort=total_heated_square_footage-asc

Perhaps the Southern Living Cottage Plans will work for your purpose.

I've always enjoyed perusing Drummond's site because I too prefer smaller. I believe they are Canadian, if that makes a difference. The home I just sold was my grandmother's '50's era one so much like the Durbin with a carport which housed the laundry room, and no basement. I lived there with my mom and then singly. Loved it, but now I'm in the rural countryside on acreage and wouldn't go back.

I love looking at vintage house plans. I live in a 1926 house that is a smaller version of this house plan ”the Sunny Spain” https://archive.org/details/HomesOfBeautyACompilationOfPracticalDesignsForLowCostAnd/page/n62/mode/1up?view=theater

Internet archive has tons of vintage house plans https://archive.org/details/buildingtechnologyheritagelibrary

If this home is where you plan retire, then consider wider doors and larger rooms. This will allow for better wheelchair access should it ever be needed. As others have suggested, find a way to add a covered porch to extend your living space.

Whatever you decide, you'll need an architect who will likely propose ways to improve the plan in ways that you've not considered. They're trained in space planning and the smaller the space, the more help you'll need bringing it together.