How exciting for you... a few questions to start Single story ? Location ? Style? Ranch, Cottage, Bungalow, Farmhouse,? Budget? topography of the lot? Hill? Ocean? Water table?

Ideas for house plans???... Google. I see hundreds.

Traditional home with close floor plans

America's best house plans

With this plan you could have the architect close off the kitchen by creating a wall

You need NO online plan for an architect. You need the site, a list of wishes, wants, " I don;t want my kitchen exposed to my living spaces, I want to be alone in a bright and airy kitchen, " , I need x number of bedrooms, when I use the dining room there are how many of us....I want a bright home lots of windows, or I am a cave dweller, etc. and your budget. That is all you need.

Jan's correct. I can't imagine a builder/architect/contractor that does not have a cache of house plans they can show you after they get your wish list from you...if they don't find a new one!!

The best designs are created, not found. Interview several local architects and select one. Share with them your list of needs and wants and a survey of your property. They may want to walk the property with you to discuss ideas. They will come up with a design to review and refine. Create your own dream, and do not start with someone else's.

If you can visit model homes - do so. We visited quite a few to help decide what we wanted when we built our home.

You do not bring a plan to an architect you bring your needs and wants that is what they get the big bucks for is to plan a home for you. IMO most stock plands are never perfect and by the time you change all the stuff you would be better off to start with an architect .

Agree with everyone else.

Even model homes are likely to be open concept and boxy unless you're going to visit truly custom homes. So while it's good to get ideas from them (maybe color or decor) actual room layout will probably not be helpful.

We designed a custom house with a closed kitchen. I never would have found my plan online or in any model. Your architect if you choose wisely can create your vision for you.

Mark said what I said. As did P.C.

Visiting new build in your area is fine.......ONLY for seeing features in specific areas you might like.

Other than that? Let go of the reins and constraints of a pre fab plan in your head.

Agree with Jan and Mark. You don't need anything to "show" your architect, except maybe pictures of houses/interiors that you like. Let your architect create your design for you without being constrained by some online plan which doesn't relate to anything in your life.

When we were house hunting 2 years ago, ALL of the new construction homes were open concept, with tiny, inefficient kitchens tucked in a corner, with vaulted ceilings, and all too often a corner pantry between the sink and range. Very disheartening. Luckily we found a house built in 1995 that has a kitchen we can live with!

84 Lumber has a couple ranch 1900sqft plans to look at. p10 Havenwood and the next one Northport. homes-catalog-2017-sm.pdf (84lumber.com) Plus you can start to get a cost estimate. These are available as kits.

Thank you to all who have left comments, links, and ideas.

Thank you, Jan Moyer, for making me realize I am not crazy! 'An architect is the pro who MARRIES your site with the exterior and the interior of the structure, your wish list, your budget.' I just need to find a good one.

I have a wish list, a budget, and the land, but I don't have a plan. I have been working on this for almost 2 years now and I have come to hate the entire process, but we need a house.

I hired an architect and paid for their services, but I ended up with only one item on the wish list, no garage, and a plan drawing that is a box with a roof. We spent 30 minutes together going over the wish list and budget, and a few weeks later, the plans arrived in the mail. I was told that I needed to pay additional fees if I wanted modifications. I needed a garage, but it wasn't included in the plan. I also needed a minimum of 12X12 second bedroom, but the plans included two 9X11 bedrooms.

So, I hired a designer who worked for a recommended builder and paid for their services upfront. The designer asked me to look online and said we could do modifications. I sent 5 examples with notes and the wish list of features. However, I found out that the designer was only part-time and only knew how to redraw plans. She knew nothing about construction, and the plan was just a redraw of one I sent - no modifications were made. Once again, I was asked to pay more if I wanted modifications. I decided not to use that builder either.

I am now out thousands of dollars with no plan. I truly appreciate the links, comments, and ideas. Please forgive my bitterness.

Post the info about your land. Area of the country for climate. N-S orientation. Size and views. As much info with pics as possible. Post some inspiration pictures of the exterior you find attractive. Be prepared to consider some ideas. For example, ceiling heights and room sizes.

I can’t help with your search for the right architect but I’m sorry this process has been so disheartening so far. Hoping you can build the home of your dreams!

" I ended up with one item on the wish list".......

and another.......

"but I ended up with only one item on the wish list, no garage, and a plan drawing that is a box with a roof."

We don't have a clue the site or locale. We can't hazard a wish list beyond what you've stated above.

We don't have a way of judging the "talent" this far.

Perhaps show what you have discarded thus far? The plans that for whatever reason fell far short of what you asked?

Well, in case it helps, here was our plan for our main level. We had 3 bedrooms upstairs and a bonus room. Our square footage was about 3200. Garage/mudroom was off to the left.

Wow, it sounds like you've been burned a couple of times.

Even though hiring a good architect is the best way to get what you want, it may not be feasible for budgetary concerns. Or as you've found out, there may be a lack of talent in your area.

Have you tried googling "homes with closed floor plans"? Here is one that came up when I googled it:

https://www.southernliving.com/home/closed-floor-house-plans

Or you might consider contacting architectrunnerguy here on Houzz. He's helped a number of folks here remotely and is very talented:

https://www.houzz.com/user/architectrunnerguy

I'm wondering if perhaps stressing that this was a budget build was responsible for the "box". It's usually the cheapest form to build. Leaving out a garage will certainly lower the budget too. So the big unspoken elephant in the room is your budget matching the reality of building, and building in your location. Even in low cost areas of the country, it's hard to get a custom build for $250 a square, unless you are willing to sacrifice amenities. That's starting life at 700K plus land.

I can't speak to the op locale, but here in Upstate NY....new construction is about 300.00 per sq foot, inclusive of garage - more with luxury appliances on a builder owned lot.

Yes it's typical "new" and open.

I have to agree with @Minardi that it's possible your budget doesn't align with reality. You haven't shared that info, but generally materials cost what they cost and the only savings you would see depending on where you are in the country would be in labor. The fact that you want to limit square footage to 2400 makes it sound like you are using a Cost/SF metric based on your budget.

For the house I clipped below, we couldn't build due to the bid - it came in around $750k not including land, with assumptions on the level of finishes (our builder used an "average" finish level of 6/10). Given that costs virtually always outstrip bids, likely we would have been around $1.1 million all in (including land) if we had built.

Assuming you have budgeted correctly - roughly taking a new build in your area that's roughly the same size & finish level that you would want - and multiplying that cost by ~1.5, you should be able to find an architect that can design something for you.

I should mention....

Make certain your search is residential architect.

Most focus on either residential or commercial, most love or hate one or the other, and they are different. You will be inclined to receive a "box" from the commercial.....

The other aspect? Less hand holding. Most loathe it and it is just one reason they love commercial. Less personal: )