We actually try to talk people out of those and to get an architect is that not what you do ? Sorry IMO no self respecting architect would do this since homes IMO are designed for each client in a very personal way not to mention the plot .

I think you want to go to the professionals side of the website and learn how you can pay to list yourself and your plans.

I will stand by the fact that stock plans very rarely work on plots for the best and yes there were even home kits in the 1800/1900s so were outhouses , wash boards and probably no lighting often . This is the 21 st century and IMO a good architect is a must when bulding a new home on a new plot to get the best bang for the huge bucks being spent. I have never seen a stock plan that does not need tweaking for a client and every change costs money and some just not doable. IMO if you want to go that route go buy a home already built in a stupid HOA where you can't have anything without permission which seems to be the vast majority of homes in the US all cookie cutter so boring .

The big former corn field subdivisions on flat land would seem rather ideal for stock plans.

You need to know where you are: This website is strongly pro-custom home designed by an architect /moderately against stock plans -- and regulars on this board'll throw that at you before even knowing the first thing about your needs, budget, house size, stage of life, etc. It's not this board's strong point. This board also skews towards large, rather upscale houses.

What this board IS strong on is function and efficiency; that is, you'll get plenty of feedback about placing this room next to that room, including plenty of storage, etc. This board assumes your goal is to design a house that's going to operate as efficiently as possible -- and while that's a good goal, it's not everyone's goal.

It's very possible to get a good house starting with a stock plan -- especially if you make a couple tweaks to suit your personal needs (which probably aren't all that far-fetched -- we tend to be more alike than different). You should consider how difficult your potential changes are, and that may require a learning curve.

- For example, saying, "Turn that hall bath tub into a shower", or in the master I want to remove the tub, make the shower a little bigger, and use the extra space for a good-sized linen closet" are pretty simple changes. They don't require changing the walls. Likewise, it's easy to say, "I want to eliminate that closet and make the hallway a little wider. That's removing something that's almost certainly not load bearing /doesn't affect things around it. Other small adjustments might include changing a sliding door to a double window, making a U-shaped kitchen into an L+island, changing a shed dormer to a gable style, or moving the washer /dryer to a different wall in a large laundry room.

- On the other hand, saying, "I want to add 2' to the kitchen and family room at the back of the house" is a big change. I know, 2' isn't much, but that 2' means changing the roofline and trusses (and, if you have an upstairs, it alters the room above it). If you're thinking of adding a covered porch or adding another bedroom where the plan shows a 2-story living room, you might be moving into "Too Much Land". In general, beware if you're using the words "enlarging" or "moving".

- I've heard it said if you want more than 10 adjustments, you shouldn't buy the stock plan. Personally, I don't think that's a fair measure -- 10 small adjustments might make little difference, whereas a single wall moved could make your plans unreasonable.

- And every single word I just typed could be prefaced by "depending upon your specifics".

If you go this direction, do understand that you'll need someone local to adjust your houseplan to your site -- online house plans tend to assume a flat suburban site, and that may or may not be what you have. You'll also need someone who has physically been on your site to "work in" your electrical, plumbing, etc. This, of course, will cost you -- and that cost comes on top of the site plan you've purchased from the internet.

LOve the cornfield LOL I do not actually steer my clients to huge homes to inpress someone else but a well designed home on the perfect plot is what I always aim for and that usually requires thought and a pro

I guess it's much better in Canada, where Patricia lives....

Hermit crabs find homes that are already built. If they were to have a custom home built for them they probably would not seek help from a professional, but they are crabs.

Sears Catalogue homes are still highly sought after

" Sears Catalogue homes are still highly sought after " Only by the very smallest of small subset of old house snobs. And then, not to actually LIVE in. Most of them have room sizes that do not fit today's desired room sizes. And there's 1 bathroom, not 3.

We're headed right past a market where people can afford to hire an architect, past the home plan service, to a market where homes will mostly be built in a factory, hauled to a site, and anchored down. The houses have to get smaller & methods of economy have to be created because people cannot afford to purchase a starter house for $300k.

Villages are beginning to change their minimum building zoning requirements. They are allowing smaller home developments with small yards with garages accessed through alleys in the back again.

https://metroplanning.org/case-studies/hometown-aurora/

So what goes around comes around. Back in the early and mid 20th century, small homes were built on small lots in city and suburban neighborhoods. They were built for lower-income families who took out 30-year mortgages. My town was populated in the 1910s/20s/30s, and most of the houses were 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, on 60x100 lots. Ironically families were a lot larger then, I know of one family with 10 kids that grew up in one of them. Nobody died, LOL. A plus was that because the houses were so close together, there was a real neighborly feeling, all the kids could walk to each others' houses.

After WWII, the suburban towns were farther away from the cities, but still modest and on small lots with close-knit neighborhoods. Not every neighborhood needs to have 6 bedroom/6bath homes on 1-acre lots, especially with land and building costs being what they are currently.

I have no experience buying house plans online, but a quick Google search revealed several websites along with Etsy where you can see lots of plans to buy.

Good luck .

This site has an excellent reputation & has a stellar group of architectural designers.

https://houseplans.southernliving.com/

Why does some Canadian feel so compelled to insult Americans? Regularly?

As far as stock house plans, we used Southern Living in 1997 to build our home. We tweaked it a little and it was a wonderful space for us.

Sure Sear's Catalogue houses are still highly regarded. I'm sure most have been upgraded over the years. My 100 year old architect-designed house has fewer, bigger rooms than it did when it was built and more bathrooms.

Well I live in Toronto Canada and my subdivsion wasn't a cornfield, but it was a horse farm LOL. Same thing. We don't have an HOA (not as common in Canada) but our lots are the same size and there are only a few models so basically we and our neighbours are all living in the same house that is disparaged as cookie cutter. It seems to suit us all remarkably well and we don't need a personal architect.

And anyway, the same house can be lived in differently. When we bought it 35 years ago we had 2 small children, then we had another. One of them used a wheelchair so we created a small but adequate main floor bedroom from the former laundry room + the broom closet + part of a hallway. We took out the wall between the kitchen and the family room to give us more "elbow room" for the wheelchair. Now they've all moved out and my elderly mother lives with us.

But we didn't rebuild the house with an architect every time our family needs changed.

Regarding your question remodeling1840, it's their national pastime, just like in Europe.

Does no one wonder why a 3 month old 1 line post that was modified 1 month ago exist? First - how do you modify a 2 month old post. Second, how does a post get zero replies for 3 months and then get discovered.

And again, it is a one-line question with zero context by a pro.

This site has gotten a little weird.

I live in the US and consider myself somewhat arrogant regarding housing. Most housing is pretty boring. That isn't entirely unique to the US or HOA's. But either way, I was not insulted at all by Patricia's comments - she isn't really wrong. Most houses in Canada are pretty boring too.

There is a spectrum that ranges from 'contribution to society' all the way to 'make money', and it is not clear and well defined straight line, and is not well understood. The solution to shelter is often selected from history and some from someone else's past. Sheep often follow in the footsteps of the sheep before them and explorers find new worlds. Sheep and explorers have different driving forces and live in different worlds with the same end. Everyone has a choice and some ask "why" and some ask "why not"; and that 'money' thing works it's way in there to screw things up, but that is another spectrum.

We might well ask why everyone doesn't have their clothing bespoke made by a tailor or seamstress.

Clothes and homes are different.

To answer the OP question, Houzz does sort of showcase plans. You simply post a question with a title using keywords "best website to buy completed house plans" with your self-describing username, and if someone searches those keywords it will bring up your post which they can then click on your offerings. Kudos to your marketing manager.

"Clothes and homes are different." I've used the bespoke suit analogy before and I think it's valid. I can buy a suit off the rack (a suit produced on speculation); I can get the already-made suit modified so it fits me better (modify a spec suit) or I can get a suit fully custom tailored starting with the fabric as supplied from the mill. Further, I can buy my suit in a range of quality from low-end store brands to Armani. If I'm really particular and particularly well heeled, I can take my p.j. to London and get the tailors on Savile Row to custom make it.

Now back to homes. If you missed the following article in Architect Magazine back in 2007, it's just as applicable today https://www.architectmagazine.com/practice/the-98-percent-solution_o

Sears Catalogue homes are still highly sought after

They've also been emulated /adapted to modern living in the recent Craftsman trend.
Back in the early and mid 20th century, small homes were built on small lots in city and suburban neighborhoods. They were built for lower-income families who took out 30-year mortgages. My town was populated in the 1910s/20s/30s, and most of the houses were 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, on 60x100 lots.

Yes. Two examples:

- When my grandparents married, they rented two rooms in an "old lady's" house for two years. My grandmother kept as a keepsake an old, old electric eye that was her only method of cooking during that time period. As someone else said, NO ONE DIED. After two years they were able to build a small 3-bedroom /1 bath house on family land -- my grandmother says she felt so rich because she had TWO bedrooms to fill with children (though they were only 8x10' and my uncle shared his with his grandfather), whereas most people in the country had a loft for kids accessed by a ladder in the kitchen. They were middle class people -- years later they worked their way to upper class.

- My husband's grandparents were city people. They lived in a similarly small house, but they had two bedrooms /1 bath. The two boys shared the bedroom, and the daughter slept on the sofa (yes, her whole childhood that was her bed!) and kept her clothes in a wardrobe in her brothers' room. They were middle class people -- the daughter went on to college, though her brothers did not.

Why does some Canadian feel so compelled to insult Americans? Regularly?

Who remembers Sophie? Though she wasn't Canadian.

Does no one wonder why a 3 month old 1 line post that was modified 1 month ago exist?

I don't mind a 3-month old post. It's not like people don't have the same questions someone else did 3 months ago.

We might well ask why everyone doesn't have their clothing bespoke made by a tailor or seamstress.

Good analogy.

"I've used the bespoke suit analogy before and I think it's valid."

Then why is there not a website called "Clothezz" ?

Maybe because those folks can spell?

The clothes analogy falls short because even a bespoke suit at $10,000 is far less expensive than a bespoke home at $10 million.

has anyone else noticed the original poster is an architect who advertises on houzz and is just fishing for business. Starting a discussion with a title that more than likely will be googled will also bring up his thread for people in search of plans and hopefully they will click the company name.

This is why it sat for 3 months with no responses until Patricia got the ball rolling and people piled on just because she stated her opinion. America has freedom of speech but it's not absolute in Canada and maybe she is just frustrated with Canada's forced PC speech rules, whatever. But I like reading Patrica's idea's when it comes to design and I find her to be fairly level headed and sane with good suggestions if not sometimes brillant suggestions.. I can't say this for many of the others who claim to be consultants here.

I wouldn't want fun in a consultant, a yes woman, someone without their own thoughts and just another PC tool. I don't care what she thinks about HOA's (which I agree with) or the source of the plans. She made it clear and I as a client would make it clear what I prefer to get, work with it or not.

I hope you catch some clients GMF.

I respectfully disagree with you, Diana. Whether it's a suit, a shotgun, a fishing rod, a car or a home, not everyone needs nor can everyone afford something designed and made expressly for them. Something short of perfect is often good enough (hey, if it wasn't, I'd still be single.) When it's not, things can often be adapted/modified to meet specific needs (and husbands can be trained to a certain extent.)

By way of calibration, single-family "custom" homes-- built for a particular homeowner on their lot were about 20% of the U.S. single-family home market in 2022. Of that, maybe 10% were designed by an independent architect (keep in mind that many stock plans are architect designed) for the particular client. That's about 2% of the overall single-family home market. So you can try to force fit the 98% to be like the 2% Or not.

"This site has an excellent reputation & has a stellar group of architectural designers."

Shucks, I thought she was talking about this site not that site.