I love choice A, especially for a gradually wooded lot. Can you share the link to the floor plan for that if it's from a public site? Good luck with the build!

I would say it depends on your lifestyle, because both are beautiful. Here's two different scenarios. My friend is building a new 2 storey home. She works shifts, so she is looking forward to the separation from the main-floor chaos when she's on night-shifts. She is in her early 40's and has a teenager, hubby, and a dog. On the other hand; my sister-in-law is approaching 60, and is building her "last" home; a single storey rambler where she and my brother-in-law can age in place. No kids at home, but hopefully some grand-kids in the future. She will have a wide-open huge basement for the grand-kids to play.

It is also my experience that the cost of a full-basement foundation is much higher than a slab or crawl-space, so a huge full basement would be costly, and possibly a waste if you're not "basement people".

I prefer the Craftsman style, which is beautiful ; however I'm not a fan of basements or two story homes. If I were building a home with a pool and patio, I would want to know that I had easy access from the main level to these areas.

The floor plan is from eplans.com. I'm 25 and my fiance is 24, we don't have kids yet, but we would like to prepare for when that happens, and to accommodate future growth. Basement homes, especially in Raleigh, NC are uncommon and more expensive, however, after walking through the lot with my builder he said that I would probably have to go with about an 8 or 9 foot brick or stone foundation to satisfy the covenant and ability to level the house, so the basement wouldn't be that much of an upgrade over the more expensive foundation, which is why I'm considering it. From what I have seen, opening up the family room in the back of the house with larger widows and a deck would work nicely with a pool and patio area below. I am definitely loving the craftsman style porch and stone accent though.

Both are very beautiful. I agree with others - depends on what you need or want with functionality. Can't go wrong with either.

I love A. If you go with the basement do at least 9' ceilings, preferable 10'. You lose a lot of finished height with all the mechanicals.

Thanks for sharing the floor plan! The nice thing about that floor plan is your kids' room are right off the main living area which means they can be playing nearby (or at the very least their stuff can be contained nearby) while you and your (then) wife are in kitchen/great room. As they get older, a basement can be a great area to send them to play. I'm in NC too but grew up in NY and hate how most of the houses here in NC don't have basement areas either! I'm totally biased though because I'm thinking about it from the perspective of a mom with small kiddos... and your needs will certainly change throughout the years. But the good thing is both houses are beautiful and I imagine you'll end up loving whatever you choose between those 2 options!

A for sure!

I think then you would enjoy having the basement for the future kids to have their own space. It's great to have a space where they can have their toys, that you don't have to constantly be cleaning up, and makes for a great inside run-around space when the weather isn't cooperating. Trust me, you need that! We happen to have a 2-storey with a basement, but that's common in The Great White North. It sounds like yours will have a walk-out, so it won't feel so "subterranean" and might even end up being your retreat someday (aka man-cave). Good luck!

I guess I will remove Option B and compare it to this option, this is a two story craftsman similar to Option A, this floor plan has a second floor upstairs for a bonus and two other bedrooms

Definitely A, IMHO since it's much more versatile than a 2-story.

If I had kids, I think a basement would be fabulous for them to have their own space, especially with as high a ceiling as possible so that it could turn into a space for you after kids leave for college.

Good to know other Yanks who relocate to the South still yearn for the basements of our youth. :) Now you've made the choice difficult... I love both options you've shared.
With option A: definitely more appropriate to having young kids because it's really nice to have small kids on the same floor as you. (For middle of the night bottle feedings... for emergencies... whatever...)
With option C (your new choice): nice to have the kids have a separate space upstairs as they get older, and you might want more privacy from them and vice versa. Also nice as the kids grow up and leave the house, for your guest rooms to become separate upstairs spaces. Guess the question is: do you see this being your forever home? Will one floor plan work better for you in all stages of life?
Does Option C have the upstairs bedrooms/bonus and no basement, or still a basement option?

A single story with a walk-out basement is perfect for a sloping lot. You're absolutely right in thinking about a a lower level space as perfect for entertaining and pool access. You can have a deck from the main level with stairs down to the pool, plus it will create a covered area below by the pool. Make sure to have rough-in plumbing and a high pour foundation.

Megclaffey-I think it will be a home that is lasting, maybe not forever, but at least 20-25 years, to get my eventual children through high school. I did not think about the upper bedrooms become separate guest rooms, that is a good idea. Also, it is good for now because it will give relatives a place to stay until we fill up the room with kids. There is possible basement foundation, but I would not opt for this plan unless I choose to move the house to the back acre of the lot where it is almost completely level.

bluenan-The second picture is perfect and exactly which way I would like to take the back of the house, the windows are great for natural light, (which we have not had in any of our current rental homes) I think that setting for the back patio/pool area better than having the pool and patio right off the back sliding door. My favorite types of homes are the Florida type homes which have the covered Lanai area with the pool 5 or 6 feet away from the sliding glass door, however, because I'm in NC and looking at more of a sloped lake setting with hardwoods and pines for vegetation that type I think suits better

Adam, from a mom-point-of-view, it's generally better to have kids sleeping on the same level as their parents. The last thing you want to be doing in the middle of the night is climbing up and down stairs every 3 hours. Sorry don't mean to scare you out of kids, lol, but I would go for option A if I were a young-married-contemplating-kids. Love the 2nd photo bluenan posted too!

Personally I prefer trailers for the one level floor & they are typically cheap. But if I had to choose I would choose A. Thanks. Have A great day.

I totally agree. I said that I either want all four bedrooms on the same floor or at least two or three close together. I could always move the youngest as close to mom and dad as possible and allow the oldest to move upstairs or downstairs although unless they are about 14 I would still feel uncomfortable with them alone downstairs. In our rental now the masters in downstairs and I find it uncomfortable and exposed. I tend to like actual bedrooms either upstairs or downstairs. If I go with a basement type home I would rather eliminate the second floor to account for extra cost in the basement. for this reason I would have to deal with bedrooms on the main floor.

For stock plans, these are both nice. I'd vote for A. B seems more appropriate to an urban infill site. A will stretch across your site more gracefully I think. I'd also consider flipping the Dining and Kitchen areas. I just think you will appreciate having the kitchen connected to the backyard and grilling terrace the longer you live in this house.

Thank you Shuler for pointing this out. I did have ideas to switch the plan around a bit. moving the kitchen out of the middle of home I thought was a good idea.

Hi Adam, how's your decision going? Any questions we can help answer? Keep in mind that you can do all kinds of modifications to a plan to make it just right for you.

For those on this thread who were interested in seeing more about these plans, here you go:

Plan 1: http://www.eplans.com/house-plans/epl/hwepl75890.html
Plan 2: http://www.eplans.com/house-plans/epl/hwepl65874.html
Plan 3: http://www.eplans.com/house-plans/epl/hwepl76622.html

Looking at Bluenan's photo of the pool area of house with walkout basement - it is a 2 story on the pool side. If you build a "2 story" from the street side, it will be 3 storey in the back and I think that would be too imposing.

I am very interested in your service

Hi JC, thinking about building soon? We would love to answer any questions you might have about our services. Just call us at 1-800-913-2350 or email us at sales@houseplans.com

Thanks so much!

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