2-Story House Plans

Is the lot you own narrow? Then perhaps a 2-story house plan is what you may be interested in. While ranch style homes are usually single story, their two-storied alternatives offer many significant advantages by not requiring a lot quite the size of Texas.

While some people may be comfortable living on either 800, 1,000, 1,200, 1400 square feet, bigger homes that are either 1,500, 1,800, 2,200, 2,500 or 3,000 may often find themselves needing to be built using two or 3 stories.

2-story homes is perhaps the most popular category we have available on this website, but there are a bunch of other features that people ask for as well:

Features to consider
Small, 2 bedroom	6 bedroom	With porch
2 bedroom	With 2 master suites	Open floor
Small, 3 bedroom	With basement	Walkout basement

Two-story homes, if built right, can offer great curb appeal, where you can conveniently place the master suite on the upper level to additionally get a bit more privacy. Are you foreseeing your Mother-in-law moving into your home in the near future? Then you may want to consider one of the other options, or at least make sure there’s a bedroom conveniently placed on the ground floor to avoid having to climb a staircase.

On this page you’ll find the many different options we have here, and if you can’t find exactly the one you were hoping for, you can always get in touch with a support representative, to hear what it would take to customize the plans to your needs.

Lofts

Looking for options with lofts? Well, you’ve come to the right place.

A loft is a cool addition to a home’s top floor, where you can usually look down at the other floors, and it’s a common place to place all the things that you may not necessarily want to have in your living room.

Many families across the country have kids that absolutely love the space where they can retreat to without necessarily locking themselves in their rooms and feeling like they’re entirely secluded from the rest of the family.

While attics are nice, they do not create the same sort of feeling that a loft does. You don’t just tell your kids to go play in the attic, and the attic, will take up the entire upper floor and not provide the same type of feeling that a loft does. Having that one side open to the floor below just makes it seem a lot more accessible.

If you have wanted somewhere where you can work relatively quietly without having to finish an entirely new room for the purpose, the loft may just be the place to do it.

Either way, we hope you’re going to find what it is you’ve been looking for on this page.

Dutch Colonial (Gambrel Roof Barn)

The Dutch Colonial options are very distinctive with their gambrel roofs, and keep being a popular style that suits the needs of many families. These were originally brought over by the Dutch settlers, in starch contract to those brought over by the Spaniards.

The Dutch Colonial version, to this day, is most popular around New England and New York, where the Cape Cod houses are popular, too. In additional to their gambrel roofs, these also stand out due to their flared eaves. While they have come to exist at a later point in history, there are now two-story versions, whereas the original ones were either single-level or 1.5-storied.

While definitely having their own sort of charm, they do so with a different sort of humility than modern, mid-century homes do.

For their exterior, you should not be surprised to find a combination of clapboard siding or brick being the most common options. The advantage this home has over some of the homes with steeper roofs is that the flatter roof means that the top floor becomes significantly more livable, and could have important tax benefits, too, that two-story homes do not.

Cottages

Unlike mansions, cottages have the reputation for being smaller than your normal size home, while you may of course be able to find ones that aren’t. It isn’t uncommon to find 800 sq feet ones, or ones going upwards of 1,400 square feet.

They’re made to have that picturesque charm, and are very easy to imagine having them stand in the middle of the forest. Some people chose to use them mainly as beach abodes, but they make great additions right next to the lake, if your ambition isn’t to put up a 6 bedroom place. Opposite of the modern-style homes, cottages have a more historic charm to them, as well as having a modest and rural feel. Although originally a two-storey creation, the term has come to more significantly denote a classic, rural building. When people refer to either cabins or chalets, they usually mean buildings that could interchangeably also be called a cottage.

These suburban or country dwellings are referred to as a summer residence in various dictionaries, and are usually used as secondary houses that people go to for a retreat, rather than being their primary mode of residence. Browsing this page, you will find cottage-styled ones of various sizes to fit the needs you desire.

If you want something that has a lot of the same elements, while being slightly bigger, we encourage you to visit our page with Mediterranean homes.

Pole Barns

Pole barn designs come in many different concepts, and while it is very common to have 2-stories in them, you may also be able to find single-story options.

They’re frequently open-floor, and this concept allows the space to seem very inviting and timeless. Barns are traditionally rectangular, and many of them may resemble Dutch Colonial homes because of the roofs’ shapes.

Whether you want a loft, a massive garage, 4 bedrooms, or something else, you can just use the filters to narrow down your search and get more specific results. They are also available with beautiful post & beams to really catch that rustic feel you may want.

While traditional pole barns do not have foundations, the homes featured on our site do, and their gambrel roofs and barn doors can get you back to those simpler times growing up in a rural setting.

Modern farmhouses do have a lot of the functionalities that were probably not available in the home that you grew up in.

While there are some of these plans that have stalls available to have animals in, a lot of the homes simply get inspiration from the style. Even if they’re associated with the countryside, these homes have nothing in common with French country ones.

Benefits of Two Stories

There are a bunch of benefits that you can get from choosing one of the options available on this page. One thing that can be achieved building several stories tall is that you can get more square footage than you can get if you only have a plot of a limited size. The solution is sometimes towards the sky.

If you often have guests over, this style can be beneficial when you want the master suite to be further away from the entertainment area, but it can also be beneficial when you have kids. Having their bedrooms on the upstairs floor will allow them to go play in their rooms when they no longer wish to be part of the party, and it will also be easier to put them to sleep, while making sure that they’re not disturbed by the sound that is potentially coming from the living room.

It is often a consideration whether families should build one, two or 3-storey homes, with these being very popular in areas where the price of land is relatively high.

While they may not be especially convenient that dislike stairs or people of limited mobility, many families love this option as they’re cheaper to build per square foot. Roof installation as well as the installation of a foundation are elements that will quickly drive up the price, and relative to its square footage, you will need less of each for this type .

If you live in an area with severe changes in weather, you’ll also like this option and its improved fuel efficiency. With a structure closer to a rectangular one, there will be less surface area through which heat and cold will escape. A smaller amount of exposed wall will mean a lower HVAC bill, all things considered.

Do you want 3, 4 or 5 bedrooms?

Our most common options on this platform includes the homes that have either 3, 4 or 5 bedrooms when it comes to the two-storey options that you are currently exploring on this page. These are the options that suit the most average families, why they’re also the ones we go above and beyond to actually source from architects, and why we have the most of these.

While you can get homes with several floors in them that may either have more or less bedrooms than that, families usually like to take advantage of the additional floors to make sure they have the amount of rooms that will ensure they’re able to get all the storage space they need.

The advantage you will have when you are getting a 2-story home is also that you can place either all or some of the bedrooms upstairs and get a lot more privacy by ensuring that no one is just able to peak in through the windows. If you are building with the intention of retiring in it, it may even by that you want to place the bedrooms on the ground floor, why those house plans could be the most appealing to you.

Getting an L-shaped style

L-shaped homes are popular and it is one of our fastest growing categories on this page, why it is also important to show off the specific options we have that cover  that individual style. They are great since you can have a nice and big driveway in front of a massive garage, and if you have kids, or you otherwise like to play basket ball, it can be the easiest place to place a basketball hoop and enjoy some outdoor activity without leaving the comfort of your home.

Do you want specific features for the master suite?

While you may have kids that will also be living with you, chances are that you have some very specific wishes when it comes to the master suite that is attached to the home, and no matter if you’re going with some more unique style, like the H-shaped or U-shaped home, the master suite is your place to retreat to. Do you want to make sure that the bathroom either has a certain size, or that your bedroom does, or are you rather more specific in terms of its placement? Now is the time to think about these things to make sure you don’t make the wrong decision.

Do you want something small or something big?

Going along with the amount of bedrooms that you know you will need to have, you will also have to consider the sheer size of the place that you are building, knowing that bigger places will naturally require more maintenance but may also be able to provide you the space that you don’t currently have, and that you have always dreamed of. When you are building towards the sky, you are quickly adding a lot of size unless you find a design that has a very narrow base. If you don’t choose a narrow home, you will quickly find yourself adding a lot of square footage as you build up, with some of our smallest options in this category ranging from 800 to 1,000 square feet (or the equivalent of 80m2 to 100m2), whereas our more common designs start around 1,500 square feet (or the equivalent of 150m2) for houses that have more than a single floor.

Do you want a modern option with a flat roof?

Even if you want to have the feature of having several floors, you still have to choose the style that you are going with. We have a bunch of various options that include very modern homes, some of them that are intended to have flat roofs installed on them, although we also have a bunch of designs that more so fit the typical design of your average country house.

The extent to which you choose to go with something more contemporary rather than a more classic look is entirely up to you.

2-story designs allow your family a lot of flexibility, in addition to the possibility of growing your family, assuming you have enough rooms. If you’re building for a specific purpose, like having an in-law suite as well, here as some additional factors to consider.

Special factors to consider
Multi-family	With in-law suite	Lake
Duplex	Coastal	Mid-century modern

Do you also want a basement or a garage?

If you are building a small 24 by 30 feet blueprint (or the equivalent of 8×10 meters), you may be finding yourself in a situation where you could really use some additional storage space. Although that may especially be the case if you’re building a smaller one, there are also a bunch of people with bigger ones that love having both a massive basement as well as a double garage. The choice is really up to you.

Whether you are building something small or large, we hope to be able to be of assistance in making your dream come true.

If you are an architect who has already made a bunch of options that would fit into this category, we invite you to reach out, especially if you have ones that are either 21 by 45 feet (7×15 meters) or 24 by 45 feet (8×15 meters).

What are some of the other options that you guys offer on here?

The options you are currently considering are very popular ones given their many benefits, but you may also be interested in browsing other options. The good news is that we have anything from small homes to massive mansions, making sure there is something that fit anyone’s budget. We don’t simply want to become a platform that caters to one segment of the market, but rather be able to offer something that can benefit lots of different families no matter what your needs may be.

The same way that you are able to browse the 2-story options on this page, we have pages that are specific to a lot of other categories as well that you might want to take a look at.

What should you be looking for when you’re making up your mind?
It’s not a small decision that you’re standing in front of. As a matter of fact, you’re currently in the process of choosing where you may be living for many years to come, and for some it may even be the one that they choose to retire in. Because of that, it’s important that you sit down and actually ensure that you are building the home that you want to be building, knowing that you see yourself living in it for many years to come. While we keep saying it, there are unfortunately families that believe that certain needs may be enough for them, and before they know it they wish they would have chosen a design that includes an additional bedroom so that they would have an easier time having guests over. On the other hand, it could also be that their need for an additional bedroom stems from the fact that their family suddenly ended up growing bigger than they thought it would. At that point, whether or not you want your kids to have their own separate bedrooms, having an additional bedroom might still come in extremely handy.

Before you choose that a given design is the one that you want to continue with, we encourage you to thoroughly understand the needs that you have as well as the lifestyle that you want to have. If you live far away from anything else but you still like having guests over on a frequent basis, it’s important that yours accommodates those needs by having the necessary amount of guest rooms in it. However, if you already know that you are only planning on staying in for a couple of years, the chances of your needs changing dramatically are a lot smaller. One that may be perfect for you for the next 5 years may not necessarily be the home that you want to retire in. There are various different considerations that need to be taken into account if you are building your retirement home. For one, it can be a good idea to think about the accessibility of the different aspects. If you are rather trying to live a bachelor life, you might want other amenities, like some of the ones that we mention on the page specific to building a mansion. If you have the property to do so, you might try to include aspects such as your own private bar, as well as an extensive entertainment area. For those that want to go above and beyond, there are designs on our platform that include designs with their very own bowling alley.

If you haven’t already bought the property that you are planning on building on, your choice of design may influence the property that you are getting. However, the most common scenario is that homeowners come to our website when they have already chosen the property that they will be building on, at which point you will need to make sure that the home you’re choosing can work with the plot of land that you bought. While it is possible to have the plans altered, there are some plots that will simply not work with some of the options that we have available on here. A big, expansive option won’t work if you are building on a relatively narrow lot. We can help you by making certain changes to the homes, but we aren’t capable of magically making your plot of land bigger than it already is.

2-story designs have so many options, whether you have a growing family or not, why it’s also important you find the style that fits your family’s needs.

Styles to consider
Victorian	Country-style
Luxurious	A-frame
Split-level	Small cottage

Other considerations

Are the 2-story houses on this site what is right for you and your family? These are some of the things that we are going to be talking about in this section. There is a very short answer to this question, while the reality of the matter is that it is a more complicated question to answer.

The short answer is that this may be the right type for your family, if it fits all the needs that you have. The more complicated reality is that you are the only one who can answer whether or not these options are in fact the right ones for your family. Although there are many 2-story homes out there, there are also families where it may not be the best option for them, depending on the things that are important to them.

In addition to that, it is not like it is as simple as saying that any 2-story home would work for you, as there are so many options. For instance, if you are planning on living there with your spouse and your 3 kids, and you have a desire for everyone to have their own bedroom, it doesn’t work that you would be looking at 3 bedroom options. In that case, you would at least need to look for options with 4 bedrooms, or one master suite and 3 bedrooms. Besides just having the necessary number of bedrooms, you will also want to ensure that you are accounting for the additional requirements that you might have for the space. If you also wish to dedicate one room to an office and have another room be the place where you put your gym equipment, you are now looking at some of the options that have no less than 5 bedrooms.

 

Perhaps you have a lot of things that you want to store. In that case, it may be that you are looking to build something that either has a basement or a garage. If you aren’t sure whether or not you and your spouse are going to add additional family members to your family, it’s important that you take that into consideration when you’re considering which design to go with.

 

Are you living in an area where there are very strict limitations when it comes to what you are planning on building, then it is important that you reach out to your local building department to ensure that the plans you are considering actually live up to your local requirements. While there aren’t usually limitations when it comes to simple structures like a 2-story option, some of the more unique designs may have aspects to them that you would have a hard time getting a building permit for. These types of considerations are usually more relevant when you are building in very exclusive parts of the country. For instance, we previously heard examples of communities that have certain requirements when it comes to the size of the house that was being built. The community in question had a requirement that they were only allowing the construction of homes above a certain size.

While that is inherently a very unusual example, there are other communities that may have other building requirements. The most common reasons why a specific community would have building codes that vary significantly from the common ones include the physical requirements for such. For instance, if you are building in an area that is prone to getting flooded, it may be that they only allow the construction of homes that adequately address that concern. This type of requirement is very common for ones that are being built near the coast, especially for places in Florida.

Another type of scenario that often requires that you are ensuring that a specific plan lives up to the local building codes is when you are building next to a lake. There are many communities where there may be limitations when it comes to the size that you are building. Near steep hills, as can be the case when your plot of land is right on the lake, erosion is always a concern. The most common way to help minimize the risk of erosion includes the preventative measures that are taken during the building process, as well as ensuring that you aren’t adding too much weight on top of the hill. It is therefore not uncommon that there are limitations in terms of the percentage of the plot of land that you are allowed to build on so as to help prevent erosion.

While these measures may seem tedious, they are usually introduced so as to help protect the surrounding nature, or to otherwise protect the community’s reputation. When a community requires that you can only build homes of a certain size, it is to help protect the exclusivity and desirability of the place where it is being built. On the other hand, stringent measures to help protect the coast line is also something that you will often find yourself having to take into account when you are building on a plot of land where that may be relevant.

It is not easy to give universal insight into which things should be considered when you are choosing the right blueprints for your building project. However, it is important that you take the necessary amount of time to sit down and make sure you make a prioritized list of the things that are important to you, as well as think about whether there might be any reason why you may be subject to building codes that are stricter than what is commonly the case.

While you and your spouse are the final people making the decisions with regards to the design, it can still be a good idea to include the entire family in the process. This will help make sure that everyone’s needs are being met to a reasonable extent.

Although you might not be able to build the luxurious home that your kids want, there are still aspects of it that may still be possible to build. If you are building on the side of a slope, you might be interested in looking at some of the designs that include walkout basements. These are extremely popular among families with kids as the lower floor can serve a multitude of purposes. Even if you aren’t able to build bedrooms that all have their individual bathrooms, a compromise could be that you dedicate the lower level to a game room, which could also end up being the place where the family gathers on Friday nights.

When you start browsing the many options we have available on this page, we are sure you will at least be able to find one design that matches the needs of your family!