Month: December 2021

benefits of open concept style house plans

5 Benefits of Single-Level, Open-Concept Living

At Frank Betz Associates, we’ve mastered the art of stylish, single-level, open-concept living. Our one-story house plans feature spacious, thoughtfully-designed interiors, oversized bedrooms and baths, extra space for storage, and covered porches or patios to comfortably enjoy fresh air. They offer 2 to 5 bedrooms, plenty of open space, abundant natural light, and a level of comfort you won’t believe. You’ll wish you’d switched to single-level living years ago! 

 

5 Benefits of Open-Concept Floor Plans

 

1) Easier to navigate. The biggest attraction of one-story homes with an open concept is the fact that everything you need is on one floor — no stairs required. This makes it easier to live comfortably with any physical limitations, like arthritis or achy joints. No more dreading when you’ve left something in another room!

 

2) Safer. No matter your age, falling down the steps, or even making it up, can be a big concern. Single-level living means no worries about you, your young children or grandkids, or pets tumbling down steps and getting hurt. And no need to haul laundry, suitcases, or anything else up and down stairs. 

 

3) Open space and natural light. Our one-story homes include lots of open living space. Rooms have vaulted ceilings, plenty of windows, and flow easily into one another – without a staircase cutting into the space or narrow hallways to navigate.

 

4) Easy to clean. Vacuums and cleaning supplies can be heavy and bulky – especially if you’re lugging them up the stairs. And no one wants to spend money on TWO vacuums! If you live on a single floor, it’s so much easier to go from one end of the house to the other with a vacuum, dust mop, or any other cleaning tool. 

 

5) Everyday life. No stairs and zero step entries mean that you can move easily from the garage to the mudroom to the living areas with shopping bags, suitcases, boxes – and not worry about tripping or dropping things down the steps.

 

If you are interested in building a single-level, open-concept home, we have some home plans you’re sure to love: 

 

 

Waterbury Cottage

  • 4 Bedrooms
  • 2.5 Baths
  • 2-Car Garage
  • 1,997 Square Feet

This light-filled, airy, modern farmhouse-style home features a split bedroom design with the owner’s suite on one side of the home, and the secondary bedrooms on the other. Step through the foyer and the home immediately opens up into a formal dining room and beamed great room, which leads right into a spacious kitchen with an oversized island. The two outdoor living spaces are generously proportioned and just as easy to navigate as the interior ones.

 

 

Mulberry Farm

  • 4 Bedrooms
  • 2.5 Baths
  • 2-Car Garage
  • 2,148 Square Feet

The epitome of open-concept design, this home features a living room, dining area, and kitchen that is vaulted with one continuous ridge line across the entire space. The result is a grand, elegant room that encourages movement and flow throughout the entire home. The 16-ft sliding glass door from the dining area to the vaulted covered back porch provides a continuous line of sight straight through to your backyard and lets in abundant natural light. 

 

To learn more about how a single-level, open-concept home can improve your quality of life, please contact us — we’d love to share more!

 

Kitchen Designs Perfect for Family Gatherings

If you’ve ever envisioned your “perfect home,” you’ve probably thought a lot about the kitchen. After all, this is the room where you jumpstart your day, unwind in the evening, and cook and enjoy meals. Perhaps most importantly, though, this is the place in your home where you gather with family and friends. For these reasons, the layout and features of a kitchen are especially important. While it must be functional, this space should also be supremely inviting.

 

Popular Kitchen Designs for Entertaining

Large Kitchen Island

A large island is probably the most important (and most aesthetically pleasing) feature we include in a kitchen that’s meant for people to come together. A meal prepping station, serving station, and gathering place all in one, an island is a multi-purpose feature that adds function and style to your kitchen. In many of our designs, the sink is placed in the kitchen island facing out across the living area, so that you can continue working without ever turning your back on your family or your guests.

See the large kitchen island in the Aspen Ridge home plan. 

 

 

Keeping Room or Breakfast Room

A keeping room is a comfortable space just off the kitchen complete with a hearth where family or guests can keep you company while you’re preparing meals, without getting in the way. The history of the keeping room goes back to colonial America, when the home’s fireplace was used for both cooking and keeping warm. Home designers today have reimagined this room in new and different ways. You’ll often find a breakfast room just adjacent to the kitchen — a modern version of the keeping room where your family can gather for a more intimate breakfast or meal. 

See the vaulted keeping room in the Tuxedo Park home plan. 

 

 

Open to the Family Room

When the family gathers for holidays or special events, no one wants to feel left out because they need to prepare food, or because they want to relax on a comfortable couch. The best design for family gatherings is one where the kitchen is fully open to the family room, so that the entire family can enjoy special moments together. Opt for a space that’s large enough to create multiple seating arrangements, leaving room for everyone to gather around the table or island to sing Happy Birthday or give a toast. 

See the open-concept kitchen and living space in the Hanover Pointe home plan.

 

 

The kitchen is the heart of your home, and where your best family memories will be made. Choose a warm, welcoming space that accommodates everyone, while keeping you at the center of it all. Learn more about our made-for-gathering kitchen designs. 

 

most popular floor plans of 2021

Best-Selling Home Plans of 2021

As 2021 winds down, we are looking back at a few of our most popular home plans of the year. There was definitely a preference for large-scale, open-concept living and plans that included a dedicated space for everyone in the family, and every activity. Bonus rooms, flex space, full guest suites, and expansive outdoor living spaces topped the list for many of our customers. Aesthetically, the Modern Farmhouse was the big winner, along with exteriors loaded with nuance and visual interest.

 

Best-Selling House Plans of 2021

 

Chestnut Pointe

  • 4 Bedrooms
  • 3 Baths
  • 2 Stories
  • 3-Car Garage
  • 2,823 Square Feet

With Modern Farmhouse-style still commanding the attention of designers and home buyers alike, Chestnut Pointe was one of our best-selling house plans of 2021, and demand for it continues into next year. With open, light-filled interior spaces, a wide front porch, and expansive dormers, this house feels like home from the moment you step in. Delightful design touches like beamed ceilings in the great room and boxed bay windows in the owner’s suite make living here feel like an act of indulgence.

 

Shaker Heights

  • 4 Bedrooms
  • 4 Baths
  • 2 Stories
  • 2-Car Garage
  • 3,009 Square Feet

This classic farmhouse-style home has everything the modern family needs to live, entertain, work, and thrive. With smart, flexible rooms throughout, open spaces that invite gathering, a deluxe owner’s suite, and outdoor living that rivals the indoors, this beautiful home has style that will last a lifetime.

 

Haddington

  • 4 bedrooms
  • 2.5 Baths
  • 2 Stories
  • 2-Car Garage
  • 2,300 Square Feet

Bright, airy, and open, the Haddington has a classic, open-concept layout that encourages gathering in multiple places — be it the welcoming front porch, the large living/dining room combination, or around the kitchen island. The first-floor owner’s suite is tucked away and easy to navigate, while each of the upstairs bedrooms offers quiet and privacy. This home design features an optional upstairs bonus room — perfect for multi-functional use.

 

Bristol Walk

  • 4 Bedrooms
  • 4.5 Baths
  • 2 Stories
  • 3-Car Garage
  • 3,045 Square Feet

Visually stunning both inside and out, Bristol Walk is a show-stopper. With complex roof lines and a mix of exterior materials including painted brick, fieldstone, and vertical siding, you will love pulling up to your home every day. Inside, a wall of sliding glass doors across the grand room and dining room give access to a vaulted covered porch and a covered outdoor dining room, with space for a grill. The master suite occupies a private wing of the first floor, with a guest suite occupying the other. Upstairs, along with the secondary bedrooms, there’s an open loft area as well as an optional bonus room above the garage. With this house plan, there’s room for everything — and everyone — special in your life.

 

These home plans were some of our best sellers of 2021, and we fully expect their classic styling to buoy their popularity into the new year and beyond. Please contact us to learn more about any of these beautiful home plans.