House Building Plans and Floor Plans
TopPicks Index
Top 7 Adobe House Building Plans and Manuals
It's often said that once you live in a home made from the earth, you won't settle for anything else. Beautiful and practical, today's adobe homes combine ancient techniques with modern technologies. To build your own, start with these helpful how-to guides. You'll find floor plans, construction information, and more. Also, don't miss our related story on illustrated books of adobe homes.
Top 10 Building Plans for Small Houses
Small doesn't have to mean cramped! These books have home designs and building plans that pack a lot of living into small spaces. Some titles offer detailed construction plans, while others have beautiful color illustrations to inspire ideas for your own compact, efficient, and economical home.
Top 4 House Plans: French Styles
From grand estates to simple country cottages, French inspired homes are distinguished by their hipped roofs and flared eaves. However, French ideas take on many forms. Browse these books for building plans and illustrations of Normandy, Provincial, and other French styles.
Top 7 Plans for One-Story Homes
The one-story home allows for vaulted ceilings, dramatic window shapes, and generous use of skylights -- amenities that a multi-level home can't provide. A one-story home can be built to accomodate any need and taste, and is available in just about any style. The collections below will help you find the single-level home of your dreams.
Top 6 Cottage Building Plan Books
From a hideaway retreat in the mountains to a seaside villa, nothing says peace, tranquility and relaxation better than a cottage. Below are our favorite books with floor plans and ideas for vacation cottages... and cottage style houses for year-round living.
Top 8 Victorian Planbooks
During Victorian times, many builders found ideas, inspiration and instruction from architectural planbooks by noted designers. While these house plans do not contain the detailed specifications required by modern builders, they are a valuable resource for anyone who wants to recreate Victorian styles. Here are our top picks for planbooks from the Victorian era.
Top 3 Spanish & Mediterranean House Plans
Browse this page for building plans books for Spanish and Mediterranean Style homes. Or follow the links for information about Spanish and Mediterranean architecture.
Top 6 Low-Cost House Plans
If you dream of owning a new home but worry about the cost, check out these affordable house plans.
Top 5 Luxury House Plans
Everyone needs a dream, and these luxury building plans will let you indulge your dream home fantasies. You'll find large estates with separate guest suites, servants' quarters, home entertainment rooms, pool houses, detached garages, and more. Are these luxury dream homes elegant and upscale... or are they wasteful "McMansions"? You be the judge.