Small House and Cottage Plans

[John Raabe]

An old office mate of mine does some very nice smaller plans. Many good ideas for cottage and small homes.

http://www.rosschapin.com/Plans/plans.html

[Greenbank]

John,

Ross does nice work, indeed. Do you have a personal opinion of the "buildability" of his plans for a DIY person? They're lovely but seemingly more complex than, say, the Victoria Cottage.

[DavidLeBlanc]

I've poured over Mr. Chapin's cottage plans and love his work. He's got the quaint/whimsical/engaging bit down pat.

I think he tends to fall a bit short of practical at times: closet space tends to be lacking, as do laundry facilities, in many designs shown on his website. He also designs for a resolutely urban setting IMO: under-counter fridges and small or non-existant pantry spaces that demand frequent trips to the market.

Where I think his buildings get really tricky is his finicky (and very nice indeed) finish details and his frequent use of off-square designs - rooms that joing other rooms at other than 90 degrees. Complex roof lines too! All these contribute to higher build costs.

Also, his least expensive plans are 4x to 8x John's. (John: please don't get any ideas for at least the next 6 months! .) I'm sure they're worth it if for no other reason than all the drawing he has to do to specify his trims.

I think Mr. Chapin puts up stock plans for sale (and I'm sure he does sell some "as is") more as a way to attract people who want (additional) custom work done, either on the stock plans or new design. Nothing at all wrong with that!

[Lexarn]

I have looked at Ross Chapin's plans quite a bit. He has a small house plan, it's called the "Kaleah" and is similar to John's 20' wide 2 story plan.  
I am wondering about the way he does the staircase in this one? It appears to wind around the side and back of the kitchen. I wonder if that would give some interesting niche spaces under the stairs for the kitchen, and just how that might work?  I remember seeing a kitchen picture, under some stairs, in one of Sarah Susanka's book.

[RoxyRocks]

I have been wondering the same thing does anyone happen to know?

[John Raabe]

Yes, that Kaleah plan is 20' wide with a 4' bump out gable for the upper bath and dining area. The stair is made of three sets of treads and two square landings winding around and open shaft. With two skylights in the roof above this opening it will spill light down into the back kitchen counter. Very nice!

There is not a cross section shown here, but I expect this has about a 4' sidewall at the upper floor - closer in structural configuration to the 20' wide 1-1/2 story plan as the basic starting point.

[TheWire]

Ross Chapin makes abundant use of white paneled ceilings.  Does anyone know what material is used and what the finish is?