Designer Testimonials
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House Plan Built: 1,855 sq ft, 3 bedroom 2.5 bath home design
I am so proud that I had this house built and that you provided such a
beautiful plan that will be in style for years to come!
I purchased some land in North Carolina in 1996 and had planned to build a house
with plans I had gotten from the internet. My plans to build this house did not
happen as the seller of the land did not fulfill the agreement.
I carried those house plans with me for years and when I decided to retire in
2010. I started researching the internet again in 2009 and found that my plan no
longer existed.
Then I found the perfect plan. I loved the design, especially the big windows in
the front of the house. Inside the house I loved the split floor plan and the
open feel of the living room with the 12 foot ceilings. The huge kitchen was
also a plus for me as I love to entertain! This house has all the bedrooms on
the first level which is great for someone my age.
This house has change my life a lot as I have a spacious yard which I have been
busy fixing up. My plans is to use my house to bring my extended family closer
by having plenty of space to have family functions. I spent more than 40 years
out of the state and wanted to get closer to home in order to spend my final
years getting to know my extended family better.
The best thing about my house is that people drive by all the time and they yell
out to me, "I love your house!" and I yell back, "so do I." I am so proud that I
had this house built and that you provided such a beautiful plan that will be in
style for years to come.
Kay W.
Graham, North Carolina
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House Plan Built: 2,401 sq ft, 3 bedroom 2.5 bath home design
Wow, I cannot believe this is our home!
Home is where the heart is. And that is exactly what went into building our
house. Our whole heart.
Two years ago, my husband and I married and began our new life together. We soon
felt the desire to begin a family and knew that our bachelor pad-turned-newlywed
home would not provide the space or safety we needed. We began looking at homes
to buy, but realized quickly that nothing fit our needs.
My husband and I bought a lot in a wonderful, safe neighborhood and began
formulating ideas what our new home would look like, have in it, etc. A friend
told me about this designer and we went online to check it out. Boy, am I glad
we did. After looking at numerous floor plans, we found the "one". This house
plan had everything we needed and envisioned in a "dream home".
During the building process, we enjoyed every minute of it. We built it with our
heart and so much love went into it. We built this home with our future in mind.
We imagined special things like bringing our first child home, seeing their
first steps, having Thanksgiving with family, putting up a Christmas tree, and
countless movie nights in this house. I hear horror stories of people building
houses and getting stressed out.
With us, it was so reassuring that House Plan Gallery provided everything in the
plans for our contractor and all we had to worry about was details. Now that the
house is finished, we love having friends and family over to entertain. We get
so many compliments almost daily about every aspect of our home. It has now been
two months since we moved in and we still just sit back and say to each other,
"Wow, I cannot believe this is our home".
Needless to say, we are thrilled and feel blessed beyond belief. This is an
exciting time in our lives and now that we are settled into our new home, we
cannot wait to see what else God has in store for us.
Matthew and Stephanie D
Monroe, Louisiana
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House Plan Built: 1,855 sq ft, 3 bedroom 2.5 bath home design
We would recommend this designer without reservation...
The staff at has been a pleasure to work with on designing the plans for our new
home. Someone has been available to answer any and all questions that my wife
and I have had.
The designers made several relevant suggestions to us to help us through this
process. My wife and I are contracting our house ourselves and this company has
been there to help direct us on each phase. We did make several modifications to
the original plan we selected and the designer was ready willing and able to
make it happen.
We would recommend this designer without reservation.
Keith C.
Texarkana, Arkansas
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House Plan Built: 2,000 sq ft, 3 bedroom 2.5 bath home design
We are so very pleased with our home and would not hesitate to recommend or even
use them again in the future.
In the fall of 2007 we were expecting our second daughter due in February 2008.
We absolutely love the area and neighborhood we are in and had heard from a
neighbor that the lot directly across the street was going to possibly be up for
sale in the near future.
We didn't think much about it, we loved our house and it was suiting us just
fine as we were, but we knew when the new baby came we would certainly like to
have more space.
In January of 2008, the new baby girl was born and we thought we would start
looking into the prospect of building in the coming fall. Unfortunately we all
know 2008 did not end on a high note for the economy and more specifically the
housing market. We decided it would be in our best interest to keep our land but
look into building within 5 or so years.
Then came 2010. I received a phone call from a friend of a friend. She told me
she grew up in the house next door to us and really liked our neighborhood. She
said she was told by our mutual friend we owned the land across the street and
was curious if we had plans to build. I told her we hoped to one day, but
weren't looking into anything too seriously at that point because houses were
still not really selling at that time. She asked me if we would consider selling
our home as they were very interested in living in the neighborhood and there
were no other homes for sale at the time. I told her, with the right price, just
about anything is for sale.
Needless to say that went off without a hitch and we were off to live with my
mom and begin our dream of building. We bought books and surfed the web day
after day looking for house plans. We kept coming back to this one plan. It was
in a couple of the books we looked at and on almost every website we looked at.
We finally decided this was our house. It just needed a couple of modifications
that would really make it ours.
And then came this designer. They responded to my email and asked me to describe
in detail all of the modifications I wanted. They let me know I would be hearing
from someone within a few days. But it wasn't a few days... It was one day! We
further discussed the modifications and they emailed me the cost and a sketch
within the next day. It was absolutely PERFECT.
It's very clear why our choice was this designer. They take customer service to
the extreme to ensure 100% satisfaction. I even received a call later after
ordering asking how construction was going and just a simple hello and thank us
for our order. Not many companies follow up quite like this anymore. I'm without
a doubt a fan of the entire family.
We are so very pleased with our home and would not hesitate to recommend or even
use them again in the future.
Thank you for making our dream home a reality!
Ashley S.
Jones, Oklahoma
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House Plan Built: 1,888 sq ft, 3 bedroom 2 bath home design
I want to Thank You again for the perfect house plan...
We reached our goal in paying off our property. We looked up house plans and
found our custom builder.
This was the best move we could had made! Selling our home in the city to build
our new country house that is perfect. We have been living in it for about 4
months and we enjoy it every day. Our family and friends are in love with our
house.
I want to Thank You again for the perfect house plan.
Robert N.
East Bernard, Texas
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House Plan Built: 728 sq ft, 0 bedroom 0 bath home design
Again, thank you so much and I WILL be in touch very soon!!
Thank you for your very prompt and detailed answers to my questions. It is very
impressive to have someone take the time to do such a thorough job of answering
questions.
I will absolutely buy my plans from your company, quite simply, because of your
individual efforts.
Again, thank you so much and I WILL be in touch very soon!!
Gary E.
Yulee, Florida
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House Plan Built: 1,816 sq ft, 3 bedroom 2 bath home design
We couldn't be happier with our choice!
We had been waiting for years for a lot to become available in our neighborhood
and the owners finally decided they were ready to sell.
We probably looked at upwards of 500 house plans trying to find just the right
features and style for us. The house plan we settled on had everything we
wanted, including the style and appearance that set it apart from the other
homes in our area.
We couldn't be happier with our choice!
Cory S.
West Jordan, Utah
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House Plan Built: 1,752 sq ft, 3 bedroom 2 bath home design
We appreciate this designer for helping us to make our dream home a reality,
and we'd definitely recommend you to all of our friends and family looking for
new house plans.
My wife and I purchased a lakefront lot on a wonderfully pristine Texas lake in
2000 with the intention of eventually building a lakefront home with retirement
in mind. We were operating on a 20+ year plan.
Two years ago my wife's parents approached us with a proposition. My father in
law was planning on retiring in 2010 and was looking at their retirement
options. While he wasn't in the position to buy a lakefront place that he
wanted, he did have enough funds to help finance the construction of a home.
We worked out an arrangement in that we would build a house on our lakefront in
which they would live out the rest of their independent years. My wife and I
would maintain ownership and my inlaws would have a wonderful retirement
lifestyle that they wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise.
It was a win-win for everyone.
We began looking at house plans and were initially looking for a modest, easy to
construct home. Since I was acting as the general contractor and doing a great
deal of the work myself as well, design simplicity was important. But so was
efficient use of space. We sat down together and drew up a list of key "care
abouts".
Those key care abouts included full masonry exterior, covered porches,
separate laundry room, open eating/living space, a separate master suite area
from the other bedrooms, spacious garage large enough to hold 2 cars and a golf
cart. We also wanted a safe room as tornados are not uncommon in the area.
My inlaws began surfing the web looking at various online designs and came
across the perfect house on one of the stock plan sites. It had most of what we
were looking for, but needed a few modifications to suit our particular tastes
and needs. I contacted the guys and discussed our desired changes.
I was unbelievably surprised when I found out that not only could the designer
make the requested changes, but that the modification cost was well below what I
had expected!
After a few email exchanges outlining the changes, the designer delivered the
modified draft plans for our review within a few days, and after one more round
of tweaks, this company delivered what I thought would be our final plans at an
extremely reasonable price.
The first step in our construction process was site work. With plans in hand I
met up with my site work subcontractor to lay out the plans on the lot. I
already had a good idea where the house would sit and anticipated that we would
need pad leveling to compensate for our gentle sloping lot.
The plans called for slab on grade construction. Imagine my surprise when
shooting the elevations, that the lot dropped nearly seven feet from one corner
of the house to the other. The excavation sub estimated that he would need to
bring in 60 truck loads of fill as well as cut one corner down 3 feet. I nearly
choked on the estimate for fill dirt. Off handedly, I asked how much just to dig
a whole. His estimate for a hole was significantly less.
So right off the bat we were faced with a major decision. I could spend a large
amount of money for dirt and end up with a 1800 sqft home sitting on very
expensive dirt, or I could spend less money on a hole and potentially double the
square footage of the house. Sure the basement would cost some money (so I
thought), but I'd rather spend money on potentially usable space than dirt.
So back to the drawing board...
I contacted the designer, and asked them what it would cost to modify our house
plans for a basement foundation. Again the service was excellent, inexpensive,
and fast. So now I had new plans with almost double the living area square
footage.
Our plan of record was to complete the upper level as originally planned, and to
finish out the basement at some point in the future. As I mentioned the house is
in Texas. Curious thing about Texas is that not a lot of houses are built with
basements. Since the frost line is so shallow, slab on grade is perfectly
adequate.
We started pushing dirt in October 2010, and it took until January 2011 to
complete the basement(due to several weather related delays). I eventually
worked with my concrete sub to get the price down based on some creative win-win
negotiations and aggressive bid shopping.
I decided early on in the construction process, given how much dirt work we
planned and that I would be acting as the general contractor, to purchase a used
skidsteer loader. My wife and father in law thought I was nuts, but I initially
justified it in that we could always sell it for basically what we paid. It has
proven to be invaluable and it has paid for itself at least twice so far.
I have also found an interesting and effective owner builder tool. It's called
craigslist.com. I typically post what I need, and am flooded by responses. I
interview the more promising, check references, and cut a deal. I have also used
it to source building supplies.
Of all the subs I have hired so far, the framing sub proved to be the "best". My
framer came to me via craigslist. He was relatively young, had two sizeable
crews, and was building for several of the major custom home builders in the
greater area. He was responsive, polite, and clearly knowledgeable. He was also
looking to start building around the lake where my lot was located. We worked
out a deal and set a start date. He was typically paid 45-60 days after
completion by the major custom home builders, and I agreed to pay cash upon
completion.
My framer and his crew showed up bright and early on the start date and knocked
out the whole house in three days. I couldn't believe it and was more than happy
to hand over his payment upon completion. On the third day, he had both his
crews show up to insure that he completed on time. I've seen lots of operations
in various industries, but I have never seen one as efficient as this framing
crew.
Half way through the second day I realized that the job site was relatively
quiet, except for the almost constant pneumatic nailing. I then noticed that the
crew was working in pairs, one guy measured/nailed, the other guy cut and kept
material flowing to the one nailing. I then noticed that the crew was all using
what looked like sign language to communicate! If you ever seen bond traders
flash hand signals in the trading pits to convey purchase prices, this is
exactly what this looked like. But this crew had created their own sign language
to convey measurements so that they didn't have to shout over the constant
nailing.
I commented at the end of the day to my framer how impressed I was, and he
related this story to me. He had hired a deaf/mute on one of his crews about a
year earlier. They had created, through trial and error, a way to provide him
instructions on the site using hand signals. He realized that the deaf mute got
more done than some of his other seasoned crew members, and that it was because
he never had to repeat instructions. So he started making all of his crew use
hand signs, and their productivity went up!
Needless to say, It was very humbling to see that through my home building
efforts, I was able to employ a farmer who employed a deaf mute, who in all
likelihood would have not had a job.
Since I blew my construction budget almost from the beginning, I have had to
resort to very creative ways to control costs. Craigslist has proven to very
useful for this as well. My best materials deal was for my stone veneer. I found
someone on craigslist that had 5 pallets of brand new stone veneer in almost the
exact color and style I wanted. Better yet, they wanted 10% of the retail price.
The veneer was overruns from a local manufacturer. The only kicker was you had
to come pick it up from their home. I loaded up my skidsteer and within 30
minutes I had all five pallets loaded. That one trip netted me almost $4000 in
savings and paid for nearly half of the skidsteer.
My house is now dried in and most of the rough electrical, plumbing, and
mechanical are completed. I still have a lot of work remaining, but it's
predominantly subs from this point forward. Things like drywall, insulation, and
septic system will go relatively quickly. The basement has inflated the original
construction budget by almost 50% and delayed my completion date by almost 6
months. In the end I think it was worth it.
All of my family is anxiously awaiting completion so that we can start enjoying
the lake. It looks like we will miss this summer, but there is always next and
many more after that.
We appreciate the designers for helping us to make our dream home a reality, and
we'd definitely recommend you to all of our friends and family looking for new
house plans.
Mathew H.
Coppell, Texas
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House Plan Built: 2,750 sq ft, 4 bedroom 3.5 bath home design
Again, thank you so much and I WILL be in touch very soon!!
Thank you for your very prompt and detailed answers to my questions. It is very
impressive to have someone take the time to do such a thorough job of answering
questions.
I will absolutely buy my plans from your company, quite simply, because of your
individual efforts.
Again, thank you so much and I WILL be in touch very soon!!
Rebecca F.
Leonardtown, Maryland
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House Plan Built: 2,212 sq ft, 4 bedroom 2.5 bath home design
We are very thankful and blessed that we could build such a wonderful home.
We moved to North Carolina from Idaho in 2010 due to a military permanent change
of station. In the military, moves are anything but permanent. We began looking
for a house with 4 bedrooms and a bonus, in the fall of 2009.
It was important to us that we had a home that would accommodate a growing
family. We currently have 2 year old boy/girl twins, and wanted them to be able
to have their own rooms when they got older, and have another bedroom for a
nursery for a future child. We also wanted to have a bonus room for out-of-town
guests since our family all lives out of state.
It seemed that all the houses on the market were only 3 bedrooms with a bonus,
and despite having more square footage than our home in Idaho, they had less
usable space, with only a small family room. (Our home in Idaho was a 3 bedroom
home, but had a large family room, and small office, and a living room.)
All the 4 bedroom+ homes we saw had only the master on the first floor, and the
rest of the bedrooms upstairs. Because we have little ones, we wanted to have
the bedrooms on the first floor, with the master on one side of the house and
the bedrooms on the other. We finally decided that the best option would be to
build a home. Something that we had done in Idaho. With mortgage rates being so
low, it was a good time to be able to build.
We began meeting with builders and looked at a few builder spec plans, but did
not see what we were looking for. We finally began looking on-line through
thousands of plans, and discovered <this designer and our perfect house plans.
Both plans being very similar, offered exactly what we were looking for. The
size of the breakfast areas could accommodate a dining room table and hutch
which would allow the flex-space to be used as a study. Most people never use
their formal dining rooms but once a year, so to us it seemed like a waste of
space.
We decided after comparing both plans and costs, that the bigger home was the
one for us. We love the exterior with the front bedroom with the bay window and
the stone accents. The two covered porches are great for sitting outside and
enjoying the evenings.
Thankfully, we found a great builder who did an awesome job building our home
and being responsive to all of our requirements. The team of designers was also
very helpful, especially when right before we were to break ground, the building
department decided they wanted a reverse set of plans before they would issue
the permits.
We had to reverse the plans due to placement of the septic tank on the lot. This
designer had someone come in on a day off to reverse the plans and got them to
us later that same day!
The process of building this home went much smoother than building our first
home in Idaho did. The house turned out beautiful and we are very satisfied. The
house has plenty of space for our family.
The twins share a room currently, and we use one bedroom as a play room, and the
other is an extra guest room that will eventually be turned into a nursery for
another child. The bonus room is complete with a bathroom and shower and is
perfect when grandparents come to visit, which they do frequently. The kitchen
has plenty of counter-space and cabinets.
This is a great house plan, and we continually get great comments from family,
friends and neighbors on how nice the house is. Several neighbors have even told
us that this is their favorite house in the neighborhood. (I'm sure thats next
to their own!)
We are very thankful and blessed that we could build such a wonderful home.
Drew P.
Goldsboro, North Carolina
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House Plan Built: 3,000 sq ft, 4 bedroom 3.5 bath home design
Thank you for making our dreams come true!
My husband has had the vision to build for several years and the timing was
right for our family in terms of the economy and employment situations. There
are so many features that we LOVE! The large front porch (where I have added a
porch swing), the covered backporch, the large great room, the breakfast area,
the kitchen, the master bath!
When my husband and I saw this house plan, we both knew it was the perfect house
plan for our family and would meet all of our needs and wants.
Our lot overlooks a wooded area so the large number of windows provide access to
gorgeous wooded views that some find only in vacation homes. There are many
features to this house that we absolutely love, but as a mom, the large
breakfast area is one of my favorites. We have only lived in this home two short
months, but the breakfast area has already provided several opportunities for
our family to come together over meals and board games while spending time
together. In addition, it is nice to be in the kitchen close by while my
children have their friends over and are hanging out/ snacking (as kids and
teens will do).
The porches are another favorite! Since I was a girl growing up next to an
elderly lady who would invite me to sit and talk on her front porch swing, I
have always dreamed of owning a home with a porch swing and now I have it! The
memories that I have of the time I spent with my Christian neighbor and the
values she imparted to me are priceless because we had a place to relax and
spend time. I now have my own porch swing on my front porch to share with my own
children. This is also the first time my family has had a covered back porch. We
have spent more time outdoors in two months on the back porch then we did in an
entire year at our old home with a deck. We've enjoyed rain storms, reading
books, meals and more in the shade and privacy of our covered back porch.
The bedroom layout of this house plan was also perfect for our family. We have
three children ages 6, 10 and 13 (two boys and a girl). The bedroom with the
bathroom inside of it was perfect for my only daughter (who is also the
youngest). She feels like she is a princess in her pink bedroom with a purple
bathroom.
Due to the way the roof line fell, the builder was able to expand this room
(with a sloped ceiling). The extra play space is perfect for her dollhouse and
other "girl" toys. My two boys have the bedrooms at the top of the stairs facing
the front of the house. The large closets give them room for their sports
equipments and hobbies (and clothes). The boys also share the bathroom in the
upstairs hall. It is perfect! We added a double vanity (instead of one) so that
each of my boys would have their own sink bowl (no fighting over who is going to
brush their teeth first !). The door between the toilet/shower area and the
vanity area also gives each boy the privacy he needs.
Lastly, my husband and I have a master bedroom downstairs which makes this a
house we can grow old in! The large closets are also a plus and make it easier
to keep our things separate and neat. The window over the garden tub looks over
the wooded area behind our home and it is a wonderful view that we enjoy each
day!
My husband's job is based from our home so the home office gives him a private
place to work (with doors). The workshop area in the garage also gives him the
storage space he needs without having work files cluttering the living areas of
our home.
In the garage, we divided the garage area and made one car stall separate with a
wall. This allowed us to have space for a weight room / fitness area. This means
all our equipment, including the treadmill, have a place of their own (and not
in the living areas of the house).
We opted to finish out the bonus room at the top of the stairs (complete with
French doors) for our children (and their friends) to have a place to hang out
and play.
We've added a television and video games, foosball table, air hockey
and more! This is a great place for our kid's friends. At night, they can roll
out the sleeping bags and crash. It has been a lot of fun having this space. We
also added a large closet off from the bonus room upstairs. The closet is lined
with shelves for legos, board games, toy sets, books and more.
This house is the house of our dreams. When my husband and I saw the plan, we
both knew right away that this was it! After living here for two months, we were
right. The layout of this home has brought our family closer together in ways
that we never could have imagined.
Family ties are important in this busy world
in which we are pulled in so many directions. I am grateful for my home and the
opportunity to share my excitement with you! There are so many more things I
could share - like the great builder we had, the wonderful woodwork, the
gorgeous kitchen, but I think you get the picture!
Thank you for making our dreams come true!
Clint & Angie W.
Scott Depot, West Virginia
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In Canada, call 1-800-361-7526
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