Many of America’s metropolitan cities have outgrown their highway systems and instead rely on homeowners continuing to spend a large portion of their workday week commuting long distances from their homes to their jobs. Environmentally and logistically, a large majority of people and homeowners are no longer willing to encourage or invest in building increasingly large and complex highway systems as - #1 – they are not working at keeping up with traffic demands #2 – it increases our environmental destruction and #3 – existing communities are becoming increasingly resistant to the idea of plowing up their neighborhoods to accommodate a seemingly never ending problem with no real solution in sight. An actual solution may lie in the building of suitable, sustainable and meaningful homes closer to these urban cores or, at least, close to urban employment centers. Another argument for in-town or urban housing is the availability of public transportation services, bicycle paths or walkability because there’s no question that one way out of the traffic nightmare in overgrown suburbs and densely populated areas is to figure out how to reduce the distances you have to drive.

While the average new home has gotten 24% larger over the last decade or so, lot sizes have been reduced by 10%. American’s continue to want large, luxurious interior spaces; however, the trade-off seems to be, at least in some instances, a smaller property lot. This compromise of being closer to employment centers and large urban city centers while not giving up interior comfort and size represents American’s desire to want both space and convenience. Land expense continues to sway our lifestyle and commitment to homeownership but oftentimes, there is no real sacrifice in terms of home size and luxury when considering a Narrow Lot house plan.

Of course, buildable land is becoming scarce the closer you are to in-town/urban centers which leads buyers and builders looking towards narrow lots. Considering the above challenges with in-town living and densely populated areas, America’s Best House Plans has put together a large selection of Narrow Lot House Plans that offer a fresh perspective to the building challenges that come with in-town/urban living. These house designs make use of innovative and efficient design principles without compromising conveniences and amenities today’s homeowners have come to expect.

One, Two and Three Story House Plans

Building up and, not out, is the most obvious solution when constructing a home on a narrow property lot. These slim, narrow plans maximize space in creative and imaginative ways with varying height and width dimensions. Whether a one, two or even a three story house design, these quality homes features modern amenities without sacrificing space or lifestyle choices. Typically, porches, balconies and other outdoor spaces can be incorporated into the plans along with a garage whether it is a rear loading design, courtyard entry or even a front entry garage. A properly designed narrow lot house plan functions as any other home, perhaps, even more so as a purposeful solution to challenging living spaces and modest property lots.

Oftentimes, the most obvious means to increase the interior space of a narrow lot plan would be to either build up or to include the home on a basement foundation. Today’s basements are not your grandmother’s basements; they are light filled with lots of window views and rear door access as well as having modern design materials featuring light colored reflective components and an abundance of fresh ideas. These spaces are welcoming and used for secondary, casual living family spaces, a teen-age “hang-out” or in-law suites for America’s aging population. Along with basement foundations and multi-tiered interior floors is the need to successfully navigate these spaces especially for elderly parents, small children or the bringing in/removal of household items and, residential elevators are a perfect solution. Easily engineered into the home, slimmer and narrower than commercial elevators and a great means of navigating the home’s interior floors, elevators are becoming more and more popular. Elevators have also been proven to be suitable for different foundation types as well, not just basement foundations. Coastal or waterfront homes, where land is certainly at a premium, and the homes may be built on stilts or a pier foundation, can benefit tremendously from the addition of an elevator. Even a slab or crawl space foundation may be aided by elevator assistance; especially if the infirm or elderly are navigating the home.

Home Styles

Our collection of high quality architectural designs feature unique floor plans and assorted home styles for today’s forward thinking homeowners. These homes are highlighted with adaptable and flexible floor plans designed to take homeowners into the future of changing circumstances and environments. Because of the home’s adaptability and flexibility, narrow lot home designs are suitable for a wide variety of home styles. Craftsman, Modern, Victorian and European are some of the most diverse and resourceful home designs in terms of similar patterns and principles and each one of them would have no problem being adapted to a narrow lot.

Square Footage Ranges

America’s Best House Plans feature Narrow Lot plans that typically offer no more than a 40’ width footprint. Although, smaller in width, these beautiful home designs pack a “big punch” in terms of living space, storage space and room design with great style and functionality purpose. There is no compromising or sacrifice regarding modern amenities, interior living space or everyday conveniences homeowners have come to expect. The square foot range in our collection of Narrow Lot house plans begin at 414 square feet and culminate at 5,764 square feet of living space with the large majority falling into the 1,800 – 2,000 square footage range.

Please consider browsing through our selection of Narrow Lot house plans where the emphasis is on high quality architectural designs drawn in unique and innovative ways to enhance your home building experience.