Windows on any house draw the eyes upward and pique the curiosity of the onlooker- what lies within? This house plan, A Wide-Eyed Craftsman: The Orchard Plan (3967) by Frank Snodgrass of Living Concepts, has windows that beckon you to peer inside. The craftsman style home has three stories and almost 4000 square feet with six bedrooms and 5 full baths. There are decorative shed roofs over the windows on each side of the front entrance, lending the home a “wide-eyed” appearance. Tapered columns flank the front porch, with room for a potted plant (the bay leaf, a perennial and will do double-duty as an herb for your chef).
To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe. Marilyn vos Savant
A Wide-Eyed Craftsman: The Orchard Plan
The First Floor: Foyer, Study and Bath
You will gain entrance through the front door, as there is a detached garage, or the service entry room (more on that later in post). The foyer is spacious, with stairs leading upwards to the next two levels. To the left, you walk into the study- but this isn’t just any study. This is a room where you can pull an all-nighter for either work or school (because you really needed to study all along and well, you didn’t). There is room for a chaise between the windows when you must “rest” your eyes and yes, there is more. A full bath (single sink, walk-in shower, toilet) and a walk-in closet make this a possible additional bedroom (suite #5). To complete the room’s furnishings as a study, you could add a desk in the center of the room. You do need a place for those papers, right?
One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well. Virginia Woolf
A Wide-Eyed Craftsman: The Orchard Plan
First Floor: The Dining Room and Butler’s Pantry
Back in the foyer, there is a closet under the stairs for the outerwear you shed as you enter your new home. The formal dining room is to the right. As with the study, natural light also embraces this room. Choosing the dining room set for a formal setting will be obvious once you decide on the design you prefer. An elegant extended table with leaves for extra seating or a less formal oval table will both be suitable. Then you may choose a chandelier that is complementary to your preferred style. The next room going towards the back of the house is the butler’s pantry.
Part of the secret of a success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside. Mark Twain
No, you do not need a butler to have a butler’s pantry. The room is specifically for the storage of food prep appliances, extra dishes and so on that is adjacent to an area of preparation- the kitchen. (But you might need an antacid or two if you subscribe to Twain’s advice). The Orchard plan has counterspace there, too, and it leads into the food pantry where there is abundant room for your basic culinary requirements, as well as extra jars of your favorite pasta sauce. And flour. And yeast.
The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook. Julia Child
A Wide-Eyed Craftsman: The Orchard Plan
First Floor: Service Entry and Kitchen
The pantry abuts the service entry room, handy for entering the home from the detached garage (think “mudroom”). Lockers provide a place to store shoes, coats and school bags. This room also has a closet, a door leading to the side porch and another door that opens up into the kitchen and dining room areas. Whether you have a steak on the griddle inside or on the grill outside, you will have plenty of room to mingle with extended family (and guests, when we are Covid free). A large kitchen island provides room for seating, a double sink and space for a dishwasher. Counterspace and placement of the refrigerator are nearby; the six-burner rangetop and oven share the wall with the service entry.
Set wide the window. Let me drink the day. Edith Wharton
A Wide-Eyed Craftsman: The Orchard Plan
First Floor: The Dining Room and Family Room
The dining room has windows on three sides- and yes, on a sunny day, you could almost drink the sunshine pouring in. Informal dining takes place here, as well as at your kitchen island. The family room, open to both, has a coffered ceiling (coffered means formed with recessed panels) and a fireplace, providing the perfect place to sit back and watch the dying embers. Shelves line both sides of the fireplace; here you can place your old swimming trophies or stack your books up by color (a trend for now, perhaps). Or by series. Another bonus is that the family room in the Orchard plan has access to the rear porch. That’s two porches for you.
A Wide-Eyed Craftsman: The Orchard Plan
Second Floor: The Bedroom Suites and Laundry Room
Don’t you just love those 12 seconds when the laundry is done? unknown
The second-floor plan of the Orchard consists of four bedroom suites and the laundry room. Isn’t that logical? Washing clothes and bedsheets takes less time and energy when all are in close range of each other. This room has space for the washer, dryer, a utility sink (to soak those extra dirty sports clothes) and a closet. There is also a door to close off the room, helping to keep fickle nappers asleep.
Out of clutter, find simplicity. Albert Einstein
A Wide-Eyed Craftsman: The Orchard Plan
Second Floor: The Owner’s Suite
The owner’s suite and bath are nearby (finally, another name for the “master’s suite,” which first came out of the 1920’s Sears catalogue). There are almost 240 square feet in the sleeping area, and a walk-in closet that is spacious enough for a peninsula. Need a place to reduce clutter and store your scarves flat or those extra pairs of sunglasses? They can go in here when you add drawers to the peninsula (also known as an island). The owner’s bath has a double sink vanity, walk-in shower with bench, a garden tub and linen closet.
‘Love Story’ I wrote on my bedroom floor in about 20 minutes. Taylor Swift
There is something about bedrooms/bedroom suites that causes us to be creative, to reflect on the past and wonder about the future. Have you ever revisited your childhood bedroom? Yeah, it can do that. The second bedroom suite, facing the front of the house, has a walk-in closet, tub and single sink. Suite #3, which faces the front (as well as the second suite), has a slightly larger walk-in closet, and is similar to the second bath, with the exception of a walk-in shower rather than a garden tub. The fourth suite has a walk-in closet and has access to the bathroom of the second suite, with a door in the hallway allowing for this. A study loft inhabits the space facing the front of the house as you first come up the stairs. The natural light makes this spot just right for a computer and desk, with room on each side for more shelves.
Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. Joseph Addison
A Wide-Eyed Craftsman: The Orchard Plan
Third Floor: Storage, Bath, Nook and Bonus Room
Going up to the third floor, you will find a room for storage on the right, and yes, it has a door to keep little hands away from whatever you might want to store securely. A full bath with single sink and walk-in shower is nearby (making this area possible bedroom #6) and another nook faces the front of the house. Need a quiet place to finish that book you find hard to put down? This could be it when you add a comfy reading chair and a light for cloudy days or night reading-unless you have activity in the bonus room. Then, you might want to wait until the all-clear is given. The bonus room boasts over 300 square feet of space for exercise (Peloton, anyone?), gaming or a home theater (I hear the new Wonder Woman is full of action. Or you could watch Doc Martin, instead).
We are our choices. Jean-Paul Sartre
A Wide-Eyed Craftsman: The Orchard Plan
Conclusion
Looking for a new house plan, one with six possible bedrooms, five baths, storage, porches and an open living space? Then choose the Orchard plan from Living Concepts. We are our choices, as Sartre said, from how we choose to engage our minds and bodies, and the homes we choose to inhabit. Be sure to click on the green button to purchase the plan!