What is the Best Way to Create Small Cottage House Plans?

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Transform any plot of land into a comfortable small cottage house using online floor planners. We show you how these innovative platforms can help you make use of every inch of your lot without sacrificing luxury or style.

Whether it’s a beachfront, lake, or mountain view setting, cottages serve as a place to escape the chaos of life and enjoy time spent amongst nature. If you have plans of building your own scenic getaway, you can create an elaborate blueprint and design of your future cottage dwelling using online digital floor planners. These innovative planners can help you illustrate multiple concepts and ideas so you can develop small cottage house plans in 2D and 3D. If you’re preparing to build a 1-bedroom or 2-bedroom, or if you’re not exactly sure what your goals are just yet, we’ll show you how simple it is to use digital floor planners to generate a meticulous layout and design for a cottage or any type of dwelling, all on your own.

How to Create Plans for Small Houses, Cottages, or Any Future Dwelling

Cottages tend to be situated in more rugged environments and aren’t typically lived in year-round. Therefore, it’s important to perform due diligence when drafting plans to ensure your structure is safe and suitable for your needs. This is where digital floor planners truly come in handy. They let you take everything into consideration before and during your design process to help you discover what your needs include. Here’s how you can begin creating floor plans for small houses, cottages, or any future build.

1 Draw a 2D Outline with Floors, Walls, Windows, and Doorways

When you’re ready to start building your ideal cottage, the first step is to use the drawing tools to develop the frame. To do this, take measurements that will correspond with the structure that you plan to build. As you draw the floors, walls, windows, and doorways, connect them together, reposition them if needed, and edit the measurements to keep everything to scale.

If you’re unsure about how to frame your cottage plans, now is an ideal time to play around with various layouts until you land on one that looks and feels right to you. When you have the outline of the cottage complete, you can move on to the next step, which is all about nailing down the details.

2 Design your Cottage by Adding Materials, Furniture, and Accessories

With the frame and measurements all set, you can move forward with your cottage plans and develop a 3D model complete with a design for the interior and exterior. To begin, use the online catalog which is available in the floor planner.

The catalog contains many different options for materials, furniture, accessories, paint colors, plants, and everything in between. So you can pick and choose features that reflect and capture your personal vision. When you find something that you’d like to view in your virtual cottage, click to drag and drop it into place.

To search for a certain item or style like a vintage bathroom vanity, just edit the filter options to find what you need. Choose from thousands of brand name products or no-name brands to add into your cottage to see how they look and fit before committing to a particular look.

3 Preview Your Design with a 4K Tour

Preview your design before settling on a final decision by taking a 4K tour. By switching from 3D to first-person mode, you can enter and move throughout your floor plan as if you’re taking a live walkthrough of your future cottage. Use this to assess your furniture, paint colors, layout, and any specific features in your design.

It’s an excellent way to critique and evaluate your plans so you can feel confident in your final draft. When you’re ready to show it off to others, send a direct link to your design, or save and print images in high-res to use as visual guides when you begin building.

Common Features in Cottage Floor Plans

Though typically smaller in size, the classic American-style cottage is characterized by a sense of tradition and scenic adventure. Thus, many are designed in such a way that allows owners to take full advantage of their natural surroundings. With a single-story layout being the most common, small cottages can still accommodate a comfortable and spacious setup without sacrificing on style. Here are some the most common attributes to consider for your cottage floor plans to make the most out of your space:

Gable roofs with high ceilings
Covered porches
Large Bay windows
Natural materials

Room in neutrals tons made with HomeByMe — Project of a small cottage

Layouts for Cottage House Plans Small or Micro-Sized

To help narrow down your plans, find inspiration from these layouts, whether you’re in search of cottage house plans small, medium, or micro-sized.

395 Square Foot Cottage: 1-Bed, 1-Bath

It is entirely possible to indulge in finer living, even with 395 square feet. To create an intimate and inviting cottage for yourself or as a couple, take advantage of height to give your interior a more spacious and grandeur appearance. This can be achieved with a high vaulted ceiling in the living room. Combine with an efficient kitchen design, a bathroom that connects to the master bed, and a walk-in closet for storage. And since you’re working with less space, use high-quality materials and finishes to elevate your design. Whether you plan on using your cottage as a getaway, guest house or even a starter home, a simple layout such as this can give you all the space you need to enjoy cottage-style living without forgoing comfort.

600 Square Foot Cottage: 1-Bed, 1-Bath, Plus a Flex Room

600 square feet can provide plenty of room to create a layout for a couple while offering an extra flex room to use for different purposes. An open-concept kitchen that connects to the living room will automatically make the space appear larger. To add some separation between the kitchen and living room, add a raised eat-in bar which is ideal for casual-style dining. A fireplace installed in the living room will help anchor the design while offering a cozy spot to enjoy in the cooler months. Placing a door that leads from the kitchen out to the backyard will make it convenient whenever you want to fire up the grill. The flex room, which can be used as an office, crafts room, or guest room, ideally faces the front porch, while the oversized master bedroom is located on the opposite side with direct access to the full bath. Finally, with a front-covered porch, you can savor those mild summer evenings.

1300 Square Foot Cottage: 3-Bed, 2-Bath

With double the square footage to play with, think about placing a great room directly as you walk in the front door to set the stage with a striking first impression. Like any good floor plan, an open concept setup that interlaces the living area with the kitchen is best for utilizing space and maximizing the flow throughout the cottage. Place two bedrooms towards the front of the home that leads off from the great room, with a shared bathroom in between. Meanwhile, the master bedroom can have more privacy, located towards the rear end of the property, featuring a private full bath. An additional utility room can be tucked towards the back of the house to accommodate additional storage needs.

Get the most out of your small cottage house plans, no matter the square footage, by taking advantage of online floor planners like HomeByMe. Use it to create comprehensive plans in a virtual setting to discover the best layout and design based on your lot, budget, and lifestyle. Try it today!