Colonial Home Plans

A Guide to Colonial House Plans

If you want an elaborate property with enough space for your whole family, consider building a colonial house. At COOL House Plans, we offer various colonial-style floor plans. Our easy-to-use search engine allows you to find your dream home based on filters such as minimum or maximum square footage, number of garage bays, and other unique features. This guide includes the characteristics and benefits of a colonial-style house to help you decide if it’s suitable for you and your family.

What Is a Colonial House?

A colonial house is a property that reflects the style of homes the European colonists built in the 17th century. As a result of these colonists’ cultural and national backgrounds, these structures feature architectural details that were common in their homelands.

• Two stories: A traditional colonial-style house features two or more levels. The common areas — living room, dining room, and kitchen — are usually on the main level, while the bedrooms are on the second floor.
• Symmetrical design: A colonial home’s floor plan is similar on either side. The front door is at the center of the house’s exterior, with multi-paned windows surrounding it. Inside, the staircase is near the entrance, and there is the same number of rooms on each side. Usually, the living room and dining room are in the front, and the kitchen and family room area in the rear.
• Pitched roofs: A colonial-style home often has a high-peaked roof to help snow and water slope into your gutters. This architectural style typically includes a gambrel roof, a two-sided design with a shallow slope above a steep one.
• Multi-paned dormer windows: A colonial house has small dormer windows in a symmetrical design, giving your property a grid-like appearance. You’ll find at least one window on either side of the entry door and several windows on the house’s second level.
• Wood or stone siding: When the colonists first built their houses, they only had access to the resources around them. New England colonial homes usually have wood siding, while those in Long Island and the Hudson Valley have brick or stone siding. You may want to build your property with local, natural materials to save money and make it authentic.
• Decorative entryway: Since the front door is at the center of the house, you might want to include an eye-catching design around it. You could set up an entrance with bold pillars to enhance your home’s curb appeal.
• Fireplaces: A colonial home has at least one fireplace in the living room, but you may find a second one somewhere else on the property. Before HVAC systems were available, a fireplace was the only source of heat for homeowners. Today, you can have a fireplace to provide a cozy focal point for your living room.

5 Benefits of Living in a Colonial House

If you like the features of a colonial-style house, consider the following benefits of living in one to find out how this property can add value to your lifestyle.

1. Design It How You Want

As the colonial house aesthetic has evolved over the years, it’s led to more flexibility in design standards. The interior’s symmetry gives you the freedom to use geometric patterns and bold colors to enhance the structured lines throughout your property. You can decorate with a minimalist, modern, or traditional style, depending on your preferences. With all the modern amenities available to you, you can enjoy your historic-style home while creating a convenient living space for you and your family.

2. Entertain All Your Guests

Since the rooms are all separate, you can easily create space for entertaining. You need enough room for your family and friends, whether you plan on hosting the holidays or spending lazy weekends together at home. Most of the time, a colonial house’s main level is shared space, while the upstairs features all your bedrooms.

With this defined space, you can use the entire first floor for entertaining guests. You could even make one of your spare bedrooms a guest room so your loved ones can stay overnight as needed.

3. Have Plenty of Space

Traditional colonial homes had to have enough space for the colonists’ large families. Even though family sizes aren’t the same as in the 17th century, modern colonial houses take up many square feet. We offer a colonial house plan that has more than 11,000 square feet. If you have a spacious plot of land, you can build a sprawling home on your property. Even if you have a narrow lot, you can add floors to your house, making it taller instead of wider.

4. Expand as Needed

If you invest in a rectangular floor plan, it’s convenient to expand your home if you ever need more space in the future. As your family grows and changes, you should have a flexible house that can accommodate your lifestyle. You can also add another level to the home if you run out of room in your yard or make better use of your outside property by adding a porch or patio. The symmetrical design allows you to build onto your living space without interrupting the overall flow.

5. Enhance Your Curb Appeal

The original colonists carried their bold architectural style with them from their homelands. A traditional colonial-style home has an eye-catching appearance with striking columns and architectural symmetry that’ll increase your curb appeal and make your property unique. The investment you make in designing your house today could add value to it in the future, especially when you want to sell it. If you use durable natural materials, such as wood or stone, you can maintain your siding without needing to replace it soon.

Types of Colonial House Plans

Besides a typical colonial-style house, you could also add some elements to your floor plan from other architectural styles. Here are some of the types we offer on our site.

• Traditional colonial house plans: A traditional colonial-style home has a high-pitched roof and the entry door at the center of the house’s exterior. This aesthetic features an asymmetrical structure to give your property a unique appearance. Since the traditional house plan doesn’t have specific characteristics, it blends old and new elements, allowing you to have flexibility in your design.
• Country colonial house plans: A colonial country property has a high-pitched roof and a grand entrance. Combining New England’s regality and the South’s rural charm, you can build your property with natural materials that enhance the beauty surrounding it. This design aesthetic also features symmetrical lines and a door at the center of the house’s exterior.
• Southern colonial house plans: A Southern colonial home features prominent architectural details that can improve your property’s curb appeal. Like the colonial architectural style, a Southern house also has columns and a grand entrance. However, it also includes an asymmetrical design with full-length windows to make your home unique and aesthetically pleasing.
• Colonial ranch house plans: A colonial ranch is usually one story, but it shares the colonial’s ornate, symmetrical design. This floor plan has smaller windows and a high-pitched roof to reflect both the ranch and colonial aesthetic.
• One-story colonial house plans: Even though a colonial is usually two stories, you can also build a one-story colonial house to have all your rooms on the same level. Keep in mind that this style tends to be more expensive because you’d need a more extensive foundation, but if you decide to build your house over a basement, you’ll have plenty of entertainment space on the lower level.

3 Examples of Colonial House Plans

If you’re interested in building a colonial-style home, here are some floor plans we offer.

1. Traditional-Style House Plan

This traditional colonial home is 1,870 square feet, and it includes three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and a half-bath. Since it’s only one floor, all the rooms are on the same level, but the property will take up more space on your plot of land. You could watch the video we’ve provided beneath the blueprints for a visual tour of this floor plan.

When you first arrive at the house, walk up the covered front porch into the great room with a raised ceiling. The kitchen and eating areas are on the other side of the house, with a door that leads outside to the rear covered porch. The master bedroom is on the right end of the property, featuring a spacious bathroom with a jetted tub, shower, two vanities with sinks, and a walk-in closet.

Outside the master bedroom, there’s a half-bath your guests can use, followed by a spacious laundry room and a flex space for entertainment or an office. The other bedrooms are on the left side of the house, and they share a bathroom. Since this property is rectangular, you have space to expand as needed.

2. Southern Style Garage-Living Plan

This Southern colonial garage house is a humble 732 square feet over two stories, with a three-car garage on the ground level. Above the garage, there’s one bedroom and a three-quarter bathroom. After you park your vehicle in your three-car garage, you’ll notice a spacious storage closet next to the entry to your house. There’s also an exit door to access your rear porch. If you’d prefer that your guests don’t enter through the garage, they can use the entry door outside.

When you walk up the stairs, you can put your coat and shoes in your closet. The washer/dryer is next to the coat closet, followed by the dining room with a wide window overlooking your backyard. The kitchen is on the left, with a spacious pantry that includes built-in shelves. The family room flows out from the dining room. The bedroom has the only bathroom, but if you want to allow your guests to use it, they can access it through a separate door. There’s also a spacious walk-in closet in the bedroom.

3. Southern-Style House Plan

This Southern colonial home features 1,277 square feet, including three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and a half bathroom. All the bedrooms are on the second floor to give you more space for entertaining on the main level. The first impression of your new home is a spacious, grand front porch. When you walk in through the front door on the house’s right front side, a small foyer meets you before you go up the stairs.

The living room is to the left of the foyer, with a fireplace as the focal point of the room. This space leads to an expansive kitchen and dining room, with the half-bath tucked out of the way for guests to use. On the second floor, there’s a bathroom at the top of the stairs. The main bedroom has a balcony and a full bathroom. After walking past the washer and dryer, you’ll notice the second and third bedrooms, each with double windows.

FAQs About Colonial Houses

If you’re still unsure whether a colonial-style home is suitable for your lifestyle, here are the answers to some questions you may have.

• What makes a house colonial? An authentic colonial reflects the architectural features of homes from 17th-century New England. These houses usually have European elements, such as large columns, symmetrical design, a high-pitched roof, and a two-story layout.
• What is the most common colonial-style house? The most typical colonial-style house is the British or English colonial because America was a British colony for several centuries. As a result of the countries represented by the various settlers in this country, we have a few different colonial home styles available for design inspiration. Besides the British colonial, there’s also the Dutch, French, Spanish, and German colonial styles.
• Are colonial houses mansions? Traditionally, a colonial house is often a mansion because of its ornate details and spacious rooms. Its historical beauty can enhance your curb appeal and provide your guests with an eye-catching first impression. However, since this style has a versatile design, you could also construct a small colonial if you have a limited budget or narrow lot.
• Do colonial houses have basements? Most colonial houses have basements to make the most of your vertical space instead of taking up room from your yard. If you build your home with an unfinished basement, you can save money and give yourself a project to plan when you have a larger budget in the future. Explore our colonial house plans with a basement to find one that’s suitable for your lifestyle.
• Are colonial houses expensive to build? Compared to other house styles, a colonial house can be more costly because of its ornate details and luxurious touches. However, with a customizable house from COOL House Plans, you can find a colonial-style home that accommodates your budget. The size, building materials, and property location can affect its price.

Search Colonial House Plans

At COOL House Plans, we offer thousands of colonial-style floor plans to help you find your dream home. Even if you don’t see a blueprint with your exact specifications, you can work with one of our designers to modify it. Feel free to browse through our colonial house plans to start building your dream property today.