While the American Craftsman style home initially came out of the British Arts and Crafts movement, U.S. architects and designers quickly embraced it and added design elements and floor plan features desired by a growing middle class of American homeowners. A number of these innovative features – such as the breakfast nook – have been adopted in some fashion by many American architectural styles. The Plan Collection features craftsman homes.

With its turrets, gables and ornate trim, the “Victorian” house may be deemed as Bleak House or The House of the Seven Gables as depicted in classic literature. Quite the contrary. Perhaps the most colorful, romantic and vibrant architectural style, the “Victorian” took flight during the reign of Queen Victoria and continues to excite and delight homeowners and architecture fans today.

Victorian architecture is actually is a combination of several other main styles like Italianate, Second Empire and Queen Anne. Here are a few of our favorites.

I'm amazed at how many luxury house plans we have started to get on our website here and how many people build these massive homes.

From Florence to Siena and Pisa, the Tuscany region of Italy is filled with quaint villas and homes built on sloping hills. You don’t have to live there to experience Tuscany at its best and most magical. Today, you can recreate the Old World charm and allure of Tuscan style homes in your own hometown.

From his quaint Colonial-style childhood home in Brookline, Massachusetts, to the huge mansion in Bronxville, New York; the winter getaway in Palm Beach, Florida; the classic townhouse in Georgetown, D.C.; and the summer home in Hyannisport, Massachusetts; President John F. Kennedy set the tone for stylish and luxurious residences.

Throw in a little Spanish Colonial, a dash of the Native American, terracotta roofs and arches. Voila! You get a picture of the wonderful Southwest style house plan blending into the desert landscape with its charm, warmth, and splashes of color in the interior and exterior designs.

Who would have thought that the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair would catapult the Prairie Style into prominence? High expectations for fresh, new designs were dashed when European forms dominated. Change was inevitable once a group of architects led by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright seized the moment and introduced the Prairie Style.

Remember when the Modern house, with its simplistic, geometrical design stuck out like a sore thumb in neighborhoods with traditionally designed homes? Those years are long gone as the style has gone mainstream and more homeowners are going for the benefits of a Modern house plan.

What started as a rest house in British India became the rage in the U.S. in the early 1900s. The bungalow style defined Americans’ desire for simple house plans that were affordable and cozy. At the bungalow’s height, when manufacturing was at a boom and cities were flourishing, young families wanted a permanent home, close to town yet away from the sights, sounds, and smells of the business districts. Today, as more young Americans are drawn to putting down roots near an urban environment, the bungalow style house has experienced a reawakening among Generation X and Y.