2 Story Collection
Two story house plans blend timeless architectural appeal with practical living spaces, offering an efficient solution for maximizing square footage on smaller lots. These iconic homes, which rose to prominence during America's suburban expansion in the 1950s and 1960s, continue to evolve to meet modern family needs while maintaining their classic charm.
The defining feature of 2 story home designs is their vertical layout, typically with social spaces on the main floor and private areas above. First floors commonly showcase open-concept living rooms, dining areas, and kitchens, often complemented by a powder room, mudroom, and flex space that can serve as a home office or guest room. The upper level usually contains 3-4 bedrooms, including a primary suite, additional bathrooms, and sometimes a bonus room or loft area.
Modern two story floor plans emphasize connectivity between spaces while incorporating contemporary must-haves like walk-in pantries, drop zones, and indoor-outdoor living areas. Many designs now feature first-floor primary suites, allowing for multi-generational living or aging in place. Energy-efficient elements such as strategic window placement for natural light and improved insulation techniques have become standard features.
Popular architectural styles for 2 story homes range from Traditional and Colonial to Craftsman and Contemporary, each offering distinct exterior details and interior layouts. These versatile homes particularly suit growing families, professionals working from home, and homeowners who value separate entertaining and private spaces. The added height allows for dramatic features like two-story foyers, vaulted ceilings, and grand windows that create light-filled, impressive interiors.
Two story house plans typically range from 1,800 to 3,500 square feet, though larger estates can exceed 4,000 square feet. The vertical design creates natural temperature zones, with heat rising to second-floor bedrooms in winter, while allowing for efficient HVAC systems. Many plans now incorporate covered porches, patios, or decks on both levels, expanding living space outdoors and enhancing curb appeal.
For families seeking separation between living and sleeping areas, abundant storage options, and room to grow, 2 story homes offer enduring appeal. Modern designs seamlessly integrate smart home technology, home automation systems, and eco-friendly features while maintaining the practical benefits that have made these homes a cornerstone of American residential architecture.
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More Information
All of our floor plans are designed in-house and come with various options to make your dream home custom to you.
House Plan Modifications
Since we design all of our plans, modifying a plan to fit your need could not be easier. Click on the plan, then under the image, you'll find a button to get a 100% free quote on all plan alteration requests. Our plans are all available with a variety of stock customization options.
Exterior Wall Construction Choices
Most of our stock plans come as 2x4 exterior wall construction by default. We do provide options to change the exterior wall type. Those options include 2x6 exterior walls, Post Frame Construction, CMU Block Construction, etc.
Foundation Types
When de signing our house plans, a default foundation is set for a given plan. If possible, we include options to change the foundation type to better match your construction needs. For instance, if the default foundation is an unfinished basement, you'll have the option to change the foundation type to a walkout foundation, crawlspace, or slab foundation.
Please note: Some of our plans are designed with special foundation needs, such as post and pier for waterfront properties. These plans may not allow an option to choose another foundation type. If you find yourself in need of an alternate foundation and aren't given the choice, please fill out the alteration request on the plan page.
Right Reading Reverse
One of our more popular options is reversing the plan. Ordering the reverse option will not only flip the plan on the sets for you, it will also correct the text to make the plan read correctly while reversed.
CAD Files
All of our plans are offered as digital PDF downloads. If you want to make changes to the plan yourself, there is an add-on option that will give you the CAD files. Our CAD files are exported in AutoCAD format. You must have software capable of opening CAD files to use them. This option is great if you are in the business of home building and need to make slight changes to the plans per lot.
Cost to Build Report
All of our house plans come with a 100% free cost-to-build report. Just find the orange section on the plan page, type in your zip code, and choose your finish quality level. Note that this tool is for estimation purposes only and should not be used in any other way.
Garage Choices
We have multiple options for any desired garage location or type. We offer plans with detached garages, courtyard garages, side-load garages, front load, and rear load garages.
License Types
We offer 2 types of licenses for your house plan. A single-use license means that the plan can be built only once by the person who purchases the plan. An unlimited-build license is meant for pro builders that are planning to build the plan multiple times.
Best Price Guarantee
You may find our plans on other vendors’ websites. Since we design all of our plans we can offer a true price match guarantee. If you find another site selling our plans for cheaper than we are, we will match it.