Small House Plans
In small house plans, the floor you give to corridors and doors is floor you cannot live in. These three compact plans handle that in different ways, from a single main room to a bedroom off a short hall. Compare their sizes, see what each one gives up, and open the closest as an editable plan.
Open-plan small house with one bedroom
Three ways to divide a small floor
The open-plan layout has no hallway at all. The front door opens straight into one 7.0 × 5.0 m (23′ × 16′ 5″) room for cooking, eating and sitting, and the bedroom and bathroom open off it side by side.
The studio goes further and puts the bed in the main room, leaving only a kitchenette and a shower room as separate spaces. The one-bedroom layout does the opposite: it spends 9.4 m² (101 sq ft) on a hallway so that every room can be reached without passing through another.
Pick by what you value most: a bedroom door, a separate kitchen or the largest living space.
Small-house changes you can try in the editor
Remove the hallway
Delete hall walls and let rooms open into each other; the freed floor joins the neighbouring room.
Use thinner partitions
Select an inside wall and type a smaller thickness in the properties panel.
Plan furniture to size
Resize library items to the real furniture before deciding a room is too small.
Build upwards
Add a floor above and a spiral stair, which takes less floor than a straight one.
Things to consider
Minimum sizes
Many places set minimum room or dwelling sizes for new homes. Check the rules where you plan to build before you shrink a layout.
Storage
Small plans rarely have room for a separate store. Plan wardrobes and shelving along walls from the start.
Door swings
In a small room, a door arc can take the space a chair needs. Flip a door or move it along its wall to free a corner.
Clear floor
Sizes here are to wall centre lines; the usable floor of each room is about 15 cm (6″) less each way.
Similar plans and next steps
- Edit the open-plan small houseLiving, kitchen and dining in one room.
- Edit the studio layoutOne main room, a kitchenette and a shower room.
- 1 bedroom house plansA separate bedroom off a hallway.
- Small house layout ideasWays to make a compact home feel and work bigger.
- Small house floor plan examplesThe same three plans annotated in detail.
- Small apartment floor plansCompact layouts planned as a flat.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a small house?
There is no single definition. The layouts here range from 39.0 m² (420 sq ft) to 75.7 m² (814 sq ft), measured to wall centre lines.
Can I plan a tiny house or a garden annex?
Yes. Open the studio, type the outside lengths of your own design, and add a loft as a floor above if it has one.
Can I plan a loft in a small house?
Yes. Add a floor above, check the floor-to-floor height of the floor below and place a stair there; the floor above gets an opening over the stair.
Will my furniture fit?
Resize the library items to your own furniture and look at the plan in 3D. The furniture layout planner can also check a single room before you draw the house.