8,515 heated square feet. Five or six bedrooms. A multi-level home theater in the basement.
And a fully separate 985 square foot studio apartment above the garage that functions as a second home. Most plans in this size range give you square footage. This one gives you two independent living spaces under one roofline.
After walking thousands of plans on this site, this craftsman layout keeps pulling more engagement than newer designs. The reason isn’t the size. It’s the studio apartment that changes the whole investment math. I’m walking you through every level, but pay attention to the garage apartment section. The rental income numbers alone justify the entire extra build cost.
Specifications:
- 8,515 Heated S.F.
- 5-6 Beds
- 5.5 Baths
- 2-3 Stories
- 6 Cars
The Floor Plans:
The Foyer That Tells You This Isn’t a Standard Craftsman
You step into the foyer and the first thing you notice is volume. Not just ceiling height – spatial volume. The room is open enough that two people with luggage can pass without turning sideways.
That sounds like a small detail until you’ve lived in a home where the entry is a bottleneck every time someone comes or goes.
Craftsman architecture traditionally uses the foyer as a statement of craft. Gustav Stickley and the Greene brothers out of Pasadena treated the entry as the first gallery – exposed wood beams, handmade tile, tapered columns on stone bases.
This plan follows that tradition with a sight line from the foyer to the great room that makes the house feel twice as deep as the floor plan suggests.
A center-loaded foyer means you reach the kitchen, master suite, or staircase without passing through any other room. Most craftsman plans in the 8,000+ square foot range force you through the great room to get anywhere. This one doesn’t.
Cedar shingle siding – the hallmark of craftsman architecture – runs $6-$16 per square foot installed.
On a home this size, the exterior cladding alone is a $60,000-$100,000 investment.
But cedar ages to a silver-gray patina over 10-15 years that synthetic materials can’t replicate. Some builders dip fresh cedar shakes in buttermilk before installation to accelerate the weathered look. Architects in the 1880s used the same technique on coastal New England homes.
Here’s where the plan starts earning its reputation.
The Great Room That Anchors Everything on the Main Floor
The great room connects directly to the foyer, and the scale hits you immediately. This is a room built for daily living and 30-person gatherings alike. Large windows line the back wall, pulling natural light deep into the center of the house.
Most great rooms in plans this size feel impressive for about two minutes and then empty for the next decade. The proportions are wrong. The ceiling is too high for the width. The windows are decorative rather than functional.
This one gets the ratio right. You can hold a normal conversation at opposite ends of the room without raising your voice.
Cathedral ceilings over 18 feet create a reverb problem that ruins TV watching and phone calls unless you invest $3,000-$8,000 in acoustic treatments after the fact. A ceiling at the right height for the room’s width avoids the problem entirely.
The arrangement creates a smooth flow from the foyer through the great room to the kitchen and dining areas. That flow pattern matches how craftsman homes have worked since the Arts and Crafts movement crossed the Atlantic in the 1890s. The core idea has survived 130 years because it works.
But the kitchen next door is what most people want to see first.
The Kitchen With an Island That Runs the Entire Workflow
The kitchen sits adjacent to the great room, and it’s designed around one principle that most luxury kitchens ignore – the work triangle. Sink, stove, refrigerator. The three points you move between hundreds of times a day should sit in a tight triangle with nothing blocking the path.
This plan positions the island at the center of that triangle. It’s the prep station, the casual dining spot, and the traffic director that keeps guests out of the cook’s zone.
Take a guess – how many steps does the average home cook take during a single dinner prep?
Researchers at the University of Illinois found the answer is about 120 steps. A poorly laid out kitchen can double that number. This plan’s triangle layout keeps it under 100.
The island adds a prep surface that faces the great room, so whoever is cooking stays part of the conversation. The cook doesn’t disappear. They’re five feet from the room, separated by counter space but connected by sight line.
A kitchen this size would run $30,000-$50,000 for cabinetry alone through a supplier like KraftMaid or Thomasville at Home Depot at $250-$450 per linear foot. Quartz countertops add $70-$100 per square foot from brands like Caesarstone or Silestone.
In a craftsman kitchen, the cabinetry IS the design statement. Box beam trim along the ceiling, wide stile-and-rail cabinet doors, and oil-rubbed bronze hardware set the tone. The 2026 trend is lighter finishes – white oak instead of the dark quarter-sawn oak that defined the original movement. Same joinery. Same proportions. Different mood.
The breakfast nook attached to the kitchen is the room that makes mornings work.
The Breakfast Nook and Dining Room That Serve Two Different Lives
The breakfast nook sits attached to the kitchen, and its placement solves a problem every large-home owner knows. During morning chaos, kids eating cereal and adults making lunches cannot occupy the same four feet of counter space. The nook gives the eaters their own zone while the cook keeps the triangle clear.
Morning light hits this space from the east-facing windows. You can feel the warmth of sun on the table surface while the coffee is still brewing. That specific quality of light – low, golden, coming in at an angle that warms without glaring – is something architects plan for and most homeowners don’t realize they’re missing until they have it.
The formal dining room sits three steps from the kitchen instead of near the front entry where most plans bury it. Dinner parties don’t die in the hallway. Dishes don’t get cold. The host doesn’t disappear for five minutes every time a course needs plating.
For a dining room at this scale, a reclaimed wood craftsman table from a specialty builder runs $3,500-$8,000. Craftsman style calls for something heavier than most retailers carry – hand-forged iron hardware, thick plank construction, visible joinery.
But the home office is the room that earns this plan money every single day.
The Home Office That Pays for Itself Before You Move In
The home office sits near the front of the house, separated from the kitchen, family areas, and main traffic paths. No kitchen noise. No TV audio. No garage door vibrations. But it’s still on the main floor, so you don’t climb stairs 15 times a day between meetings and coffee.
Remote workers spend $15,000-$25,000 renovating or adding office space within three years of buying a home without a dedicated office. This plan eliminates that cost before you move in. Built-in shelving with task lighting runs $3,000-$8,000 during construction. A standing desk from Uplift or Fully costs $500-$1,200.
Here’s where the plan shifts from a house to a compound.
The Master Suite on the Main Floor That Eliminates the Staircase Problem
The master suite sits on the ground floor. Full stop.
In a multi-story home of 8,515 square feet, that single decision changes everything about how you live in this house for the next 30 years. No climbing stairs at midnight. No hauling laundry between floors. The suite is private, separated from the main floor by enough hallway that sound doesn’t travel.
The fireplace in the master bedroom isn’t a decorative insert. A gas fireplace from Heat & Glo or Napoleon runs $3,500-$6,000 installed. The flame is visible from the bed. You wake up, hit the remote, and the fire is going before your feet hit the floor.
The bathroom at this tier runs $35,000-$60,000 to finish properly. A freestanding soaking tub from Kohler’s Veil collection runs $3,200-$5,800. Walk-in shower with frameless glass costs $4,000-$8,000 installed.
Radiant-heat tile flooring underfoot adds $8-$15 per square foot – and once you’ve stepped onto heated tile on a January morning, regular tile feels like punishment.
And if you want to see what happens when a craftsman plan puts the master suite detail above everything else – the craftsman with the spectacular master suite handles the closet-to-bath ratio in a way most master suites miss.
The lower level is where this plan stops being one home and starts being two.
The Lower Level With a Home Theater Most Basements Can’t Touch
The basement starts with a multi-level home theater. Tiered seating. Dedicated space. No compromise.
Most basement “theater rooms” are a couch and a projector in a rec room that also has a pool table. This plan gives the theater its own walled room with tiered floor levels. Every row has an unobstructed sight line to the screen.
A mid-range theater setup runs $15,000-$30,000 total. High-end with acoustic paneling and a 120-inch screen pushes $40,000-$70,000.
The tiered floor costs $3,000-$6,000 during construction. Retrofitting later costs three times that because you’re breaking concrete and re-pouring. Build it now or pay triple later.
The lower level also includes additional bedrooms with full bathrooms, a recreation room, and significant storage. Older kids or long-term guests get their own floor with their own bathroom and entertainment space. The exercise room works best down here for a reason most homeowners learn too late – treadmill vibration travels through floor joists. On a slab-on-grade lower level, the vibration has nowhere to go.
Most people skip right past the upper level. They shouldn’t.
The Upper Level With a Deck, a Secret Room, and the Detail the Architect Didn’t Advertise
The upper level opens to a loft area with its own deck – a private outdoor space where someone can read or work without being on the main-floor porch where everyone gathers.
And then there’s the secret room.
The architect included a hidden room on this level. It doesn’t show up prominently on the floor plan. But it’s there – a concealed space accessed through a bookcase door or a panel wall, depending on how the builder finishes it.
Secret rooms have become one of the most requested custom features in luxury homes. Adding one during construction costs $5,000-$15,000. A bookcase door from Murphy Door runs $2,000-$5,000. Retrofitting later costs twice that because you’re reworking the framing.
This plan already has the space allocated. The structural framing supports a full doorway behind whatever concealment you choose. Most “secret room” additions fail because the retrofitted opening sits between load-bearing studs that can’t be removed without a steel header.
But the feature that changes the entire investment math sits above the garage.
The 985 Square Foot Studio Apartment That Makes This Plan Two Homes for the Price of One
Above the 6-car garage sits a fully separate 985 square foot apartment. Vaulted living room. Full kitchen. Its own entrance.
985 square feet is larger than many one-bedroom apartments in major cities. This isn’t a mother-in-law suite squeezed into a bonus room. It’s a legitimate second dwelling.
The uses multiply the moment you think about them. In-law suite. Rental unit at $1,200-$2,000 per month. Creative studio with complete separation from the main house. Guest quarters that don’t feel like an afterthought.
Building a garage apartment costs $200-$350 per square foot as a standalone project.
At 985 square feet, that’s $197,000-$345,000 after the fact.
Builders estimate the marginal cost at roughly 40-60% of standalone price when finishing an above-garage apartment during initial construction. The garage foundation, framing, and roof are already there.
At $1,500 per month, the apartment generates $18,000 per year. Over a 30-year mortgage, that’s $540,000 in gross income from space that costs $150,000-$250,000 to finish during the initial build.
Here’s a detail that changed in late 2025. Fannie Mae updated its rental income policy to allow projected ADU income to count toward your qualifying mortgage income. Before that update, most lenders wouldn’t factor garage apartment rent into your loan qualification. Now they will. That policy change makes this plan financially different than it was even two years ago.
Homeowners insurance from State Farm or Lemonade typically covers an attached apartment under the main dwelling policy, saving $600-$1,200 annually versus a detached structure that needs its own coverage.
For artists, the studio angle deserves attention. A proper art studio needs north-facing windows for consistent daylight, ceiling heights of 9-14 feet, and ventilation for solvent fumes. At 985 square feet with vaulted ceilings, this space checks every requirement. Most home studios are converted bedrooms at 120 square feet. This is eight times that size.
And for anyone comparing craftsman plans at scale, the three-level craftsman plan uses its middle floor in a way most three-story plans don’t – worth comparing before you commit at this size.
The 6-Car Garage and the Detail That Makes This Plan Age
A 6-car garage sounds excessive until you think about what goes into it besides cars. Two bays for daily drivers. One for a trailer. One for a workshop. Two for storage and seasonal gear.
Garage space runs $40-$60 per square foot for basic finishing. Heated living space costs $150-$300+. Every square foot of garage is square footage at a third of the cost. It’s the cheapest space in the entire build.
The garage connects to the house through a mudroom with bench seating, hooks, and a utility sink. In a craftsman home, the mudroom gets shaker-style hooks, beadboard wainscot, stone tile floors. The mudroom runs $5,000-$10,000 to finish. Skipping it means road salt ends up in your great room.
Craftsman architecture ages better than almost any other style – not just aesthetically, but in resale value. The Pacific Northwest, parts of California, and the Upper Midwest show 5-10% premiums for well-built craftsman homes over builder-grade contemporaries.
Trim and millwork in 2026 runs $8-$12 per linear foot for standard work. Craftsman-grade detail pushes $15-$25 per linear foot. On 8,515 square feet, the trim package is a $40,000-$80,000 line item. But it’s also the first thing every buyer notices at a showing.
$250-$400 per square foot puts the base construction at $2.1-$3.4 million before land and site work. At current 2026 rates, a construction-to-permanent loan through Rocket Mortgage or a local credit union runs 6.5-8.5% during the build phase.
On a $2.5 million build, that’s $13,500-$17,700 per month in interest during construction alone.
The studio apartment income offsets $1,200-$2,000 of that monthly carry from the day you get your certificate of occupancy. And if modern farmhouse plans with in-law suites interest you, the modern farmhouse with the in-law suite solves the multi-generational problem with one wall placement most architects miss.
BONUS The Modification Every Builder Recommends for This Plan
Every builder who reviews this plan says the same thing. Finish the studio apartment during initial construction, not later.
Running plumbing, electrical, and HVAC while walls are open and trades are on site is a fraction of the cost. Coming back after the certificate of occupancy means ripping into finished walls, pulling new permits, and paying mobilization fees for every trade a second time.
The estimated savings range from $30,000 to $60,000. That’s not speculation. That’s the gap between running a supply line while the plumber is already under the house versus hiring one separately six months later.
Add a Nest or Ecobee smart thermostat on its own HVAC zone. Separate climate control means the apartment doesn’t heat or cool the main house when unoccupied. A smart thermostat runs $150-$350 installed. The energy savings pay that back in the first winter.
What would YOU change about this plan? Would you keep the secret room or convert it to additional closet space? And if you’re comparing luxury plans with bonus spaces, the modern farmhouse with bonus room and split bedrooms is the plan that gets modified less than any other on this site – the bonus room sits over the split-bedroom wing, which changes how the whole plan lives.
Interest in a modified version of this plan? Click the link to below to get it and request modifications