Then look no further - Don Berg's "Backroad Home" is the light at the end of the tunnel. The whole front of this wonderful book provides inspiring, right on the mark designs, blueprints and resorces for older houses, cottages, cabins, backbuildings, barns, sheds and even a charming out-door shower! The back is filled with a perfectly edited compendium of resources for old house design, building and materials complete with addresses, phone #s and yes, when available, email. My copy, and it's sister "American Country Building Designs" both purchased just a few months ago, are already dog-eared, marked up, and coffee cup ringed and we have yet to move into our 1850's farmhouse! Great reading, great writing and great fun. Thank you Mr. Berg for writing a book for "the rest of us"
In addition to sourcing working architects' plans, Berg connects the reader to alternate plan sources, including log homes, timber frame, historic, magazine and Cooperative Extension plans, which are hard to find but nearly free. There is also a Resources section of building codes, building book catalogs and on-line resources, plus other books on country building. The Country Building Directory has entries from Acorn Forged Iron to West Coast Weather Vanes. Happy country planning, building and living.
A lot of the dwellings do not even qualify for the term house. They are cabins with very small floor plans and only one door. But other plans have three or even four bedrooms and aren't what I would call small.
In the back of the book are even more design sources and a Country Building Directory containing suppliers for things like weathervanes, sundials, antique hardware and brass and copper lighting fixtures. There is a convenient index in the back for referring to specific architectural styles.
I've been searching for plans for small houses for several years. This book has given me access to many new sources. I've finally found a house that's the right size for me and I might even be able to afford it!
