How We Modified the Mt. Rainier Plan from Adair Homes

When we first started looking into building a home we looked at a variety of builders, from totally custom builders to production builders. We talked about what we wanted in a house and started looking at floor plans online. With a custom builder you have the ability to build anything you can imagine. You can buy a plan online and have them build that plan, or you can work with a drafter or architect to create a totally custom plan for you.

We looked at our options and decided if we could find a plan from a production builder it would be most affordable. We looked at a variety of plans and couldn’t find anything that fit what we wanted.

Some of the thing that we wanted included:
All bedrooms on the same level (who wants to carry kids up and downstairs at night when they get out of their beds?)
An area for the kids to play (it rains in Oregon 9 months out of the year)
3 + bathrooms
A flex room (something that could be used as a guest room or office or something else)
Open dining/kitchen/living area
A pantry area
Mudroom
Laundry room

Standard drawing of Mt Rainier Plan. We deleted the master on the main and added as shower/tub to down stairs master.

The second floor master option for the mt rainier plan

We found a couple of Adair Homes plans that could possibly work for what we wanted and we spoke to some friends that built with them. We decided to talk with one of the Adair Homes sales representatives about our options. They helped us figure out a few different options. It took a few weeks and multiple revisions to get the floor plan changed to what we wanted.

If you’re looking at our pictures it might be difficult to figure out what plan we built. We ended up going with the Mt Rainier plan with some modifications. The biggest modification is that we deleted the master on the main level. There is an option for a master on the second level that we decided to go with. However, the second master option does not come with a bath in it. We moved the wall in the master bedroom to make the master closet a little bigger and create space in the bathroom for a bath tub.

Adding a bonus room over the garage was another big change. Looking at the plans I tried to figure out how we could add a bonus room. We could have added the loft room over the entry, but it would have been a small room and preferably we wanted to keep the two-story entry. On the drawings it looked like we could put a hallway that leads into the space above the garage, so we could add a bonus room there. We lost a hall closet, but added a closet in the bonus room.

Mt Rainier plan with bonus room over the garage

The dining room in pictures of the Mt Rainier plan felt closed off to me. With having a two-story entry we wanted to open that room up the entry way felt more open. We opened up the space by changing to open railing instead of the standard half wall and opening the wall to the dining room.

Also, downstairs we added a bath/shower to the bathroom so that we could use the downstairs room as a guest room and there would be a shower near that room.

We like to eat outside when the weather is nice and wanted a patio area. Living in the Pacific Northwest, a covered area is great since we have all the rain. We decided on an 18′ x 20′ patio cover. This has been plenty big for us, but I don’t think you can go wrong with going too big. If all you want is an area for a table you could make it smaller, but this has given us plenty of outdoor space.

Modified Mt. Rainier plan with main level master deleted

Modified Mt. Rainier plan with bonus room over the garage and master suite on upper floor

If you’re thinking about building a new home the first step is to decide what you’re looking for and why you want to build. If you can find a home that is already built that fits your needs then that is much easier to do than building a new home. If you decide you can’t find what you want then the next step is to look for land that you can build on. Once you have land you can start thinking about what kind of home you want.

To get things exactly how you want them the best option is to work with a custom builder. However, this is also the most expensive option. If you’re working with a budget than going with a production builder that can modify their plans can help you save money. Also, keep in mind that the more you change the more the price is going to increase. Depending on how much you change it might end up costing about the same as building with a custom builder who might be able to provide better service.

If you’re thinking about Adair Homes, there are a lot of options and ability to change a floor plan. If you’re not sure what options are available, you can always talk to a sales agent without committing to anything.

If you’re at the beginning stages of creating a floor plan the best thing is to visit other homes; look at the flow and what you like about them. It is also helpful to live in different houses; you don’t know what you want until you have lived somewhere. The more houses you can walk through the better idea of what you want for your own home. There are a lot of decisions to make when building a home and the floor plan is just the start.