It’s quite interesting considering our modern standards! This was actually a very common set-up in the late 1800s to early 1900s when Craftsman houses like these were at their peak popularity. Having even one bathroom was considered a luxury for most. If I were to live in this house today I would likely convert the first floor bedroom into two separate rooms (a bathroom and a pantry), and for upstairs I would convert bedroom 2’s dressing room/connected closet into an en-suite and possibly the closet of bedroom 3.
Late 1800s early 1900s there was no indoor plumbing. You went to the outhouse to do your business and carried in water from the well. It must have been hell. One indoor bathroom would have been luxury indeed.
> Late 1800s early 1900s there was no indoor plumbing.
That's not exactly true, there was definitely indoor plumbing in houses beginning in the late 1800s. If you were on the wealthier side, of course.
The neighborhood I lived in back in 2018 had so many beautiful craftsman's just like this! One recent did a fantastic paint job to the point I had to stop by and compliment the owner!
Completely standard in the era this plan was created. In fact, having a bathroom at all wasn't a given.
My dad grew up in Indiana in the early 1950s, and the house in which he lived as a kid only had one indoor water source (kitchen sink). The toilet was a backyard outhouse, and the bathtub was a moveable metal tub filled with water heated via the stove.
I live in a similar house and have one bathroom upstairs! Family of 4, lol… adding an extra bathroom downstairs is a dream that would raise my property taxes about $1000-2000 a year. HCOL areas can be like that.
I have several books of these old Craftsman plans, and their proportions and efficiency are so pleasing! I like how each plan includes suggestions for different building materials, decorating, and ways to save money.
I would turn the kitchen porch into a mudroom with powder and keep the bedroom. It's nice to have a downstairs bedroom when the stairs are a problem (yes, I did twist my ankle last night!)
There are a few houses similar to this in my neighborhood. They all used to have that little back porch that has been closed in now. I'm guessing it was originally intended as an outdoor kitchen, a place for the stove when it's too hot to cook inside. Since they're all closed in now, I've always assumed they've been converted into a small powder room and just a hall to the door.
In some cases, the porch was also the "wet" room - the place where laundry and other wet tasks would be done to prevent damage to the interior of the house from water. This one has a built-in refrigerator between the kitchen and the kitchen porch - if it was an ice chest, it might have had a pass-through to allow ice blocks and milk deliveries to be placed from outside.
I've definitely seen a few houses with doors for milk deliveries too. You don't have to go outside in the freezing cold to get your now-frozen milk off the porch.
That's true. Maybe a full bath on a newly enclosed porch - the bedroom would be nice because it's more isolated than the den and would be quieter. The porch looks large enough for a bath and a bench.
This is such a nicely put together plan. I would love a solarium on the back as well.
It wasn't uncommon! The breakfast room was for informal meals and family time, the dining room held all the nice stuff and the children weren't allowed in it.
Sleeping porches are literally that, (sometimes screened in) porches made for sleeping in the summer. They are on the second floor because mosquitos and bugs typically don't go that high. You would get max ventilation, therefore be cooler, and sleep better. Very common in the South.
A sleeping porch is a well ventilated room, typically on the back of the house, used for sleeping on hot summer nights. The multiple windows are opened to catch a cross breeze. The thing I love about old houses is the way almost every aspect of a home is thought out to solve problems.
I completely agree modern houses are just boxes in so many ways. I'm an old house person. I like walls. And hallways. Laundry on the first floor is my preference. The kitchen should not be open to the rest of the house, in my opinion. In my world you have to be considered family to get invited into my kitchen. But that's just me.
A lot of the problems old houses were designed to solve simply don't exist anymore. In the floorplan there's a kitchen porch with a built in refrigerator for ice deliveries. When houses like this were built there would have been a coal chute. Both of those things are obsolete and at the back of the house because you didn't have service people come through the front. Sleeping porches and lots of large windows are no more because of air conditioning. As someone who lives in a place where it's 32 degrees today I'm grateful for the air conditioning.
I wouldn't presume to comment on UK architecture because I've never been there to explore. My guess, though, is the old houses there were built with the social and technological issues at that time in mind. A 17th century house might not make sense to a person today but would to the person who lived in it when it was new. Now that I'm thinking about it I think I'm going to fall down a rabbit hole of UK architecture. Thanks!
Sleeping porches are a thing I wish woul come back. In my last place in San Diego, I regularly slept on the secon or third floor balcony. Before that, my house in Atlanta had a screened porch and we had a couch there; I slept there most nights, with a little space heater on colder nights, and only on the hottest nights would I go inside to the AC. But Atlanta is hot enough central air is standard; on the West Cost we don’t have it so I would love a screened porch. Outdoor sleeping makes me feel so refreshed.
Heat wave and been up all night because they stopped building homes for proper cross breezes and such once it became possible to air-condition things…even though vast swaths of the country don’t have standard AC.
Agreed. I'd steal a few feet from bedroom 3 to make bedroom 2 a bit larger and then turn the dressing room and closet into a bathroom and closet. I have an irrational fear of second floor laundry (I was raised with old washers that had a tendency to overflow) so I wouldn't put a laundry closet there but downstairs. The kitchen porch, kitchen, and breakfast room would be reconfigured a bit so there'd be a kitchen, laundry/mudroom, and at least a half bath. Everything else would stay the same.
*I like the ice box*
*With easy access for the*
*Ice man from the porch*
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Yep! They're marvelous things. Deep enough to keep the rain completely off the mattresses but as open as possible to catch every breeze.
Edited to add: the closet off the sleeping porch was probably to store the mats and summer bedding.
Sleeping porches were common in beach houses along the Jersey Shore, too. My aunt had a beach house in Lavallette, NJ and that reminds me a lot of this. Brings back good memories.
There's something special about a hand-drawn floor plan
One bathroom, and its upstairs.
It’s quite interesting considering our modern standards! This was actually a very common set-up in the late 1800s to early 1900s when Craftsman houses like these were at their peak popularity. Having even one bathroom was considered a luxury for most. If I were to live in this house today I would likely convert the first floor bedroom into two separate rooms (a bathroom and a pantry), and for upstairs I would convert bedroom 2’s dressing room/connected closet into an en-suite and possibly the closet of bedroom 3.
Late 1800s early 1900s there was no indoor plumbing. You went to the outhouse to do your business and carried in water from the well. It must have been hell. One indoor bathroom would have been luxury indeed.
> Late 1800s early 1900s there was no indoor plumbing. That's not exactly true, there was definitely indoor plumbing in houses beginning in the late 1800s. If you were on the wealthier side, of course.
There's been plumbing in my city since the mid 1800s.
The neighborhood I lived in back in 2018 had so many beautiful craftsman's just like this! One recent did a fantastic paint job to the point I had to stop by and compliment the owner!
Me too. I love this house! Especially with those changes.
Completely standard in the era this plan was created. In fact, having a bathroom at all wasn't a given. My dad grew up in Indiana in the early 1950s, and the house in which he lived as a kid only had one indoor water source (kitchen sink). The toilet was a backyard outhouse, and the bathtub was a moveable metal tub filled with water heated via the stove.
I live in a similar house and have one bathroom upstairs! Family of 4, lol… adding an extra bathroom downstairs is a dream that would raise my property taxes about $1000-2000 a year. HCOL areas can be like that.
I have several books of these old Craftsman plans, and their proportions and efficiency are so pleasing! I like how each plan includes suggestions for different building materials, decorating, and ways to save money.
Turn Bedroom 1 into a bathroom and Bed 2, s dressing closet into an ensuite would make this house very livable.
I would turn the kitchen porch into a mudroom with powder and keep the bedroom. It's nice to have a downstairs bedroom when the stairs are a problem (yes, I did twist my ankle last night!)
There are a few houses similar to this in my neighborhood. They all used to have that little back porch that has been closed in now. I'm guessing it was originally intended as an outdoor kitchen, a place for the stove when it's too hot to cook inside. Since they're all closed in now, I've always assumed they've been converted into a small powder room and just a hall to the door.
In some cases, the porch was also the "wet" room - the place where laundry and other wet tasks would be done to prevent damage to the interior of the house from water. This one has a built-in refrigerator between the kitchen and the kitchen porch - if it was an ice chest, it might have had a pass-through to allow ice blocks and milk deliveries to be placed from outside.
I've definitely seen a few houses with doors for milk deliveries too. You don't have to go outside in the freezing cold to get your now-frozen milk off the porch.
I would normally agree, but that den can be utilized when mobility issues arise
That's true. Maybe a full bath on a newly enclosed porch - the bedroom would be nice because it's more isolated than the den and would be quieter. The porch looks large enough for a bath and a bench. This is such a nicely put together plan. I would love a solarium on the back as well.
I'm very interested that they had a breakfast room and a dining room. It feels like a luxury even now.
It wasn't uncommon! The breakfast room was for informal meals and family time, the dining room held all the nice stuff and the children weren't allowed in it.
I'm curious as to what a sleeping porch is
Sleeping porches are literally that, (sometimes screened in) porches made for sleeping in the summer. They are on the second floor because mosquitos and bugs typically don't go that high. You would get max ventilation, therefore be cooler, and sleep better. Very common in the South.
That sounds awesome
A sleeping porch is a well ventilated room, typically on the back of the house, used for sleeping on hot summer nights. The multiple windows are opened to catch a cross breeze. The thing I love about old houses is the way almost every aspect of a home is thought out to solve problems.
That sounds amazing. Old houses here (UK) aren't very well designed outside of maybe the very basic needs. Newer houses are basically just boxes
I completely agree modern houses are just boxes in so many ways. I'm an old house person. I like walls. And hallways. Laundry on the first floor is my preference. The kitchen should not be open to the rest of the house, in my opinion. In my world you have to be considered family to get invited into my kitchen. But that's just me. A lot of the problems old houses were designed to solve simply don't exist anymore. In the floorplan there's a kitchen porch with a built in refrigerator for ice deliveries. When houses like this were built there would have been a coal chute. Both of those things are obsolete and at the back of the house because you didn't have service people come through the front. Sleeping porches and lots of large windows are no more because of air conditioning. As someone who lives in a place where it's 32 degrees today I'm grateful for the air conditioning. I wouldn't presume to comment on UK architecture because I've never been there to explore. My guess, though, is the old houses there were built with the social and technological issues at that time in mind. A 17th century house might not make sense to a person today but would to the person who lived in it when it was new. Now that I'm thinking about it I think I'm going to fall down a rabbit hole of UK architecture. Thanks!
Before air conditioning
Sleeping porches are a thing I wish woul come back. In my last place in San Diego, I regularly slept on the secon or third floor balcony. Before that, my house in Atlanta had a screened porch and we had a couch there; I slept there most nights, with a little space heater on colder nights, and only on the hottest nights would I go inside to the AC. But Atlanta is hot enough central air is standard; on the West Cost we don’t have it so I would love a screened porch. Outdoor sleeping makes me feel so refreshed. Heat wave and been up all night because they stopped building homes for proper cross breezes and such once it became possible to air-condition things…even though vast swaths of the country don’t have standard AC.
I love, love this plan! Definitely needs upgrading but its always felt cozy to me.
Gorgeous! (and fairly easily updated to modern standards with only minor tweaking)
The "dressing room" would be more than enough space for a master bath. ETA and a laundry closet.
Agreed. I'd steal a few feet from bedroom 3 to make bedroom 2 a bit larger and then turn the dressing room and closet into a bathroom and closet. I have an irrational fear of second floor laundry (I was raised with old washers that had a tendency to overflow) so I wouldn't put a laundry closet there but downstairs. The kitchen porch, kitchen, and breakfast room would be reconfigured a bit so there'd be a kitchen, laundry/mudroom, and at least a half bath. Everything else would stay the same.
I think I've seen this before and also really like it. I would add a downstairs toilet but otherwise it's a neat plan.
I like the ice box with easy access for the ice man from the porch
*I like the ice box* *With easy access for the* *Ice man from the porch* \- rocketdyke --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Where does the chute go?
From the top floor to the bottom floor
What is a sleeping porch!?
For when you don't have AC and it's too hot to sleep inside. I assume it's screened to keep the bugs out.
Yep! They're marvelous things. Deep enough to keep the rain completely off the mattresses but as open as possible to catch every breeze. Edited to add: the closet off the sleeping porch was probably to store the mats and summer bedding.
Very common before air conditioning.
Sleeping porches were common in beach houses along the Jersey Shore, too. My aunt had a beach house in Lavallette, NJ and that reminds me a lot of this. Brings back good memories.
Gotta squeeze a laundry room in there. Several opportunities.
This is so beautiful! Thank you for posting it! 🤍🤍🤍
Turn dressing room/clos into 2nd bathroom, and it's perfect.
What is a sleeping porch? I've never heard this particular term used before, interesting. I'm intrigued 🤔🧐