Mister Harrys

The convenience of a ranch house is undeniable, but this plan includes many extras to make living even easier for a large family. To begin with, there are four spacious bedrooms and two baths in the privacy of the bedroom wing. The two at the front have long triple windows and double closets with space-saving bi-fold doors. The third family bedroom has the same closet arrangement and cross-ventilation as well. The master bedroom includes three windows, a dressing room with four closets and a built-in vanity and a private bath with enclosed shower. Opening from the hall is a linen closet and a family bath with double vanity sink. Note that this wing is in a quiet yet accessible location. The same virtues also apply to the rooms which have been designed for formal entertaining.

The dining room and the living room are completely separate, yet just a step from the kitchen and the center hall. Diamond-paned windows add interest to the dining room, while the living room has five beautiful windows at the front. Both rooms have a great deal of unbroken wall space and good proportions, so they will adapt well to a variety of comfortable furniture arrangements. Directly off the center hall are two closets for coats—one for guests and the other for family. A very handy powder room lavatory is located at the rear of this hall. The wide flagstone entrance terrace which leads to the front door has two counterparts at the rear of the house. One secluded porch opens from the family room, close by the basement stairs, and will make an ideal safe play area for small children or a nice warm weather dining spot. The second porch is also secluded and perfect for relaxing. This porch has access to a large storage room as does the attached two-car garage. Between this porch and the kitchen there is an all-purpose mud room with a laundry area and a storage closet. The working part of the kitchen includes room for every modern appliance, a barbeque center and a snack bar divider on the family room side. This room has a fireplace for winter cheer and a window-wall corner for pleasure all through the year. A combination of stone and clapboard has been used to give the exterior a stately simplicity.

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source: Best Homes, issue 47, 1968

Gemini AI Rendering

This attractive home has a floor plan which nicely balances rooms and areas for maximum convenience. The lower level plan has a brightly lighted garage; big enough for two cars, a work bench and two storage closets. Next to the garage there is a teenage recreation room which has a corner fireplace, two large windows and sliding glass doors facing the patio, a bar alcove for adults to use and an adjacent hobby room. There is also a large storage space at one end of the room, to help in keeping clutter to a minimum. Opening off this teenage room is a bath with enclosed shower, a laundry room and basement heater room and another room designed to be used as a bedroom or den. Since the lower level contains all of the informal and work rooms, the main level can be devoted to rooms of major importance. A mid-level foyer entrance has a coat closet, stairs to the lower level and a curving stairway with a balcony at the main level. At the front of the house there is a well-designed kitchen with a snack bar divider facing an informal dining area. The kitchen has room for a built-in oven and counter top range, a broom closet and plenty of cupboard and counter space. There is also an outside door to the deck. At the rear of the house, convenient yet private, there is a spacious living and dining area which has three big windows and glass doors leading to the deck. A low rail on either side forms a partial divider between the two rooms so you may decorate and use them in a manner which suits you best.

Between the balcony hall and the bedroom area there is a linen closet and a combination powder room and bath. The master bedroom has a private bath, a dressing alcove with a closet and a built-in vanity, a walk-in closet and cross-ventilation. All three family bedrooms have ample closet, window and floor space. The clapboard exterior features a pillared portico and a handsome doorway balanced by matching wings and shuttered windows.

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source: Best Homes, issue 47, 1968

Gemini AI Rendering

This plan has been thoughtfully divided to give adults and children retreats of their own. The main level has an adult’s informal room; pocket doors set it off from the foyer and there are stairs to the lower level, a beautiful fireplace and sliding glass doors which open on the slate floored dining terrace. For more formal adult entertaining there is a spacious living room with three big windows and a fireplace, and a dining room with an extra wide window. An interesting kitchen plan features a charming dinette space within a semi-circle bow of windows. The “business” end has ample storage and work areas, a step-saving grouping of appliances and sink set into a multi-use counter.

The main entrance to the house is also on the this level. Both front bedrooms have large closets and ample window space. Double doors open to the master bedroom suite, a luxurious retreat for parents. This suite has a wall of sliding glass doors which open on a private sun deck. The three closets, a dressing alcove with a luminous ceiling and built-in vanity, and a private bath with enclosed shower, complete this magnificent area. The lower level has a double garage at the front with storage space on the side, and an inside door which opens near a handy coat closet. From this area there are stairs which lead to the cellar. A special play facility for children combines a well lighted play room with a door to a slate top play terrace. There is an extra room on this level which has been designed for use as a den, home office or extra bedroom. A lavatory, games closet, laundry corner and cleaning equipment closet all are grand helps in maintaining an orderly home.

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source: Best Homes, issue 47, 1968

Gemini AI Rendering

The clean, contemporary lines of the exterior, in the styling so well-loved in California and other forward-looking states, distinguish this practical bi-level. It's got every contemporary convenience plus the major one of economical construction and maintenance. On the lower level, the two-car garage makes room for storage too. The heater room offers a convenient laundry area. Off to the right, well away from any utilitarian functions is the recreation room, as big as many living rooms, and with a wonderful fireplace, sliding glass wall to a covered patio (the first level balcony provides the cover) and the kind of space that every family with growing children needs more than ever today.

Up the steps from the middle entry foyer is the full scale, no-steps-to-climb living level. Here you have six very handsome rooms. The living room enjoys extra dimensions because of the open foyer area. The dining room behind it functions as a room on its own, but what wonderful combined space the two rooms offer. Out of doors there is the balcony with bi-level steps down to the lower patio, a wonderful addition to summer living. The kitchen has that heart-of-the-house look. Wide work areas are shaped in L-counters and the corner dinette is a bonus of good planning. Back-to-back plumbing installation still means economy and the bathrooms here are back to back (and over the plumbing line of the lower level, too). A lavatory alcove with built-in vanitory is a feature of the hall bathroom, while the master bedroom enjoys its own stall-shower bathroom adjacent to the closet room. Note the wonderful windows in the two front bedrooms and the closet wall—all intended to make the youngsters feel at home.

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source: Best Homes, issue 47, 1968

Gemini AI Rendering

This ranch house plan displays an outstanding room arrangement of three major living areas plus a spare room at the rear. A covered entry shelters the front door; just inside there is a well lighted foyer, with a coat closet, which leads to all three areas. The family bath, a linen closet and all three bedrooms are to the left; bedrooms 2 and 3 have cross-ventilation and sliding door closets which leave floor and wall space free for furniture arrangements. Four windows give the master bedroom double exposure. A dressing area with a private bath and separate vanity sink, a sliding door closet and a walk-in closet are also included in the design of this comfortable area. Both the living room and the dining room have been located at the front of the house, where they will be most convenient for formal entertaining. Large window areas, plenty of wall and floor space and easy communication between the two rooms without sacrificing any privacy are important features.

More informal gatherings will be enjoyed in the family room. Sliding glass doors along the rear wall open to a spacious terrace area, partially covered for greater comfort. A large fireplace gives the family room a feeling of cozy comfort. The stone of this fireplace wall also adds to the decorative effect of the efficiently designed kitchen. In this most important room there is an up-to-date corner sink, all appliances are within easy reach and a lot of cupboard storage and counter top work space is available. To the rear of the kitchen are stairs to the basement and a charming dinette area, a pantry closet and an outside entry. A service area adjacent includes laundry equipment concealed behind bi-fold doors, a mud closet and a full bath as well as the well-appointed spare room. The attached two-car garage has an inside door and a side door and plenty of extra storage space. Vertical wood siding, stone trim and a long planter combine to give the exterior a sleek, modern appearance.

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source: Best Homes, issue 47, 1968

Gemini AI Rendering

This lovely two story home is a welcome change for the family that is looking for an unusual floor plan. Every room has a fresh design approach and they all combine to make a wonderful whole. From the outside the house presents an appearance of solid charm, with classic wood shingles and brick veneer set off by shuttered windows and a double front door. The sparkling diamond paned windows in the door help to light the foyer, and the planter next to the entry adds another welcome note. Both the living room and the dining room are spacious, well lighted, and convenient for entertaining formally. For the more informal get-togethers there is an Early American room, with a large cheerful fireplace as a dominant note, and two windows and a door facing on the terrace.

The terrace is, of course, optional, but it certainly would be a joy to have, and it would make an excellent play area for the children. This house also has a covered porch; with a door to the attached two car garage and another door to the kitchen it makes a convenient passway from garage to house. It could also be easily screened or glassed in for use as a summer dining room. Three big windows in the dinette make it easy to enjoy a view with the family meals.

The well organized kitchen has a serving counter, an angled sink, and an excellent arrangement of cabinets and work areas. The lavatory has been centrally located, convenient to all rooms. In the master bedroom there is a private bath with an enclosed shower and vanity sink, a walk-in closet, a second closet and three windows for cross-ventilation. The other two corner bedrooms have cross-ventilation too, plus large closets with sliding doors. The fourth bedroom has a built-in book shelf, two windows, and a closet with sliding doors. In the family bath there is a full tub and a vanity sink. There is a linen closet on each floor, a pantry closet in the kitchen and a coat closet in the foyer.