Small Backyard Farmhouses Book with Open Source House Plans

I’ve been sharing the free house plans for Jay Osborne’s small farmhouses as the designs have evolved. Now, the book is available. It includes the basic plans. More details are available free. They are designed to be easy to modify. Each can be as small as 650 sq ft and as large as you want to make them. The book has complete plans for four Backyard Farmhouse variations.
The book is 8.5″x11″ with around 70 pages. It’s on Kickstarter right now.

Build a Backyard Cottage: Your House Plans by Jay Osborne

70+ pages,

• eBook
• Paperback
• Hardcover

A book with detailed blueprints of tiny, old-fashioned houses– great for anyone wanting an ADU (like a granny flat) or a starter home.

The house plans are for small, but practical farmhouses. “These four designs represent a range of common ADU sizes, from 750 to 900 sq ft.” The  plans for each are available free on his website, www.freefarmhouse.com. They are designed to be easy to modify. Each can be as small as 650 sq ft.

The book has complete plans for four Backyard Farmhouse variations: April, Mae, June, and Julie.

April’s Backyard Farmhouse: The most classic variation of the 4 designs.
850 square feet
More elongated than the others, it shows how much the others can stretch out.
The low profile makes it an inconspicuous neighbor.

Mae’s Backyard Farmhouse: Ornate, with small additions.
860 square feet
With a wrap-around porch and many small additions, Mae shows that small houses can be more beautiful and desirable than mansions.

June’s Backyard Farmhouse: Simple and economical.
750 square feet
With the front porch on the short side, June can fit on a narrow strip of land.
Like the others, it’s spatially efficient.

Julie’s Backyard Farmhouse: With a basement and rear addition.
900 square feet
This house has a bedroom suite on the first floor.
That addition can also be applied to the other designs.

Elevations

Each of the four small farmhouse plans include Elevations from every angle. Elevations show what the house will looks like from the outside. The editable versions of this plan are available on his site so that the elevation drawing can be modified to fit your building site, if needed.

The details on each plan can be applied to one of the other houses to make the house you build more Modern Farmhouse or more Carpenter Gothic.

Floor Plans

The book includes the floor plans for each house design. Each part of the plans is available, Site Plan, Foundation Plan, Roof Plan, Interior and Exterior Details, Doors and Windows, Electrical and all the schedules on www.freefarmhouse.com.

You can compare the floor plans for each of the farmhouses and use the parts of each that work best for you.

The editable version of each plan is on www.freefarmhouse.com.

3D floor plans

The book is not just floor plans. Jay has included three dimensional versions of the plans, virtual models from a birds eye view to help you visualize each house.

The book includes technical drawings, too. Jay explains the design and helps you see how you can make it your own.

The architectural drawings are detailed enough to build from. 3D renderings  make them come to life. Footnotes explain intentions and possibilities.

He populated each plan with the furniture in three dimensions, so you can get a good idea on the practicality of each plan.

It makes clear how, although each house is small, they are practical and livable.

 Section Perspectives

Sectional views are like the 3D view, but from the side. They show the house with part of it cut away.

More Posts about Jay Osborne’s Free House Plans >

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