7 Benefits of a Single-story Home

Do you prefer a home with a single story or one with two or more levels? A recent report from the National Association of Home Builders showed that 64 percent of buyers surveyed preferred a single-story home. But that doesn’t mean they’re always easy to find.

Drive into any neighborhood here in the Vancouver, Washington area, and you’ll find just a few tucked in between towering multi-story homes. Research shows that only about 30 percent of the market share here in the Pacific Northwest consist of single-story homes. And that may be good news when thinking about new construction.

As a Vancouver, Washington home builder, we pride ourselves on offering many different single-story home options. And you’re going to love the benefits they bring to your life.

Single-story Homes Offer Plenty Of Open Space
You have to think a little differently when designing a single-story home. The builder can’t incorporate ambiance into sweeping ceilings, grand entryways, and rounded staircases leading upstairs. Instead, she has to work with space all contained on one level. And that can be a little tricky when dealing with the “Family Triangle”, the traditional space where families play: the living room, dining room, and kitchen.
These three areas are the heart of a family home. This is where we spend the most amount of our time. And if you’re not careful, a simple, more traditional design can come off boring and dull. That’s why single-story homes can sometimes be an architectural challenge. But a good home builder knows that it’s also a way to get creative. Vaulted ceilings, expansive windows, small details that make a huge difference are easy to see when opening up the “Family Triangle” to so much more.

Single-story Homes Are Easier To Clean
Okay, let’s be honest here. Who likes to clean? Why would you want to spend your time indoors cleaning when Vancouver is in the heart of some of the most beautiful land in the United States? Wouldn’t you rather spend your time hiking, biking, and kayaking then scouring walls and fixtures of a two-story home? And with those expansive and dramatic entryways and too-high-to-reach windows that let in a lot of light comes the need to keep them clean.

With a single-story home, it’s not only easier to clean, but it’s also cleaner because it requires less effort to get the job done. You don’t put off tomorrow what only takes minutes to do today. You can easily see the entire area that needs cleaning and have everything you need to access it readily. Aside from high ceilings, there isn’t much standing in your way to keep it spotless all the time.

Single-story Home Plans Offer Increased Energy Efficiency
Heat rises. Everyone knows that’s true. But that doesn’t completely identify the way air flows throughout a home. Heat can move up, down, or sideways, depending on the situation. As air heats, it begins to rise, allowing cooler air to takes its place. Which explains why the upper level of a home is often a lot warmer than the lower level.

Of course, many things go into the heating process. Homes aren’t vacuum chambers; many things come into play to affect the temperature. But in general, a single family home has less rise from top to bottom, which means the air flow doesn’t have the same distance to travel to heat and cool your home. That means it’s easier for your HVAC system to operate and allow a better airflow throughout the rooms of your home.

Single-story Homes Provide Easier Escape
In the case of a fire, a single family home is always easier to escape than its multi-level counterparts. Should doorways become blocked, it’s easy to utilize first-floor windows and safely climb out without jumping from a dangerous height. In a multi-level home, smoke from a fire downstairs will rise quickly to the second floor making it difficult for you to see as you make your way from bedrooms to staircases, and move through to the outside doors. In a single-story home, you can leave doors shut, giving you more opportunity to break free from a window and escape with less harm to you and your family.

Single-story Homes Offer Child and Senior Safety
Two age brackets that struggle with staircases are small children and the elderly. And falling while climbing staircases can not only be dangerous, it can be deadly.

Staircases are a challenge to a toddler who is learning to crawl and walk. They are clumsy with their first steps, are less graceful with the use of their hands and feet. And what’s worse, they don’t understand the dangers a staircase can present.

For the elderly, staircases become an aggravating challenge. They want to stay in their homes, want life to go on as it has in the past. But debilitating diseases like arthritis can make steps challenging. Recovering from surgery may mean you can’t move from one floor to another. And when a chronic disease sets in and prevents it permanently, that can leave a person no other choice but to move from the home they love.

Single-story Homes Are Perfect For Aging In Place
Which is why single-story homes are perfect for aging in place. Baby boomers love single-story home floor plans because they are ideal for allowing freedom of movement at any age. It doesn’t matter if you’re healthy and thriving today; if your goal is to move into a home you can live in for many years to come,. It’s easier to make a single-story home age-friendly for just about any ailment you may have.

And what’s even more perfect is you can begin including aging in place technology today. Building your dream home gives you the ability to customize every room to suit your needs. If that means adding a little extra space in a doorway thinking about mobility issues in the future, we can make it happen. Plus, there won’t be any stairs to climb. And all rooms – kitchen, bathrooms, and sleeping space – will be on one level. Which means it’s perfect no matter what your needs.

Single-story Homes Are Better For Selling
Baby boomers are hitting the retirement years at a fast pace. And along with it comes changes in the ways they choose to live. Whether a person in their retirement years decides to stay in the community they know and love or looks for new places to call home, one thing is true across the board: baby boomers still have the desire to find their dream house.

Dreams change. And as a person moves into their 50s, 60s, and 70s, what they desire in real estate changes too. Baby boomers overwhelmingly seek single-story homes. And that doesn’t always mean downsizing. It may mean trading in a more traditional multi-level home of similar size that was perfect when the kids were home to a more aging-friendly single-story home that meets their needs as they change. Home builders that recognize this trend will have lots of options and lots of floor plans to keep up with this demand.

Are you ready for a single-story home? Here in Vancouver, Washington, we have the perfect plan.