How to Design a Round House

Round houses are fairly uncommon because people want straight walls to hang pictures on and square rooms to furnish. But from the yurt to the geodesic dome, round homes have remained popular despite the need to literally think outside the box. A few adjustments to your notions of what a house should be like might lead you to appreciate the homeowners who spend their time in round houses. Start with these basic plans to design a round house, and customize it to suit your needs.

Instructions

1. Design a very simple one-story round house with one open room and a blocked-off area for a bathroom. Decorate the room as you would a loft or an efficiency apartment. Use compact appliances like an under-the-counter fridge to create a cooking area along the bathroom wall.

2. 

   Bisect the home with a wall, and put a bedroom and bathroom on one side and an open floor plan on the other. Place a galley kitchen along the outside of the bedroom wall.

3. 

   Put the kitchen and bathroom along one axis of the house. Leave hallways with doors on each end. Use the space behind the kitchen and bath as a bedroom and the area in front as a great room.

4. 

   Build a two-story home with an open loft. Use half of the downstairs as a bedroom, bathroom and office and the other half as an open great room. Put two bedrooms and a bath along the outside walls of the upstairs and leave the rest of the space open to the downstairs.

5. 

   Build walls around one quarter wedge of the round "pie." Put a bedroom, bathroom and mechanical rooms in the wedge. Place a full-size kitchen with a dining area to one side of the remaining open space. Bisect the upstairs and add two bedrooms and a bath. Leave the rest of the upstairs open.

Tips & Warnings

• Install a deck around the outside. Place skylights or sun tunnels in the roof. Add a wing for more space in a one-story home.

References

• Round Homes
• Round Home Kits
• One Couple's Experience with a Round Home

Resources

• Prefabricated Round Homes