I've discovered that you can overdose on home plan books.

From the time we first decided to build a new home in 2000 until this month, Rosanne and I have been thumbing through countless home plan books and marking our favourite designs with sticky notes. Unfortunately, the bookstores frown upon marking books in any way, so we were forced to buy the books and take them home for further study.

(For those of you who aren't following along each week like Pavlovian dogs, Rosanne is my wife.)

While most of the plan books out there cater to the U.S. market, where an "entry-level" plan comes in at 2,000 square feet and is designed for a 200-foot-wide lot, there are enough clever layouts and classic facades to warrant purchase in Canada.

My favourite plan designer seems to be Donald A. Gardner (see www.dongarden.com) and his fine design associates. His group specializes in country and Craftsman facades, so they score major points with us right there.

Rosanne and I are major fans of the Craftsman style, and that should work well with the country theme of Pritchard Farm Properties.

But our appreciation of Craftsman goes deeper than mere appearances. The ideology that ignited the drive back in the '20s is just as important today.

The Arts and Crafts movement, which spawned the Craftsman style, came about as a response to the dehumanizing effect of increased machinations. (Are you yawning yet? There were more $12 words in that sentence than you'd see in a given moment on PBS.)

Basically, people wanted houses to reflect the human touch -- real woodwork that is hand-crafted and placed with an eye for detail while maintaining a practical layout within the home.

The goal was to create a home that wasn't just a collection of rooms, but an organic space with a sense of soul.

It may sound pie in the sky and artsy-fartsy, but it really works.

While the original Craftsman plans of the '20s are still striking on the outside, the floorplans are no longer right for the times. Kitchens were not to be seen by guests, and formal areas ruled.

Bedrooms were a place to sleep, and nothing more.

Now, our lifestyles demand open plans with accessible kitchens and living areas, and master retreats that feature luxurious en suite bathrooms and bowling-alley sized walk-in closets.

Luckily for us, a Minnesota architect named Sarah Susanka revived the drive for homes with soul, and in doing so has created an almost cult-like following of her Not So Big House movement (see www.notsobighouse.com).

Susanka's push is to move away from the who-has-the-most-square-footage contest in what she calls starter castles, and get back to creating homes of quality over quantity.

Instead of large, square-footage-wasting formal areas that are used once or twice a year, Susanka suggests including only rooms and spaces that you'll use every day.

You'll end up with a home that is both functional and warm.

Her second book, Creating The Not So Big House, focuses on thinking beyond the floorplan, and the need to consider all three dimensions.

We brought Creating with us when we first met with our designer, Angie Strike of Strike Didur Associates here in Winnipeg. We were going to suggest some of Sarah's ideas could be incorporated into our design.

Before we could say anything, Angie said, "I see you've brought one of my favourite books ..."

Angie is clearly on our wavelength, and her early sketches look very promising.

We're meeting with her this week to get a glimpse of her first scale drawing.

The results next week!