Traditional & Modern Japanese House Floor Plans

Both traditional and modern Japanese house floor plans have significant differences from a lot of the other styles that you may be able to find on this page, including the H-shaped, U-shaped or L-shaped ones, that are some of the most prominent categories that we generally offer.

However, we do also offer vastly different ones from our normal offering, including mansion plans, and lately we have wandered into the more exciting world of traveling across the Pacific Ocean, at least in style, and have gotten around to include some of the fine things that Japan and its culture has to offer.

The usual plans we offer here include the various floor plans that you will need, and you may be able to get the material list, too. Although there are various things you may be looking for with this specific style, even if you choose to build a Japanese house, you will still be looking at and considering all the other various factors that we encourage you to be thinking about, would you rather have chosen to go with a different type of style.

Inherently, these homes are very different from the more typical American choice, the farmhouse, and rather than building a big extravagant cottage, you are rather interested in something more unique, like these.

Courtyards

They may have a bunch of the various features that come highly popular among some of the higher-end homes, including being positioned in front of a beautiful courtyard, which generously greets anyone coming to the house, but that is not the only thing that these homes may have in common with some of the more traditional house styles we feature.

The interiors can be styled to your liking

While there are certain things that may be more prevalent with this style, it is no different in terms of the fact that your choices when it comes to building materials and choices you choose inside the house will determine what feel the house has. While you  are able to choose something that may have a more simple feel to it, it’s also very possible to find significantly more modern and contemporary options to go with. While you may have a desire to have that authentic and traditional feel on the outside, it is very possible that you may rather be drawn to the luxuries offered by modern amenities on the inside. Remember that a lot of the final product isn’t about which design you go with, but the attention to detail you have when you are building it.

Getting a true Japanese reel inside the home, comes down to searching the internet for the right furniture that helps bring out those elements you are looking for, getting authentic kitchen things, and all the other things that you specifically may associate with having that dreamy experience. If you want to take it one step further, we’d always encourage a trip across the Pacific, where you can go and pick up some new things for your upcoming home.

One-story or two-stories?

While the one-story ranch house may perhaps be the most common across the US, it is not necessarily the right choice for every single building project, including your upcoming one. With that being said, the right choice when it comes to choosing the amount of levels your home should have isn’t necessarily that you need to be going for a one-story option. Japanese homes also come in two-story options for you to choose from. You are not confined to choosing the simple option just because you have found out you really like certain aspects of this oriental culture.

While they are typically defined by their minimalist, apartment-style housing, this extremely compact way of living may more so be a thing of the past, if that isn’t what you are wanting to build. While these may be the most common homes in Japan, due to their very high land prices, your own building project may not the same way be limited by the reasons imposed by a narrow lot, and you may have a lot more to actually be able to do, incorporating some of the more Western elements into the building project, if you are not having to build as small as possible.

The traditional style Japanese house is definitely a small one, per American standards, where a usual American family may easily end up building a house 2,200 square foot home. If that is something you are seeking with this style in particular, you may have to build up as well. When considering this style for your next home, or your next place that you are retreating to every couple of months, it is really important to figure out what it is you are choosing. Are you choosing something with the intention of having it stay true to its Japanese feel, or are you looking for something that is more a fusion of the two styles, while still offering some of that American convenience you have learned to love over the span of many decades? While we are not trying to talk you out of a specific option, it is important to know that if you are choosing to build something Japanese, you may see that the bedrooms’ sizes are usually significantly smaller than they would typically be in your other usual home, and if you opt to build in the Japanese style, but you rather increase the size of the rooms, you run the risk of losing that authentic feel, which may have been your initial intention anyway.

In order to truly make your home feel Japanese, you will also be installing shoji rather than windows, with their translucent paper  in a wooden frame being the way that they would naturally be increasing the amount of natural light in the house.

Rather than having a bunch of doors and traditional walls, you will be using fusuma sliding panels, that easily slide and allow for rooms to be used in a multitude of ways.

If you are wanting to stay true to the traditional style, you may also find that rather than using nails, your house project will be using wagoya, being an advanced joinery technique, where rope and advance carpentry work replaces the usual American nails.

The popularity of wraparound porches is one that transcends many different cultures, including the Japanese one, however in this style it also helps in providing a safety separate between shojis and the usual storm shutters that are better able to withstand the wear and tear of the outer elements.

Regardless of what it is you are seeking in your upcoming house, there are a lot of interesting options on this page for you to consider, and we hope that we have at least given you some inspiration as to which Japanese features you will want to consider in the process of choosing the right design for your upcoming building project.

The country of Japan has undergone a lot of rebuilding given the turbulent past, why it is not uncommon to also see the style evolve significantly as a consequence.