Designing a home is more daunting than any venture you’re likely to encounter, as the challenges placed upon it are borne out of the most personal of demands. Get the design wrong, and its faults will reveal themselves on a daily basis. Get the design right, however, and you’ll effortlessly live in your home with the truest sense of comfort and reward.

Small homes lack the excess square footage that can absorb flawed spaces and details, which can so easily be skirted in much larger homes. Such adjustable livability isn’t possible in a small home where every square foot matters.

In an effort to help get the design of your small home right, here are 5 small home plans to inspire the way you live.

Roughly 1000 sq.ft. smaller than the average American home, this traditionally inspired project by Anne Callender of Whipple-Callender demonstrates lessons in practical planning. It’s also the 2014 Best Small Home of the year.

First Floor Highlights:

The shotgun-style floor plan creates an open contemporary atmosphere on the first floor of the home. Kitchen, living and dining spaces are organized around a large stair case that also serves as light well, which floods the first floor in daylight. Furniture and small partition walls define the individual spaces of the first floor and lend flexibility to the home should lifestyles change or household events require them to expand.

Second Floor Highlights:

In dense urban neighborhoods access to daylight and view is typically more prominent on the second floor than on the first. To capture as much daylight as possible, living spaces are organized along the north side of the house. Circulation areas are placed on the south side of the home, with plenty of windows to bring daylight into the bedrooms and the office. The latter is easily modified into an additional bedroom if needed.

Size: 1600 sq.ft.

This 800 sq.ft. backyard cottage was designed by Matt Hutchines of CAST architecture for Seattle –based retirees who love to travel. Clustering storage, stairs and a powder room along a single wall allowed the rest of the home to function comfortably as an open living space.

First Floor Highlight:

An entry that doubles as a mudroom keeps clutter from entering the main living areas. In a similar effort cabinets, a powder room and mechanical closet are strategically tucked below the stairs on the home’s west wall. Isolating these spaces to this part of the house creates a solid exterior wall that helps keep the living spaces private from the nearby neighbors. The arrangement also allows the living, dining and kitchen areas to be as large and contiguous as possible.

Second Floor Highlights:

Sliding barn doors to the master bedroom establishes a l loft-like atmosphere in the second floor that feels larger than it actually is. A stackable washer and dryer near the top of the stairs is a convenient alternative to a full laundry room and helps conserve space. Though the owners had to compromise by sacrificing a tub, a spacious bathroom with a walk in shower occupies the north east corner of the home.

Size: 800 sq.ft.

Read more about this house

The footprint of this house is a basic rectangle to make insulating and air sealing its walls and roof easier. (Lots of jogs in the exterior walls and complicated roof lines make energy-related work more difficult.) The simple, compact plan was created to be replicable and easily modified for homeowners with varying demands.

Floor Plan Highlights:

The placement of the kitchen, living, and dining areas is easily adjustable within the single open living space. The one bedroom arrangement (shown) can easily be turned into a 2-bedroom plan by reconfiguring the flexible space and bathroom in the southeast corner of the house. Floor space is conserved by eliminating hallways throughout the house. Beyond the interior, two outdoor spaces influence the living experience. A covered entry, an asset to any house, is especially important in regions that have seasonally inclement weather. A screened-in porch, which is carved into the back corner of the house, creates a retreat that can be used as a getaway for the homeowners-an important feature in a small home.

Size: 1000 sq.ft.

Read more about this house

This Berkley, CA cottage serves as a granny flat for a homeowner wanting to live near her children and grandchildren while retaining her independence. Designed by bay area architect John Hopkins, the house makes the most of its 540 sq.ft. through a simple, well organized layout.

Floor Plan Highlights:

Two primary rooms arranged in an L-shaped plan eliminate space-hungry hallways and divide the house equally into public and private realms. Most of the windows are focused on the outdoor space, creating a sense of transparency and spaciousness. A generous deck nearly doubles the living area when the weather permits.

Size: 540 sq.ft.

Read more about this house

This remodel was redesigned by owner and architect Krista Becker. Organizing the new floor plan to create a contiguous living area made the small home feel expansive, while providing the practical benefit of easier child supervision.

First Floor Highlight:

The private spaces of the house-bedrooms and bathrooms-are placed along a central circulation loop around a set of new stairs, which provides access to the new master suite on the second floor. The feature stair buffers those private spaces from the public kitchen, dining and living areas nearby. Should accessibility ever become an issue in this home, the full bath and main-floor bedrooms can accommodate single-floor living.

Second Floor Highlights:

A comfortable bench at the top of the stair serves as a quiet place to read or work without the excess space of a dedicated study. A rooftop deck provides second floor outdoor access, which makes supervising outdoor play in the backyard easier. A four piece master bathroom, separated from the bedroom by generous walk in closets, completes the narrow suite.

Size: 1565 sq.ft.

Read more about this house

Slideshow: Inspiring Ideas for Small Houses