New England House Plans: The charming home designs that cropped up on the eastern seaboard between 1710 and 1850 are sometimes called "New England" homes. Abundant timber resources encouraged the expansion of these traditional, one-room English cottages and marked them forever as the quintessential New England style. New England house plans are simple and symmetrical, usually one-and-a-half story house plans, and often incorporate dormer windows for an even warmer touch. New England house plans also tend to have dominant rooflines that extend down to the first floor ceiling level.