What COOLhouseplans.com does

COOLhouseplans.com is a private, direct-to-consumer e-commerce marketplace headquartered in Beaufort, South Carolina, and operated by The Garlinghouse Company. Founded in 2003, the company sells more than 30,000 residential architectural designs—spanning house plans, garage plans, multi-family configurations, and backyard/DIY project plans—across 30+ architectural styles including Craftsman, Farmhouse, Modern, Ranch, Traditional, Bungalow, and Mediterranean. Customers can purchase plans as PDF downloads, AutoCAD 2000 CAD files, or physical 24x36 inch printed blueprint sets, with optional materials lists and a Right Reading Reverse mirror service. The platform serves individual home buyers as the primary segment, alongside builders/contractors, home designers/architects, DIY hobbyists, and small-scale developers/investors, primarily across the United States and Canada with some international reach.

The underlying technology is a web-based e-commerce platform with plan search, filtering (by square footage, bedrooms, architectural style, foundation type, exterior wall), side-by-side comparison (up to 4 plans), saved-plan collections, and a PayPal-integrated checkout. A dedicated modification department and inside-sales phone team provide customization and technical assistance, and a partnership with Home-Cost.com embeds an interactive cost-to-build estimator covering 43,000 US and Canada zip codes.

The business model is built around one-time license fees (single-build and unlimited-build licenses) for plan documents in multiple formats, supplemented by fees for plan modifications, materials lists, mirrored sets, and per-plan cost estimates. Volume discounts (15% for 2-4 plans, 20% for 5+) and a Low Price Guarantee (beating competitors by 5% of total) anchor a price-competitive positioning. Distribution is exclusively first-party: the company's own e-commerce site plus phone sales support, with no third-party resellers. There is no disclosed external funding, no M&A activity, and no leadership-team information in the source material.

Name

COOLhouseplans.com

Legal name

COOLhouseplans.com

Website

https://coolhouseplans.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

COOLhouseplans.com is a Beaufort, SC-based online marketplace selling 30,000+ residential architectural plans—house, garage, multi-family, and DIY projects—to home buyers, builders, designers, and developers via PDF, CAD, and printed formats, with modification services and cost-estimating partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural House Plans

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310)

SIC

Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply (5200)

akta.pro primary industry

Construction, Home Improvement & Building Materials Marketplaces (CRAFABAO)

Keywords

• House plan sales
• Architectural design plans
• Residential blueprints
• Garage plans
• Home design services

Headquarters

HQ city

Beaufort

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. House Plan Sales: One-time license fees for house plans sold as PDF files, CAD files, or printed blueprint sets. Each purchase includes a single build license. Multiple pricing tiers available including standard sets, PDF bundles, and unlimited build licenses for higher prices.
2. Garage Plan Sales: One-time license fees for garage plans and garage-living plans sold in various formats.
3. Multi-Family Plan Sales: Plans for duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, and multiplex buildings (2-8 units).
4. Plan Modifications: Customization service where customers can request modifications to stock plans. Quotes provided at no cost with actual modification work charged separately.
5. Cost-to-Build Estimates: Partnership with Home-Cost.com providing construction cost estimates for $29.95 per plan.
6. Materials Lists: Optional materials list add-on available for most plans, providing detailed construction material specifications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

COOLhouseplans.com sells downloadable and printed architectural house plans, garage plans, multi-family plans, and backyard/DIY project plans through a direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform. The company offers more than 30,000 plans across 30+ architectural styles, delivered as PDF, CAD, or printed blueprint sets, and supports customers with plan modification services and cost-to-build estimating tools.

Product overview

COOLhouseplans.com is an online marketplace and design service offering more than 30,000 house plans and architectural designs for residential construction. The platform operates as a single unified e-commerce site with multiple product categories including House Plans (single-family), Garage Plans (ranging from 1-car to 6-car with variants like detached, barn style, and garage-living), Multi-Family Plans (duplex through 8-unit multiplex), and Backyard/DIY Project Plans. Supplementary products include digital downloads (PDF and CAD files), printed blueprint sets, materials lists, plan modification services, and cost-to-build estimates powered by Home-Cost.com. Plans span 30+ architectural styles including Craftsman, Farmhouse, Modern, Traditional, Ranch, and Bungalow, organized into themed collections. The company also offers customization services through a modification department.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• House Plans Single-family residential house plan designs available in PDF, CAD, and printed formats, including floor plans, elevations, sections, construction details, and foundation plans. Sold with a single-build license or unlimited-build license.
• Garage Plans Architectural designs for detached and attached garages ranging from 1-car to 6-car capacity, including barn-style garages, carports, garage apartments, and plans with lofts, workshops, or storage spaces.
• Multi-Family Plans Residential designs for multi-unit housing including duplex (2 units), triplex (3 units), quadplex (4 units), 6-unit, and 8-unit multiplex configurations, plus homes with in-law suites.
• Backyard/DIY Project Plans Plans for backyard structures and do-it-yourself projects including sheds, outdoor structures, and hobby/workshop spaces.
• Plan Modifications Customization service allowing customers to modify stock plans to meet specific needs. Free, no-obligation modification quotes are provided, with modification work charged separately (minimum change fee typically $300).
• Cost-to-Build Estimates Interactive online construction cost estimation powered by Home-Cost.com, providing detailed cost reports with approximately 120 line items for U.S. and Canada locations. Priced at $29.95 per plan.

Quantifiable outcome

• Low Price Guarantee: Beat competitor prices by 5% of total (not just the difference)
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The House Designers: Direct competitor offering downloadable house plans, modification services, and materials lists to the same home buyer, builder, and DIY segments. Their catalog, customization services, and pricing tiers closely mirror COOLhouseplans.com's value proposition.
• Family Home Plans: Sister-brand-style online plan retailer with extensive stock plan inventory and direct-to-consumer delivery, including modification services. Comparable catalog breadth, customer base, and e-commerce checkout experience to COOLhouseplans.com.
• Architectural Designs: One of the largest online stock house plan retailers, selling tens of thousands of single-family, garage, and multi-family plans in PDF/CAD/printed formats. Directly comparable e-commerce marketplace serving the same consumer and builder segments as COOLhouseplans.com.
• Monster House Plans: Online plan retailer offering thousands of stock house plans with PDF/CAD deliverables and customization, competing for the same consumer and small-builder buyer profile as COOLhouseplans.com.
• ePlans: Online house plan marketplace offering stock plans with multiple format options (PDF, CAD, blueprint) and customization services. Sits squarely in the same 'digital-first stock plan retail' category with overlapping customer profiles.
• HousePlans.com: High-traffic house plan portal offering plan search, modification, and purchase across broad architectural styles. Operates the same digital marketplace model targeting consumers, builders, and designers with comparable pricing and service structure.
• The House Plan Shop: Stock house plan e-commerce site providing printable, CAD, and modification options to homeowners and builders. Operates an almost identical business model with overlapping catalog and customer segments.

Broad incumbents

• Donald Gardner: A larger, multi-decade house plan designer/brand with an extensive portfolio distributed online and via in-house affiliates. Comparable in product (stock plans with customization) but broader in brand history and geographic reach than COOLhouseplans.com.
• Frank Betz Associates: Established US residential design firm with a large catalog of stock plans distributed through its own site and partners. Overlaps with COOLhouseplans.com on stock plan retail but Frank Betz also operates as a design firm with broader builder relationships.

Emerging players

• Sater Design Collection: Boutique custom and stock home design practice with an online plan catalog and design service. Smaller and more designer-led than COOLhouseplans.com but competes for the same premium home-plan segment and modification revenue.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• TikToktiktok.com/@coolhouseplans
• Xx.com/coolhouseplans
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cool-house-design

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about COOLhouseplans.com