Are you considering becoming a homesteader but aren’t sure where to start or if you can even make it work with the amount of land you have?
Well, fear not because I am going to bring you some plans to help you get started right where you are. It is important to realize that even if you live in an apartment, you can take steps to become more self-sufficient.
However, if you live in a home and have even a ¼ acre, there are ways to lay it out and utilize that piece of land to the fullest.
So take a look at these land layouts and see what you can glean from them. Hopefully, your mind will be spinning with ideas before you are through.
1. The Small Backyard
If you live in the suburbs and have a teeny tiny piece of land then this design is great news for you. Why?
Because it shows you how to harvest your own food and raise goats and chickens in a small space. If you are thinking that your land is just not functional, well check out this layout.
View this layout2. The ¼ Acre Layout
Do you have around a ¼ acre, but you still aren’t sure how to utilize it? Well, then you definitely need to check out this design. It gives you space to not only grow your own food, but also room to raise goats, sheep, rabbits, and chickens.
Plus, you have room for your kids to play and to have a small orchard too. This layout pretty well has it all on ¼ acre.
View this layout3. The ½-1 Acre Design
My, my, my the things you can accomplish on 1 little acre. According to this layout, you can raise your food, sheep, goats, chickens, rabbits, and have a play area too.
But this layout also gives you room for a nice herb garden, storage, and a few nut trees too. This definitely sounds like it could be a great plan to being self-sustained.
View this layout4. The 2-3 Acre Layout
If you have 2-3 acres, you are really in business. This layout not only gives you everything else that the others mentioned, but you are also able to raise cattle and enough food for your animals.
So you could have multiple meat sources, multiple dairy sources, and plenty of food for both you and your animals. This sounds like a great layout for me.
View this layout5. The Urban Permaculture Design
This design is extremely organized and well thought out. It gives you details from décor to function. It also lets you know where to plant certain items.
For instance, in the orchard, you need some plants for food and some plants to nourish the actual fruit trees. I found this very helpful.
View this layout6. The Edible Garden Design
This design would be a good layout for those in a warmer climate. It includes growing your own citrus trees and pomegranates.
However, it also includes growing your own vegetables and nuts too. This looks like a very functional design as well and one that would be worth checking out in my opinion.
View this layout7. The Designer Micro Layout
If you are someone that doesn’t just want your homestead to be functional but it must also be gorgeous to look at, let me be the first to say that I don’t blame you.
But with that in mind, you might want to check out this homestead layout. It doesn’t include raising animals but it does include raising your own fruits and vegetables. Plus, it shows you where to plant the ornamental plants you’d like to keep around for decoration as well.
View this layout8. The Designer Chicken Layout
This layout is another one that is meant to be functional and gorgeous. It has nice features like a raised kitchen garden bed. How handy would that be? I personally would love it!
However, it also gives you the option for raising chickens. It fits them neatly and conveniently to your small homestead. That way your home would not only be gorgeous but a little more self-sufficient too.
View this layout9. The All-Inclusive Layout
Do you like the idea of being totally self-sufficient? Well, this layout definitely has you in mind. It includes all of the placement details of raising your own food and nice features for everyday living.
However, it also includes a design for your own water system on your homestead. This is a great way to help be self-sustained and the fact that it’s included on a smaller scale is that much better.
View this layout10. The Basic Farm Layout
These layouts are all just meant to be guides to you to see what you would like on your property and how you could potentially make it happen. So this design is a layout of what a traditional farm usually consists of.
However, you’d probably have to have a larger piece of land to fit it all on it. But if you don’t have that, don’t worry. You could simply try to pull whatever you like from it and duplicate it on a smaller scale.
View this layout11. 1-Acre Dreamin’ Layout
This was the layout that first convinced me that I could farm on a smaller chunk of land. It is by Mother Earth News (naturally because I love their publication!)
But really it is something that can be adapted to whatever size land you have. It is also a fully functional homestead too.
View this layout12. The Permaculture Layout
If you live in a manufactured home this layout was designed with you in mind. Now, if you don’t, you could still make this work for you.
However, I know a lot of the designs are usually made with an old farmhouse in mind. This one is very versatile, and I love it for that reason. It also shows you how to use plants as hedging for your property which is natural (obviously) and an easy way to get boundaries started.
View this layout13. The 1/10 of an Acre Homestead Layout
I love this layout. It is designed with the average person with the average amount of land in mind. It is also very informative by letting you know how big the beds should be.
Plus, it is also very neat and easy to read. I love how everything is numbered, and you can just walk through it and figure out how to transfer that to your property.
View this layout14. The Sustainable Homestead Map
This map is rather basic and gives you a generalized overview of what you might need on a homestead in order to be self-sustained.
Plus, it shows you how you can potentially lay it out. Obviously, some of the details of each layout will have to be modified to fit your particular piece of land.
View this layout15. The Garden Layout
This is not a complete homestead layout, but I did think it needed to be mentioned. The reason is that the key to self-sufficiency is really gardening and chickens (in my opinion.)
If you have those then you’ll eat and have just about every vitamin you need. Now, this wouldn’t cover your water or electricity but if you get started and have these two things going then you are well on your way to being self-sustained.
View this layout16. The Complete Design
I love the design of this homestead. They thought of practically everything. The design also tells you what you need for self-sufficiency and what you need for profit.
Plus, they’ve thought of how you could enjoy your home while also raising plenty of meat and eggs to sustain your family. It really is a nice design in my opinion.
View this layout17. The 2-Acre Homestead
This layout shows you how to be completely self-sustained on as little as 2-acres. Now, this may be less than what you have or way more.
Either way, you can adapt a lot of the ideas to fit your land to utilize it to the best of your ability. Personally, I like this plan because it shows you where to place items and how much of it you need.
View this layout18. The Hamilton Permaculture Layout
I like this layout because it incorporates a few different ideas that some other plans haven’t mentioned. One is including a worm farm. This is great as it produces a rich compost which has positive effects on your gardening.
Also, it includes bees, aquaculture, and chicken tractor in the space which is always a nice addition. Not to mention, this design is easier to read than some which I always appreciate that too.
View this layout19. The Larger Farm Layout
If you are someone that has more than a few acres, then you might really like this layout. It includes all of the typical farm buildings.
Plus, it has plenty of room to raise your own food and meat. So if you have plenty of lands you might as well use it to its fullest ability.
View this layout20. The Urban Homestead Layout
This layout is designed for the urban homesteader according to its original site. They have given you lots of ideas of things to take into consideration when designing your homestead.
For instance, you need to consider what you plan on growing. But you should also consider areas for relaxation and enjoyment. After all, you can’t work all of the time.
View this layout21. The Old School Homestead Layout
This design reminds me of an old school homestead from many, many years ago. It includes many functional buildings which I’m sure you’d find great uses for around your homestead.
However, I’d imagine you would have to have a few acres of land to recreate this homestead design identically.
22. The All Inclusive Small Homestead Design
This homestead layout doesn’t appear to need a ton of acreage. I really like it because it shows you how to make room for multiple meat sources.
Plus, they also give you a space for multiple cold frame greenhouses, too. I’m just a huge fan of anything that maximizes all of the space, and I feel like this design does that.
View this layout23. The Family Food Garden Layout
I like this design because it shows you how to raise a lot of food in one smaller space. Obviously, you’d have to have a couple of acres for this because one cow requires an acre to itself.
But if you have space, this design is great. It appears convenient as the food is right out of the front door. Plus, it keeps the animals farther from the house so you don’t have to deal with so much smell.
View this layout24. The Family of 4 Mini-Farm Layout
According to the original site of this layout, it was designed with the idea in mind of supporting a family of four. That is awesome!
Plus, think about how much money that would save you. Not to mention, how much healthier it would be for your family. If you need ideas on how to support your family naturally, this could be it.
View this layout25. The Homestead Layout
I love the design of this homestead. It is functional and pretty too. It includes an office space, solar panels, and lots of room to raise food when the weather is warm or when it’s cooler.
So if you need a functional and well-organized design then this could very well be it. It also appears easy enough to modify to fit your land too.
View this layout26. The Modern Homestead
If you dream of having the perfect planting space on your homestead then this layout will turn your dream into a reality. It features a lot of edibles and if you are a plant lover like the designer of this layout then you are in for a treat.
Although I must say, this layout is hard to read and it will cost a lot to fill the garden out according to plan. However, if you can read and understand the layout and have the extra money, go for it.
View this layout27. The Unique Homestead Layout
I really like this homestead design as well. It gives you all of the basics that a lot of the other designs have included.
However, it includes a few extras like the placement of the root cellar which is a huge homesteading bonus to have available to you.
View this layout28. The Real Life Layout
I like this layout because it looks like something that is ‘real life.’ What I mean by that is that it is something that you could actually live out.
Don’t get me wrong, the others do as well. This one just gives you options for placing a fire pit, swing set, and even a sunflower patch. These are all great additions that would make everyday life that much more enjoyable.
View this layoutI hope you all have found these layouts helpful and at the very least interesting to look at. Hopefully, they will inspire you and give you some ideas on how to layout your own homestead regardless of the size of land you have to work with.
Honestly, if you have a smaller space of land it is a good thing when starting out. You will soon realize that homesteading is rewarding but a lot of hard work. So the less you have to maintain in the beginning, the better.
