A barndominium with a smaller attached in-law suite wing that has its own covered entry, on grassland below a mountain range.

4 Bedroom Barndominium Floor Plans in Arizona

A four-bedroom barndominium usually runs from about 2,200 to 3,000 square feet. In Arizona there is a second way to get the fourth bedroom: put it in a casita, a small guest suite either attached with its own entrance or standing separately across a courtyard. Cities and counties have their own name and rules for that second unit, so the choice between a fourth bedroom and a casita is partly a design question and partly a zoning one. We design and build both.

What actually changes with this feature

The look is the easy part. These are the decisions that follow from it.

Guest suite with its own door

A bedroom, bath and sitting area at one end of the house, with an exterior door to a patio. It works for guests, a parent or a grown child without being a separate dwelling, because it has no separate kitchen.

A detached casita

A separate small building across a courtyard or a shaded breezeway. With its own kitchen it is usually an accessory dwelling unit in zoning terms, so the parcel's zoning decides whether it is allowed, how big it can be and how far from the lot lines it must sit.

The courtyard between

Placing a casita to the west or south of a courtyard lets it shade the outdoor space between the buildings. A ramada or shade structure linking the two makes the walk comfortable in summer.

Four-bedroom split plan

With four bedrooms in one building, a common layout puts the primary suite at one end and three bedrooms at the other, with the great room between and the garage and laundry on the west side as a buffer.

A barndominium with a smaller attached in-law suite wing that has its own covered entry, on grassland below a mountain range.
Fourth bedroom or casita

What Arizona calls a casita, the zoning code usually calls an accessory dwelling unit

The City of Phoenix calls a second home on a lot an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, and offers a Standard Plan Library of pre-approved detached ADU designs that residents can use free of charge, submitted without modification. Maricopa County's zoning ordinance has used the term "accessory dwelling unit (ADU)/guest house", and in late 2025 the county took up amendments to bring its ADU rules in line with state law. The word casita is what people say; the term on the permit is set by the city or county, and so are the size, height, setback and rental rules. A fourth bedroom inside the house avoids those rules. A casita with its own kitchen does not.

Common ways to build this

Common configurations. Yours does not have to match one exactly — this is a starting point for the conversation, not a catalog.

Four bedrooms in one building

About 2,400 sq ft, 4 bed / 2.5 bath

A 40x60 footprint with a split plan, a primary suite on the east end, three bedrooms and a shared bath on the west end behind a laundry and mudroom, and a north-facing covered patio.

Three bedrooms and an attached guest suite

About 2,000 sq ft main house / 450 sq ft suite

The guest suite at one end with its own exterior door and bath, sharing the roof and the utilities of the main house. No separate kitchen, so it stays part of the home.

Main house and a detached casita

About 1,900 sq ft main house / 500 to 700 sq ft casita

A three-bedroom barndominium and a one-bedroom casita with a kitchenette, joined by a shaded courtyard. The casita's size and placement follow the zoning rules of the parcel.

4-Bedroom Barndominium: common questions

6 common questions about this layout in Arizona. If yours is not on the list, ask it directly.

How big is a 4-bedroom barndominium?
Usually 2,200 to 3,000 square feet of living space. A 40x60 gives 2,400 square feet, enough for four bedrooms and two and a half baths with an open great room.
What is a casita?
In Arizona, casita usually means a small guest house or guest suite. If it has its own kitchen it is typically treated as an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, by the city or county, which then sets its size, height, setbacks and whether it can be rented.
Can I build a casita next to my barndominium?
Often yes, but it depends on the zoning of your parcel. The City of Phoenix and Maricopa County each have their own ADU rules, and other cities and counties set theirs. We check the zoning before we draw a casita.
Is an attached guest suite the same as an ADU?
Not usually. A guest suite without its own kitchen is normally just part of the house. Adding a kitchen and a separate entrance is what tends to make it a second dwelling unit in zoning terms.
Does the City of Phoenix have pre-approved casita plans?
The City of Phoenix offers an ADU Standard Plan Library of pre-approved designs for detached accessory dwelling units, free to use for City of Phoenix residents if submitted without modification. They are designed for typical city lots; most barndominium buyers build on larger parcels outside the city, where the county's rules apply.
Should the fourth bedroom be in the house or a casita?
In the house if it is for children or everyday use; in a casita if it is for guests, a parent or a tenant and privacy matters more. A casita adds a second set of utilities and zoning rules, so it usually costs more per square foot.

Want this drawn for your program and your parcel? That is where a build actually starts.

Start your plans

Tell us what you want to build and we will draw this for your program and your parcel: which way it faces, where the shade goes, and the snow load, wind speed and frost depth your city or county publishes. Where the building department requires it, an Arizona-registered engineer seals the drawings. Then we build it, or supply the kit if you would rather build it yourself. That conversation costs nothing.