Northwest House Plans

Most people look for the best homes they can imagine; every person wants to have a dream home. If you like the Northwest style homes, then you can search the market, look online for your special Northwest home plans, if you are about to build your brand new home then you must search for the best house plan in the market.
Get to see the best contractor, let him and his architects build your new home. There are a lot of options in the customizations of these house plans; you can go with the pre made plans or the customized plans. The pre made plans are easy and will take less time to complete your home, but customized ones might take long time.
The Northwest house plans mainly come from the northwest region of North America. The designers and architects there design these homes. But these are getting very popular almost everywhere. These plans have a lot of features in them that you might not even imagine the exterior features you’ll find in these house plans are the following:

• ·Cedar shake shingle roofs
• ·Wood siding
• ·Lots of natural materials, particularly wood to blend with the terrain
• ·Large windows to bring in natural light
• ·Often multi-level

Mostly these Northwest house plans are common among people for the vacation homes. That you might see, if you visit the northwest are of North America. These House Plans have stucco or brick exteriors. The building materials in that area are expensive. In that area the wood is very abundant, which makes the use of timber a lot?
When you look for these house plans make sure they are just perfect for you. If you are in search for a builder or some company that can build your home in the Northwest style then make sure that the builder is an expert, he has experience and the team of architects and builders that will build your dream home. So make sure that you make a good choice both for you and your family. Be happy with your new home and make sure you live happily.

Plantation House Plans

Most people look for the best homes they can imagine, some like the greenery so much that they opt for the plantation home plans; every person wants to have a dream home. If you like the greenery style homes, then you can search the market, look online for your special style of home plans, if you are about to build your brand new home then you must search for the best house plan in the market.

Get to see the best contractor, let him and his architects build your new home. There are a lot of options; you can go with the pre made plantation plans or the customized plans. The pre made plans are easy and will take less time to complete your home, but customized ones might take long time. In most cases these plantation houses are very highly ranked, they offer what nature has to offer.

These are green, offering much protection. It also helps in making the environment better. Most of the Plantation houses are more modest working farms. They have some relation with the farm home plans.

These plantation homes offer a lot of styles, they are spacious and are just like any other home, but the fact that there is more plantation around and more greenery, this gave them the name of plantation home plans. Features associated with Plantation house plans are:

• ·Greek Revival or Federal style
• ·Grand, symmetrical and boxy
• ·Center entrances
• ·Balconies or wrapped porches
• ·Columns or pillars
• ·Hip or gable roofs
• ·Pediments
• ·Evenly spaced windows
• ·Grand entry foyers

These plantation house plans have almost every thing that you need to get. As a home you like it being peaceful, so it is. These house plans can be perfect even for hillside areas, no matter what your area of building is, these plans will fit.

If you are in search for a builder or some company that can build your home in the these plantation style then make sure that the builder is an expert, he has experience and the team of architects and builders that will build your dream home.

Passive Solar: A Smarter Set of House Plans

Today, we take a look at one of our best selling house plans. Not only is it one of the best selling home designs on our website, it is also our top passive solar design. Designed by renowned architect Charles Koty, house plan CKS812 has all you can ask for. It is a lovely, angled plan with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. It weighs in at just over 1,600 square feet total living area. It is a modest sized house plan with an ingenious floor layout.

The exterior of the this homeplan is as traditional as anyone could want, but one thing you don't notice is the passive solar construction that allows you to save on heating bills. You receive the benefits of solar power and don't look like you're living in a space ship. Other features include a large terrace out back for family get-togethers and barbecues with the friends and the sun room, located directly behind the living area.

As mentioned before, this set of house plans has an angled layout design that isn't seen often. At first it seems a little strange to have a hexagon shaped living area, but once you get used to it you realize how great it really is. You have easy access to all wings of this house. House Plan CKS812 is a well-divided home. You have all the bedrooms and bathrooms located on the left side of the house and the family room and kitchen on the right. This means that you can have a party on one side of the house and still let your toddler sleep in his or her room.

This set of house plans works for any money-conscious family that wants a good home with lots of space and good looks.

Country House Plans An American Classic

Country House Plans are the most popular style in America. If you take a drive through any new housing development you can see dozens of country style houses. They are both conservative and attractive. Country House Plans have the right amount of style for the average family and they are some of the most function-oriented house plans out there.

One of our best-selling country house plans is House Plan HPG-2000-2. This aesthetically-pleasing home plan comes with a cozy exterior that invites guests in. The big covered porch is what every American family needs. You can do so many fun things when you have a big porch like this. The three dormers above the porch are another staple in house design in the United States. They are simple accents to a home that will always be a classic.

Now, the interior of these Country House Plans looks a little complicated at first. Once you get your footing, however, you see how the designer did an excellent job of fitting everything you need into a home of 2000 square feet. These Country House Plans are stuffed to the rim with features.

The main living area is divided into two sections. You have a large great room that features a fireplace and cabinets on one wall and a big boxed ceiling above. You also have a large room off of this great room that works as a media room or small sewing room. The second section is a large kitchen for easy cooking and then a really big eating area that opens to it. These house plans cut the trouble of a separate dining room and let you have easy access to the eating area.

The master suite has its own sector of the home. House Plan HPG-2000-2 has one of the biggest master suites on the website. You can't be disappointed in the two large walk-in closets. There is ample space for all your clothes and shoes. The rest of the bedrooms are on the other side of the home and share a bathroom.

When you head out the back door you walk out into the covered porch that is home to an outdoor kitchen for all your summertime parties.

This is a typical Country Home Design. It isn't designed to be anything flashy or gaudy, but it will satisfy your wants and needs and won't take such a big bite out of your pocketbook.

Mud Rooms - for small spaces

A recent call for "what makes a mud room". Gave me an idea for the blog... maybe YOU were wondering the same thing?

It would be great if everyone had a dedicated mud room. Some homes are not large enough for one so lets see if we can come up with some ideas for those.

I would recommend a rear hallway that every family member uses regularly. 4-5 feet minimum in width - you really don't want things "sticking out" in the walkway.

If you have a staircase in the hall, use the area under the stairs to create a “drop zone” without taking up any extra room.  A wooden or metal bench is a great addition (if you have the room) to allow someone to remove shoes for storage. I would allow at least one hook and one shelf per household member for their own personal drop zone. Include an outlet or two for charging the electronics and cell phones we all have. 

I love to use a "built-in" locker design, when I have the chance, in our house plans. They don't take up a lot of room and you have an organized way of controlling clutter.

Flooring needs to be something easy to clean and be durable. Stained concrete or brick pavers would be a great flooring option for this area. Tile would be durable but you really need to seal the grout well in this area.


These ideas are not rocket science but I hope they get you looking at your space in a new light. Use your imagination and enjoy your new found storage space!




Debra
www.Design-House.com

Red Creek Cottage

 Looking for a smaller home that doesn't skimp on style? The Red Creek Cottage our DP-992 is a cute little 2 bedroom - 1 bath -  house plan hot off the drawing board!

An 8' deep front porch gives extra living area for relaxing. An open Great Room - Kitchen and Dining Area combo make those rooms feel huge. A gas ventless fireplace is accented with base cabinets with windows above. The Kitchen is perfect for entertaining and comes complete with an island , raised snack bar and a large walk-in pantry. Sliding glass doors allow extra light into the Dining Area.  Each bedroom has large walk-in closets and are located to the rear of the home for privacy.

A Great little house plan for the following homeowners:
A Starter Home
Retired Couple
Guest House
Vacation Retreat
Rental Property

Have a great weekend everyone.
Debra

Kitchen cabinets and window ideas

From the IBS2011 - a picture of the new kitchen base cabinet from Merillat.  If your kitchen sink has ever leaked, you can relate.

The following quote is from the Merillat website - "The Merillat CoreGuard Sink Base is made of an engineered polymer specifically designed to resist damage from spills and leaks. The face, frame and door assembly are wood, but behind them, everything is a water-resistant, non-wood material that’s easy to clean and is stain-resistant.

The floor has a slight forward tilt and a rib design to direct any spills forward. With CoreGuard, you can see a problem right away and clean it up. It’s a low-maintenance solution in a cabinet that’s built to last."

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Looking for extra light in your kitchen without losing wall cabinets? If you've got tall ceilings you have another option... install them over the wall cabinets! See the picture below for an example.

 What else can you gather from the Kitchen above? 

1. Textured glass on the front of the wall cabinets hide cups/plates, etc. but still give you a more open feel to the kitchen. 

2. Deep drawers under the cooktop are perfect for pots and pans. You can access everything in a drawer much easier than bending over to get to the back of a base cabinet.

3. White cabinets are a classic and stainless steel door pulls are a modern addition.

4. Tiling the wall from the bottom of the upper cabinets to the base cabinet below makes cleanup easier.

Hope you enjoyed the tips and have a great week!

Debra

You never know where design inspiration will come from next!

I have often heard you can tell a designer or architect by their photos... more design or architectural related than people. Well that can be very true!

Here are a few random pics for items I have been inspired by over the years.

Beautiful antique stained glass window. They don't make them like this any longer... lovely.

 This staircase and railing are from the same property. This picture shows marble stairs with beautiful railing that lead up to the window above.

The round brick columns above are found at one of the Mississippi rest areas we have stopped at.. beautiful. The french doors with really shutters are truly southern as well.

 The above stairs are not the classics you have been viewing but I thought I'd throw them in today. Glass tiles were used to cover the risers of each step giving color and durability to this staircase. Not a huge cost but it does add a lot of impact. Sometimes it's the small things that make a home special... just use your imagination.

If you need help creating your dream home plans, please let me know, I would love to help you. We create custom house plans as well as modify any of our DesignHouse house plans.

Take care until next time,

Debra