A House With Storage

If you are looking for a home with more storage space, the Woods Cottage is the house for you. This house has multiple linen & coat closets, a built-in china cabinet, sewing counter, pantry, loads of kitchen counter space, family room built-ins, office nook and more. In addition to all the storage space, it has four bedrooms, a den, a large bonus room, first floor master suite and a 2 car garage. And those are just features on the inside. If this sounds like your next house, please click this link. All of the Southern Cottages House Plans are designed by an architect to give you style with a comprehensive design at a price you can afford.

Let us help you create a building to serve your needs at www.mcleodarchitect.com.
View our architect designed house plans at www.southerncottages.com.

Kitchen Cabinets

One of the most important rooms in a house is the kitchen.  We ponder, dream, and obsess over what our kitchen will look like.  There are counter tops, cabinets, appliances, flooring, windows and lighting choices to make.  Some things you can do to narrow down your choices are to tear out pictures in magazines or make a Pinterest or Houzz board dedicated to these decisions.  When you see a picture with something you like, tear it out or "pin" it.  Make sure to note what exactly it is that you like.  "Love the countertops."  "Island configuration is just what I need."  "Perfect paint color." You get the idea.

rustic kitchen cabinetry

The kitchen element we're focusing on in this post is the cabinets.  Here at Southern Cottages House Plans, the cabinets we specify are Kraftmaid.  They are a good, quality product with loads of options.  Door style, overlay, color, technique, and wood type combine to produce a distinctive look for your home.  Whether you're into traditional, eclectic, rustic, modern, something timeless, or any other style you will find what you're looking for.  The Kraftmaid website has some great tools to help you decide what you want.  Other manufacturer's should also have similar tools to help you.

With so many options out there we can't go over even a tenth of them, but here are a few ideas we found on Houzz:

Photo by Hill Farm Furniture Ltd - Search farmhouse kitchen pictures

Farmhouse style with recessed panel and trim, white glazed finish, inset panels (cabinet doors flush with the frame) and combination solid and glass doors.

Photo by Clay Construction Inc. - Browse traditional kitchen photos

Traditional style with arched recessed upper cabinets, square recessed bottom cabinets, medium wood finish, and full overlay (no cabinet frame showing between doors).

Photo by Greg Natale - Look for contemporary kitchen pictures

Contemporary kitchen with square recessed panels on base cabinets, glass paneled cabinets above, painted green finish, full overlay, and paneled tall doors.

Photo by Drury Design - Look for traditional kitchen pictures

Timeless traditional style with square raised panel, white color, full overlay, and combination solid and glass doors.

 

Photo by Roundhouse - More transitional kitchen ideas

Contemporary style with slab (flat) cabinets, gray color, full overlay (no cabinet frame showing between doors), and integral shelf in island.

Photo by Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery - Discover traditional kitchen design inspiration

Farmhouse style with square raised panels, glazed finish, dual colors, and beaded inset (small bead around the panel door and the cabinet doors flush with the frame).

Photo by Witt Construction - Look for traditional kitchen pictures

Traditional style with square recessed panel, distressed finish, dual colors, and beaded inset (small bead around the panel door and the cabinets flush with the frame).


We haven't even mentioned the many molding details, hardware options, lighting or storage solutions.  With so many alternatives available, good luck making a decision!  But seriously, remember, if you can pinpoint what exactly you like about a picture you find that will help narrow down your decision.  Good luck!

Top 5 Home Theaters

Home theaters have increased in popularity the last few years and we can see why.  They are a comfortable place to relax, unwind, and get the movie theater experience without leaving your home.  Here are our top five home theaters we're pining for. 


Home Theater #1
Traditional

Traditional Home Theater by El Segundo Home Media Design & Installation Interior Technologies

This home theater has all the features of a classic movie theater from 'back in the day'.  Chandelier ceiling, plush seats, wall sconces, and decorative trim around the curtained screen take us back to yesteryear, but with a stylish modern feel.  Although not cheap, a similar lush purple leather-textured wall paper can be purchased online.  The decorative wall trim at the curtain can be fabricated by a skilled cabinetmaker.


Home Theater #2
The Night's Sky

Traditional Home Theater by San Francisco Home Media Design & Installation VIA – San Francisco 

No more longing for the days when you could go to a drive-in because this home theater brings the outdoor movie experience inside.  Watch a movie in surround sound and comfortable seating while sitting under the night's sky.  Major bonus: no bugs.  The sky effect can be painted, attached with an adhesive mural, achieved by a lighting expert, or a combination of all of the above.  Fiber optic lights would produce effective night time stars.

Home Theater #3
Art Deco

Traditional Home Theater by Los Angeles Home Media Design & Installation Roberts Home Audio and Video Inc.

Say goodbye to wall sconces because this theater sets the mood with lighting that spans across the walls and ceilings.  With the Art Deco detailing on the lights, we're transported back to the time of The Great Gatsby.  These fantastically ornamented lights are offset by dark gray walls, floors, seating and curtains to bring a delicate touch to this chic theater. 


Home Theater #4
Natural Elements

Contemporary Home Theater by Sterling Home Media Design & Installation Encore Custom Audio Video

This home theater takes a tip from Mother Nature by using earth tones and natural textures to create a room that is visually appealing and very comfortable.  The brown leather theater seats are soft and inviting.  The two-tone paint compliments the seats and bring you down to earth.  The highlight of this room is the wave-patterned panels on the ceiling. (They also make an appearance on the walls as pilasters.)  Reminiscent of rippling water, these interlocking panels from Modular Arts make this textured feature possible.


Home Theater #5
Retro Suite

Contemporary Home Theater by South East Interior Designers & Decorators FiSHER iD

From the hip color scheme to the retro wall panels this home theater is swanky.  The purple, aqua and green couches have a dual job: they provide plentiful seating and create visual excitement in what could be a bland room.  The diamond art on the wall provides interest, lighting and possibly sound absorption.  The clean lines of these elements work together to provide a design that stands out from the rest on this list.


Which of these five home theaters is your favorite?  Maybe you have your own ideas for what makes the perfect theater.  Let us know.  We would love to hear from you!

Disclaimer: Southern Cottages House Plans and Michael R. McLeod Architect, PA did not design any of these rooms.  Click the picture to find these rooms on Houzz.

Roof Decks & Widows Walks

View from the Lookout Cottage roof deck.

We've previously posted about the Legend of the Widows Walk.  Whether you like the romanticized idea of a lonely wife waiting for her sea captain to come home while pacing the widows walk of her house, or you're more interested in seeing the ocean from your non-ocean-front lot, there's just something about being high above the houses around us that we love.

 

Our Widows Walk House Plans incorporate a roof-top windowed cupola, which we refer to as an observation loft, accessed by spiral stair from the second story. The observation loft is a great place to glimpse a distant view, to survey the landscape or to find a special place to read a book or to work on a project in your personal studio.

 

 Island Cottage

Grand Island

In addition to our Widows Walk House Plans, we offer Roof Deck House Plans which provide an open-air connection to the outdoors. The smell of the seabreeze or fresh mountain air is just outside the door.  Several of our house plans feature a roof-top observation deck to provide a panoramic view and provide your own private sunbathing deck or gathering spot high above the crowd overlooking your neighbors roofline for a glimpse of the ocean or distant view.

Lookout Cottage

Porches Cottage with Roof Deck

Sunrooms

According to Houzz, one of the top 25 home trends for 2016 is having a sunroom.  A sunroom gives you a place to sit and relax while being bathed in sunshine.  It's a special retreat in your own home.  It's a get-a-way from the norms of life.  It's a happy place when it's too hot or too cold to go outside.

If you are planning on building a home this year and want a sunroom, consider the following:

Side of the Grand Island Cottage.

The Grand Island Cottage will give you a generous place to enjoy the sun. At 12'-4" wide by 37'-5" long, the sunroom gives you a great place for relaxing or a casual place to entertain.  It features windows which are interrupted only by the fireplace.  It also includes doors which connect it to the front and rear porches of the house.

Rear of the Porches Cottage with Roof Deck.

Another option to consider is the Porches Cottage with Roof Deck.  Called a Flexroom in our on-line plan, the room features three large, double windows to bathe the room in light.  This sunroom includes space for a mini-kitchen, bar, or built-ins and measures 12'-10" wide by 27'-8" long. It is located on the rear of the home, which is especially great if that's the direction of your view.

Front left side of the Country Cottage

For those who desire a something a little different, the 3,565 sf Country Cottage features an L-shaped sunroom with windows into the living spaces.  The light-filled sunroom will bring sunshine even further into your home!  In addition to this, the wall-to-wall windows provide a view on two sides of the house.

Rear of the Hip Cottage with Attached Garage.

If you are looking for a smaller home, the Hip Cottage with Attached Garage has an 11'-0" by 11'-0" sunroom in the rear.  This sunroom is lined with windows on two sides, as well, and also includes windows through to the living room.  It is a cozy place to sit, relax and take time for yourself.


For more information about any of the homes mentioned here, including additional pictures, please visit our website.  If you didn't see anything that appealed to you in this post, most of our home plans include screened porches which can easily be changed into a sunroom.