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.

We Are On Houzz

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If you are a fan of Houzz (and a lot of people are), you can now browse interior and exterior pictures of the Island Cottage, Woods Cottage, Plantation Cottage, Porches Cottage, Shelter Cottage and Winds Cottage on our profile (with more to follow soon).  We also have some renderings of the Grand Island Cottage there.  Click the Houzz button above, the one on the left of our blog, or the following link:  Southern Cottages Houzz profile.

If you are not aware of what Houzz is, it is the "largest and most influential directory of remodeling and design professionals".  One way you can use Houzz is to do a search based on a keyword.  A picture list will come up showing you ideas of how to incorporate that particular item into your home. 

Another important feature is the reviews we have received from previous clients.  Take some time to look through those, browse pictures and get some ideas for your home.  As always, please leave us comment if you have any questions or use the "Contact" tab above to find our phone number.

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.

The Woods Cottage

The Woods Cottage is similar to our Shingle Cottage with the added feature of an attached two car garage with bonus room above.  This is an extremely livable house with a cottage charm and many amenities suitable for a large family.  Below are some pictures of a built Woods Cottage sent to us from a past client. 

This is the front of the Woods Cottage.  From this view you can see the way the garage comes together with the main house.  The wood plank siding with white trim provide a comfortable look and feel to this cottage.

In this view we see the front of the cottage from the other side of the front yard.  The porch is a welcoming area with plenty of space for furniture, such as rocking chairs, to enjoy the outdoors.  The house reveals the dining room on the right as it steps away from the main volume, as well as the family room fireplace by way of the chimney.

When we walk through the front door we are greeted in the foyer by the stairs.  To the left is the living room, to the right is the family room, straight ahead leads to the remainder of the first floor, and up the stairs leads to bedrooms and additional family spaces.

The living room is visually separated from the foyer by four columns (two of which can be seen in this picture).  This is a great space to make a formal area to greet visitors.  Two sets of windows bring natural light into the room.

The family room is separated from the foyer by a pocket door, in essence making it possible to close off the family spaces from the formal ones.  This room features a fire place, built-in shelving (not shown), a pass-thru to the kitchen (not shown) and plenty of natural light.

The dining room is off of the family room and also opens to the kitchen.  There are windows facing three sides of the house: the front, the back and the side.  These windows provide beautiful views as you enjoy your meals.

The first floor also features a large kitchen, master bedroom suite with an enlarged whirlpool bath, a spacious laundry room, a powder room and an office which connects the garage to the house.

Upstairs, there is plenty of room for a family to move and grow.  There are three generously sized bedrooms (each with its own large window), two baths and a den leading to the large bonus room over the garage.

For more information on the Woods Cottage please visit our Southern Cottages website.

Designing Your Kitchen - Part 1: Layout

Congratulations! You're designing your kitchen!

One of the first steps to consider when designing a kitchen is the layout. The layout will determine the placement of the major components in a kitchen such as the refrigerator, sink, stove, dishwasher and storage areas.

The placement of the refrigerator, sink and oven create what is called a "work triangle." These components are the most commonly used stations in the kitchen. The total length of the triangle should be between 12 and 26 feet, so as to cut down on leg fatigue while cooking and preparing food.

Now, imagine yourself in the space preparing a meal. What would feel most comfortable to you? Do you prefer an open layout concept where you can have multiple people in your kitchen at one time? Do you have limited space and need a compact kitchen? Do you prefer an eat-in kitchen? These are just a few of the questions you should consider when picking a layout for your kitchen design.

According to KraftMaid.com, there are five different layouts found in today's kitchens. They are the L, U, G, single-wall, and galley. Below are illustrations of each of these, taken from the article "Five Common Kitchen Layouts". Click on any of the pictures to find out why that particular layout has become a design favorite.

The L-shaped Kitchen:

The U-shaped Kitchen:

The G-shaped Kitchen:

The Single-Wall or Straight Kitchen:

The Corridor or Galley Kitchen:

Here are a few examples of our Cottages which successfully use three of the layouts:

L Shape: Shingle Garage

U Shape: Woods Cottage

G Shape: Shelter Cottage 2466 SF

Once you have selected a layout you can then move on to personalizing the space with materials and custom touches. We'll discuss this step in "Designing Your Kitchen - Part 2: Materials". Stay tuned!