What is Southern Cottages?

Happy New Year!

 

You might wonder what Southern Cottages is and what this blog is about.

Mike McLeod, an architect in North Carolina, owns an architecture firm called Michael R. McLeod Architect, PA.  He has a small side company called Southern Cottages House Plans.  It is there that he sells a few of the house plans he has designed over the years at a fraction of the cost of designing a custom home.  So, potential customers can get house plans that were designed by an architect but at an affordable price.

This is from the Southern Cottages website:

Southern Cottages is a house plan service offering architect designed houses, cottages, and beach houses for a gracious informal lifestyle. The plans are a collection of exciting home designs which blend traditional southern coastal home styling with more contemporary architectural forms and open plan floor layouts.

What you’ll find on this blog are pictures of the SouthernCottages houses, FAQ, customer letters, info on building materials, and other information about architecture, the beach, and houses.

I hope this post has shed some light on this blog.

Here’s to a brilliant new year!

Plantation Cottage Interior

Sometimes we get requests from people who want to know what our cottages look like on the inside.  We received these pictures of the Plantation Cottage exterior and interior a couple years ago.

 

The Plantation Cottage has a large, covered, wrap around porch with detailed railing. This house has extensive windows throughout to let the outdoors in, a basement garage and four bedrooms.  

 

 This picture exposes the "drive-in" garage area in the basement of the Plantation Cottage. You can see how the front porch wraps around the house to provide shelter from the elements and relief from the summer sun. The detailed porch railings give this home southern charm.

 

 The Foyer of the Plantation Cottage is open to the second floor and has an L-shaped stair. It provides a large welcoming space to greet your guests.

 

The open living room and dining room of the Plantation Cottage provide plenty of space for your family to spread out for their various activities.  A built in wall cabinet provides additional storage.

 

 The open floor plan of the Plantation Cottage gives you views to the front and back of the home and provides a great space for a family to live and grow.

 

 The Plantation Cottage kitchen is open to the living room and dining room.

 

 The open kitchen of the Plantation Cottage has a large island and lots of cabinet space. The island provides a great place for a snack or a space to lay out your buffet. 

 

 The stairs in the foyer are open to the living room of the Plantation Cottage and connect you to what's going on upstairs and down. The living room's built-in wall cabinet provides storage for this large spacious room.

 

 The upstairs den of the Plantation Cottage provides a family space at the top of the stairs. It is a perfect place for your family to relax and spend time together.

 

The back of the Plantation Cottage includes a spacious covered porch off of the dining room. It is perfect for entertaining.

If this looks like your ideal home, this house plan can be purchased on our website at www.southerncottages.com.  Once there, you can also look at the floor plans, see some of the room sizes, and find out the cost of the plans.

Customer Question: I Need More Information About Your Plans

We recently received a letter asking for more information about our Southern Cottages House Plans.

Island Cottage with Piling Foundation

All of our Southern Cottages House Plans have been designed by a licensed architect.  They are detailed, professional, architectural drawings.  Our construction plan packages are complete and ready to ship.  The house plans we sell include foundation plans, floor plans, building sections, wall details, interior elevations, structural design, and mechanical and electrical layouts. That's everything your contractor needs to build your house the right way.  They will save you many thousands of dollars over custom designed plans and save innumerable hours of time, money, and mistakes by your contractor if he were left on his own.

With our plans, you will be able to get accurate contractor bid prices since all construction items are specified and detailed.  We rarely have questions from a client's contractor and we welcome any questions that might arise.  Plus, we have been complimented on our construction plan quality.  We are confident you will be very happy if you decided to purchase one of our plans and with the outcome of your new home.

For additional information, please read “About the Plans” and “Terms of Sale” on our website.  If you have additional questions feel free to call our office.

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.

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.

Home Trend for 2015: Small Houses

According to articles on the internet, like this one from The Fiscal Times or this one from Slate, the small home is making a come-back.  Whether you're an empty-nester looking to downsize or a young couple looking for your first home, people are looking for smaller homes and smaller mortgages.

 

At 1,260 square feet, our Hip Cottage fits the bill for being small.  Yet, it still has everything you need!  Inside of this house you get two bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open concept living & dining room, good sized kitchen, laundry room, front porch, rear screened porch, plus storage.

If 1,260 sf is too small for you, the Hip Cottage comes in a few different sizes: 

• 1,423 sf which includes a wrap around porch; 
• 1,545 sf with an attached garage; 
• and 2,497 sf with a basement.

What's great about our house plans is that 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.mcleodarchitectpa.com.

View our architect designed house plans at www.southerncottages.com.

Step Back in Time

The Grand Gazebo Cottage will take you back to an age where time slows down and relaxation is a way of life.

Grand Gazebo Cottage

This is a grand and sumptuous house with four exterior gazebos connected by wrap around porches. Spend your evenings relaxing on the porch with a lemonade in hand. Inside you will find spacious rooms perfect for comfortable and tranquil living.

The gazebos provide a lot of outdoor living space.

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.

A Summer Home

Peaks Cottage from the street.

If you're looking for a summer home on a lake or the beach, the Peaks Cottage is the house for you! The livingroom, diningroom and kitchen are arranged for maximum views to the waterfront. In addition to the spacious deck & covered porch, there is an upstairs deck that overlooks the water. The Peaks Cottage also includes 5 bedrooms & 4 bathrooms so everyone has their own private space. 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.

Peaks Cottage from the beach.

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 Classic Look of "Home"

The Country Cottage is a roomy house with the classic look of "home".  It takes off where the Hip Cottage ends, giving you additional space on the second floor. Inside it features 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, open living/dining space, wrap around porch, 2 car garage, and more. The additional space in this house is great for visiting guests or your expanding family. 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.