House Plans

We looked at a TON of house plans before finally settling on a handful that we liked.
A few of these were Southern Living House plans and a few came from www.familyhouseplans.com

I wanted the house to fit in with the landscape and respect the architectural patterns and history in the area that came before it, rather than stick out like a sore thumb. In other words, even though I might love a storybook Tudor Revival and my husband likes new houses with neoclassical/Georgian style elements, I don’t want to build something that is incompatible with its surroundings.

The facade is designed so that we could add on a wrap-around porch in the future if we wanted to.

The only thing I really don’t like about the façade is that it does not have an exterior chimney; only an interior one. That’s something we are considering adding if it our budget allows. We plan to do wood or hardiplank siding, 2/2 wood sash windows, a solid wood front door and surround, and a metal V-crimp roof. The interior chimney will either be reclaimed brick or stone.

The rear elevation contains a screened porch as well as an entrance into the laundry/mudroom.

With the above configuration, the upstairs bedrooms were going to end up super tiny. Because one of those bedrooms would have to be for our twin girls to share, we knew that could be problematic. To solve this dilemma, our builder suggested adding a dormer to extend the roofline and bedrooms back, adding square footage to the upstairs. The downstairs living room would still be partially vaulted and open all the way to the ceiling (which I really like). Below is what the rear and side elevations and would look like with the dormer added.

We did make a few modifications to the original first floor interior plan. We extended the laundry room  back to include an additional pantry space and provide an area for a small mudroom. Also the bay window in the kitchen was eliminated and replaced with a bank of windows in its place, extending the wall straight across rather than bowing it outward. I am also toying with the idea of putting a wood stove in the kitchen on the other side of the fireplace. It would be so cozy and an affordable source of heat 🙂

The really nice thing we liked about the second floor was that it had lots of storage. Additionally, each bedroom has its own bath. If we eventually needed to turn the Flex/Attic space into a fourth bedroom, it could very easily be done. The little spaces at either side of the flex/attic space are additional storage spaces and cubbies that are easily accessed.

We are still undecided at this point as to whether we will build a partial basement. It would certainly be nice to have the extra space if we needed it but in North Carolina basements can be difficult to build and maintain, with lots of potential for moisture issues. It also adds quite a bit to the cost. If we decide against a basement, then we may look to eventually building a garage in the future.

Port Royal Coastal Cottage

Of course nothing is set in stone right now. I’m sure there will be things about this house plan that in hindsight I don’t like or wish I had changed, but that’s all part of what to expect when building a house, right?

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