Unique Southern Style

This lovely house retains the beauty and elegance of southern–style homes while projecting a truly unique and carefully composed appearance. The upper portion of the house was clad in staggered shingles, which work beautifully with the architectural shingles on the roof, while the lower level employs contrasting materials along with handsome wood trim details and stone. The abundant glazing has an upper multi–pane window above clear glass, with a lattice design that complements and adds to the unique exterior textures while providing lots of light and views from the interior. This home features an upper cupola room, a porte–cochere that is integrated with the front facade of the house, and a lovely detached two–car garage with an upper bonus room.

The long covered entry porch is accessed by the front steps as well as side steps from the porte–cochere. After entering the foyer, you are immediately greeted with a wooden structure housing a warm wooden fireplace hearth to the left and an elegant stairwell with an ornate railing to the right. The two–sided fireplace warms the foyer and the open living room on the other side, and this structure includes built–in bookcases on either side. Just to the right of the entry, a pair of doors open into a bedroom suite with a walk–in closet and a private full bath. Straight ahead past the fireplace an elegant arched opening looks into a formal dining room that has a dramatic wooden coffered ceiling with a circular centerpiece, and two pairs of half–glass doors that look out to the rear porch. With the doors open, the dining room is extended into the screened porch, creating an ideal space to dine when the weather is warmer.

Like all of the rooms on the main level, the living room has a 10' ceiling. Anchored by the fireplace structure, the open living room features high wainscoting on the walls and lots of windows facing the front and side of the house. From the living room, a wide arched opening leads to a large kitchen and breakfast nook. [The plans show a second opening between the living room and the nook, but the original owners modified this by building a solid wall instead, as shown in the photos.] The kitchen features a long center island for additional workspace, a corner pantry, and an arched opening into the dining room. The two outer walls of the nook are filled with windows, making this entire area sunny and bright during the day.

From the dining room, a small hallway accesses a stairwell to the optional basement level, a powder room, a coat closet, an elevator, and the master suite. If an elevator is not needed, you may consider using the space as a laundry area or a walk–in pantry. The spacious master bedroom has two pairs of doors that open onto the rear porch (which can be enclosed with screens or left open), and lots of windows facing the rear and side of the house. The master bath accesses a large walk–in closet, and it features a shower, a separate tub surrounded by windows, and two vanity sinks.

The upstairs landing opens up to an open sitting room/recreation room. An opening was designed to look down into the dining room space, though you may choose to not have the opening to maximize floor space as the original owners did. A pair of glazed doors open onto a covered porch that is located above the entry porch. A laundry room, a linen closet, and the elevator are conveniently located off the sitting room space. Bedroom 3 (or Study, if the bedroom is not needed) features a beautiful, sunny sitting area with five bay windows, and it shares a full bath with Bedroom 4. Bedroom 5 is very spacious and has its own private full bath that accesses a walk–in closet.

The optional basement level provides additional living space with two open areas that can be converted to almost any use, a media room, a full bath, an electrical/mechanical room, and a storage room.

This plan set comes with drawings for a detached two–car garage with a bonus room and an outdoor porch above. The upper room is accessed by an outdoor staircase and sits under the slopes of the roof that has dormers on all four sides to open up the ceiling height. The windows on both levels have the same lattice design as the main house, tying the two buildings together well. The upper porch also creates a covered area on the ground level, next to the garage space.