ICF Earth Sheltered Home

You can build this house facing in whatever direction suits your needs, but if you’re interested in building it as a passive solar home, please read the section below titled Passive Solar Info for specific information on orientation.

A colonnade of wood posts and heavy timber grace the entire front length of the house, creating a covered porch that ranges from 3′ to 11′ deep for relaxing and enjoying the outdoors at any time of day. The entry door opens into an open living space with views to a great room straight ahead. A sunny breakfast nook with a bay window that faces the front brings in light to the entry and kitchen space, which has a 9′ ceiling with exposed wood beams. The open kitchen has a long breakfast bar that separates the kitchen from the great room, and the sink is located so that you can look out to the great room while doing the dishes.

As you enter the great room, you find yourself in a dramatic two–story space with a wood ceiling that gently slopes from 20′ to 22′. A great stone fireplace with a built–in for media greets you at the end of the room. The rustic theme continues in the barn wood covered walls, exposed log columns, and reclaimed wood floor. Sliding glass doors that total 15′ in width look and walk out to the front porch, while three upper picture windows bring in additional light and views. A row of timber log columns located at the rear of the house create intervals for display niches and built–ins, and openings that access a staircase, a powder room, a butler’s area, and a walk–in pantry for the kitchen.

To the right of the fireplace hearth there’s a door that opens into an office/craft room that has a vaulted ceiling that slopes up to over 14′, and a glazed door with a high transom window above it that walks out to the front porch. To the left of the fireplace, a door opens into a large master suite with a fireplace in one corner. The bedroom has a ceiling that vaults from 10’6″ to 14′, and has sliding glass doors that walk out to the front. A high transom window above the doors brings in additional sunlight and high views. The master bedroom features two separate walk–in closets, with one closet that accesses the master bath and a private laundry room. The master bath has two separate vanity sinks, a private toilet room, a tub that sits in one corner under a window, a separate shower, and a glazed door that opens out to the front porch. The ceiling in the bath slopes up to 14′ where it meets the exterior wall facing the front.

As you walk down the hall past the staircase and kitchen, you pass a mudroom/laundry room that has a coat closet, a utility sink, a door that opens out to the front, and a door that opens into an oversized two–car garage. The long hallway has three display niches to break the monotony, provides access to a large storage room and an exercise room, and leads to another optional wing of the house, which would add an additional 1,560 SF of living space (for a total of 6,577 SF for the house). This wing has a full bath, an office with a separate office storage room, a room for a full bar, a walk–in closet, and an open recreation/theater room with a fireplace in one corner and a sloped ceiling that vaults from 10′ to 14′. The recreation room features two large windows that look out to the front, a glazed door that walks out to the front porch, three additional upper transom windows, and a ladder that accesses an upper loft above the office. This whole wing would make an excellent in–law unit that wouldn’t need any modifications if you added a kitchenette to the bar area.

The upper landing opens up to a play area/living space, and the hallway off of it is oversized to accommodate shelves for toys/books. There is a second laundry/utility room on this level for added convenience. The upper roof gently slopes from front to rear, so bedroom 1 has a ceiling that slopes from over 10′ to over 11′, bedroom 2 has a ceiling that slopes from about 10’6″ to 12′, and bedroom 3 has a ceiling that slopes from 9′ to about 10′. All three bedrooms have walk–in closets, and bedroom 1 has its own private full bath while bedrooms 2 and 3 share an oversized full bath with two separate vanity sinks, a tub and a separate shower.

The plans for this home call for insulated concrete form (ICF) exterior walls. However, they can easily be changed to 2×6 stud walls by your builder or a design professional. Be sure to confirm this with your builder prior to purchasing the plans.

Passive Solar Info
To maximize its passive solar design, the front of this house should face South. Oversized roof overhangs and covered porches were designed to manage natural day lighting throughout the year for the original site location.