Thoughtfully designed floor plans
(note: plan C1350 illustrated, click plan to enlarge)

The floor plans in our homes and cottages have been updated to suit today’s lifestyle.  The living spaces are functional, comfortable, bright and visually pleasing.  Beginning with the front entrance, all of our floor plans feature a foyer, the final transition space for guests when entering your home.  Rather than the front entrance ending abruptly and delivering you into a living room or a kitchen, the foyer serves as a greeting area with space for coats and boots.  In several of our designs, a bathroom is conveniently located near the front entrance as well.

Our homes and cottages feature an open design, where there are fewer walls and thus, fewer isolated living areas.  The A and B series plans were designed long before the open design concept became popular; the original intent of this design was to save space, as rooms without walls can be smaller.  However, the open views within the home, across differing living areas, tend to make the entire space feel larger.

The open design is especially well suited to today’s more informal lifestyle.  Rather than isolating family members in specific work areas, particularly in the kitchen, the open space allows for more participation in family and guest interaction.  The open design lends itself particularly well to entertaining.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The open design does not imply one large expanse of space without any differentiation between living areas.  The living spaces are defined by the use of varied ceiling heights, by the placement of structural components and by alcoves.  The great room features a vaulted ceiling, whereas the kitchen and dining area have eight or nine foot ceilings.  The placement of a staircase or a kitchen island forms the separation between the living areas.  The dining area is often in an alcove, surrounded by windows and may include a built-in window seat.  All of these additional design elements define space in an open design.

Designing for traffic flow through living spaces is an important part of a floor plan layout.  Our homes are designed with the intention of keeping flows along perimeters of living spaces rather than through the middle.  To achieve this, most interior doors open into the ends or corners of rooms.  Keeping traffic flow along the edges of living spaces aids in furniture placement and allows for greater use of the entire living area.

A defining feature of our home and cottage designs is the extension of the living area to the outside.  In older homes, there is a distinct definition between indoors and outdoors.  We have blurred that definition by designing interior space that opens into screened porches and onto verandas, thus providing a continuation of the indoors.