So, these little houses. These houses that have covered porches, plank walls, exposed beams, and wood floors? These houses that have bed nooks, windowed bathrooms, and built-in wardrobes? These houses that are small, yet somehow large? I want to open the front door of each one and let you step inside (and share some photos that inspired along the way).
Shall we?
Today, I'll walk you through Shelter No. 1, one of the two largest at 1400 sq ft, and the first due out. Here, you'll find the great room as you enter, with the living area directly in front of you, the dining area to your right, and the kitchen across the far end beyond that. Unbroken sightlines give the visual impression that the room is larger than it actually is.
The ceilings reach to 9 feet, furthering the illusion of an abundance of space. Exposed beams run across the span of the ceiling, providing visual interest.
Influenced by the floorplan of our cabin, you'll notice a similar windowed bump-out in the living area for the sofa, as well as one in the dining area for the banquette. In the kitchen, you'll find that the design is similar to ours, only a bit larger, providing for a dishwasher and a recessed coffee station with a four-bin recycle center below. Look here for a description of the exterior awning trellis that shades the kitchen window. In the living area, there is a built-in bookcase, like ours, but modified to hold a television, if desired.
Leaving the great room and entering the stair hall, you'll find that the stairway to the second floor is of a standard width and rise - nothing steep here. Because I wanted these houses to be built wherever you might live, we followed the International Building Code in its design, which required the standard stair for second floor bedroom access.
Tucked beneath the stairway is a windowed half bath. Across the hall from the bath is the doorway that leads to the mudroom and rear entry, with its covered stoop.
The mudroom has provision for a stacking standard size washer and dryer - with extra shelves and storage beside - that fit neatly behind closed doors.
Opposite from the laundry closet in the mudroom is a built-in wardrobe flanked by 'lockers' with coat hooks and bench seats with drawers beneath.
At the end of the hall is the master bedroom, with its custom designed bed platform that has below-bed drawer storage, flanked by built-in wardrobes with recessed nooks in lieu of nightstands, similar to ours. The opposite two corners of the room also have built-in wardrobes, with a combination of drawers and shelves inside. There's room between them to tuck a desk in beneath a window.
French doors lead off the master bedroom into the master bath. As you enter, you'll find a double sink vanity in front of you, with a clawfoot tub to the right and the toilet tucked behind the door to the left. Light fills this room from four generous windows. The ceiling height changes in the private spaces of the master bed and bath, to a more intimate 8', providing a sense of comfort and enclosure.
Let's head back through the master bedroom, back through the hall, and take the stairs to the second floor...
Light floods the stairwell from the bank of windows in the dormer on the second floor. At the top of the stairs, there is a landing with a generous closet, whose doors are planked to match the walls. I should mention, too, that, although the second floor is tucked into the pitch of the roof, there is generous headroom with the ceiling heights at just under 7' at the exterior walls and just over 9' at the peak.
The first door off the landing leads to a small bedroom with a twin extra-long bed nook with drawers below, tucked beneath a window. Floor to ceiling bookcases flank each end of the bed, and there is provision for a rod and curtain to close off the bed nook for privacy. This little room also has a built-in desk nook, and a wardrobe recessed into the wall.
The next door off the landing hall is a full bath. It has a standard size tub/shower, a toilet tucked around a corner, and three sinks. A perfect kid bath. So much light will flood this room from the window on the back wall.
At the end of the hall is the last and largest bedroom. It, too, has built-in bed nooks tucked below windows along two sides of the room. Two of the beds are twin xl, the third is full-size. They have the same built-in drawers below the mattresses, and the same bookcases flanking the ends as we saw in the first bedroom. They, too, can have curtains that close. There are wardrobes built in and provision for a television and gaming/satellite equipment to be stored inside one of them. There is room below the bank of windows in the dormer for a long workspace, vanity, or desk.
One of my favorite features may be the exterior storage that is built into the back side of the house. Like an exterior closet or locker, it could be used as a tool shed, as a larder, as a potting shed... oh, the possibilities!
But I don't know, now that I think of it, the 10' deep covered porch is definitely vying for top spot.
In a nutshell, Shelter No. 1 has:
:: 1400 sq ft
:: rear entry with mudroom
:: 2 1/2 baths
:: three bedrooms
:: sleeps 7
:: A note about heating and cooling: The heating and cooling systems are not typically specified in floor plans. This is something that you can talk about with your builder, who would be knowledgeable about recommended heating and cooling systems for your area. One thing that is a benefit with these plans, is that the homes are one room wide, therefore taking full advantage of cooling cross breezes if sited to catch prevailing winds. I never knew how I would love this about ours.
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