Have you ever looked through a cookbook with complete indecision about what to prepare? The pictures beg you to stay on that page, while you peruse the ingredients (do I have this? that?). Shopping for house plans can be like that, too. Oh, this one looks great and so does this one. Hard to choose, I know. However, if you are looking for a traditional home with your bedroom suites upstairs, look no longer. The Savannah house plan by Living Concepts could be just the “recipe” you need to live well.
It’s Another Georgia
The columned front porch, brick and symmetry all announce that this is a Georgian/traditional home. (Georgian architecture gets its name from the King George influence brought across the pond to the United States). The Savannah plan has 3298 square feet, a two-car garage, four bedroom suites (all on the second floor) and 3 ½ baths. A bonus room is directly above the garage.
No Ring Around this Collar!
Two sets of stairs will take you to the second floor. One is immediately upon entering the house from the garage. A door on the back wall of the garage gives you access to the backyard. Inside and to your left, you will find the laundry room. You will have counterspace here beside your large appliances and a place to store your laundry supplies above. (Did you know that you can even make your own laundry powder?).
Gouda is Good
Before going into the kitchen, you will find a reach-in closet, convenient for hanging up your outerwear or even tossing those school back packs. (Adding sturdy hooks to hang them instead is even more convenient). Make a right turn, and the kitchen is in front of you; the double sink has a window above that looks out into the backyard. Countertops form a reversed “C” and provide spaces for your major kitchen appliances. On the far left side, a peninsula separates the kitchen from the breakfast room, also giving you a place to pull up a stool for informal eating. Like crackers and cheese. Pass the gouda, please!
Watching the Squirrels
Between the breakfast room and kitchen, you will find the walk-in pantry. Your home-made jellies and jams, canned and paper goods can all find a home in here. After you’ve buttered and jellied your toast, you can go to the breakfast room and watch squirrels chase each other (they are so cute when they are not in your attic! or bird feeder) or take your breakfast outside to the deck. Lounging here until you feel bothered by mosquitoes or pesky no-see-ums, you can return inside using the door to the family room.
Study, Planning
Like the Elmslly, the Savannah house plan has a fireplace in the family room, which is flanked on both sides by built-in shelves. Forego shelving on one side for your large screen television? Sure! Put those remotes in a safe place, though- or maybe get the new Universal one. From the family room, you can walk into the study. Also known as an office on some plans, this room requires planning for furniture just as you would for any other room. Will this be your office away from home? Large desk and shelving required. A study for you and your children? Maybe a long countertop built in. Or a library where you keep your favorite fiction and nonfiction treasures? Definitely more shelves and comfy chairs.
And a Recipe that Works
Before going upstairs, you walk from the study into the foyer. A reach-in closet can be found under the stairs that lead to your second floor. The powder room is across from this closet; between the former and the pantry is a niche where you might display vintage glassware. Finally, the formal dining room- that place for special occasions and special recipes– faces the front of the house and is open to the foyer. A door from the dining room takes you back into the hall that leads to the kitchen. Sounds like a solid recipe to me!
A Bonus is Not Always Money
Remember those stairs leading from inside the house right after you enter the garage? Well, that is one way to get to the bonus room. Before you decide to let this room become the depositor of your unused exercise equipment, let me throw in a few ideas on how you can use this room (which has a reach-in closet on the left). Besides the expected movie theater or exercise room, this room could also be an extra office, a play room, a she-or-man-cave. The ideas are only limited by what you can dream up.
The Balcony Scene
A few steps are on the far left of the bonus room; stepping up puts you into the sleeping areas (bedroom suites). The master’s suite (also known as the owner’s suite or primary bedroom) consumes the entire left side of the Savannah plan. Let’s begin with the balcony- it opens up to the front and above the porch. You can easily step outside here, especially to manage those larger potted plants that crave the spring and summer elements. (Act II, Scene II- Romeo and Juliet– how can we ever forget that balcony?). The ample sitting area inside allows you to gaze outside or into the book you hold at that moment. Or both.
Washing Up
The sleeping area of the master suite is to the left of the sitting area. From here and walking forward, you have a door on the right that leads to the remaining sleeping areas, and a door on the left that opens up to the walk-in closet (large enough for your all of your clothes plus a space for the safe). Finally, the master bath has two sinks, a walk-in shower, a drop-in or garden tub and a door for the toilet. Privacy, please!
Singing in the….shower?
Leaving the master suite and walking clockwise, you will come upon the second and third bedroom suites. Both face the back of the home, have capacious reach-in closets, and share a bath. This arrangement is typically known as a Jack and Jill bath; this one has two sinks, a toilet and a drop-in tub/shower. (Singing in the shower has got to be beneficial right?). Immediately outside of these two suites is another reach-in closet; your extra bath linens could be stored here. The fourth bedroom suite also has a reach-in closet, and has its own bath, with single sink and shower/tub.
The Final Recipe
Now, I know you might look at other “recipes”/house plans; after all, one thing is certain- life comes in stages. You need less room (single, or married no kids), you need more room (kids then teenagers) and then you need less (kids out, retirement…ahh!). And so on. Tough choices, sometimes. Having the sleeping areas all upstairs offers advantages you may not find in other homes (more energy efficient, proximity to younger children or infants, and privacy). The Savannah plan has that, plus well-designed living areas downstairs. What better recipe could you ask for?