Architectural Styles are determined by the exterior characteristics which are often influenced by the area of the world in which they originated. Architectural styles are influenced greatly by the materials indigenous to the region as well as the climate where they were created.
French Country house plans or French Country home plans are often referred to as Country French house plans or French Eclectic house plans. Unlike their counterparts of French Chateauesque or French Provincial, the Country French house plan is usually a very asymmetrical house design with wandering floor plans and varying roof lines. French Country house plans typically have steeply pitched roofs and very modest eave details with little or no overhang. The French country home will often use lots of stone and stucco finishes that blend in with the countryside. French Country house plans will commonly have arched window and opening shapes both inside and out providing a welcoming and casual feeling. The Country French home can be finished very formally with detailed fireplace mantels and trim or can be much more rustic depending on the taste of the individual home owner.
Bungalow House plans are the predecessor of the craftsman house plan, very popular in the early 1900s America. Normally smaller in square footage but with architectural detailing similar to the Craftsman house plan
Gustav Stickley, a major force in bringing the Arts & Crafts Movement to the United States in the early 1900's, brought us the well-loved Craftsman style home. He believed that having a home spirit is important. It matters that we have a home of our own, a home we like, and one that we have been instrumental in building. Here at Living Concepts, we bring you many choices in the classic Craftsman style, knowing you will find several to meet your lifestyle.
What makes a Craftsman so classic and beloved? This style, coming on the heels of Victorian architecture (Tall, steep roofs, ornate, elaborate details and brightly colored homes), brings a much more subdued influence. A Craftsman home makes you feel 'at home' before you even step inside. Wide eaves, softer-pitched, gabled rooflines, and the very recognizable, wide, covered front porch with tapered columns, are quintessentially Craftsman. With materials and colors inspired by natural surroundings, brick, stone, wood, and stucco are common inside and out, as well as greens, browns, and soft textures for interior decor.
In a typical open-concept floor plan, the gathering room and dining room are close together. For a relaxed, yet contemporary feeling, large glass windows, and doors bring light into your home. A Craftsman can be large or small, but typically has just one or two stories of living space. The home may look simple, however, it is simply quaint and charming for functional, modern living.
To this day, a Craftsman-style home, especially the enticing front porch, proves it has timeless appeal. Celebrate the style. Celebrate your preference for its charm and livability. We will celebrate with you as you browse the many Craftsman plans we offer. When you have found 'The One', or several you are considering, let's talk. The Living Concept team is here to support and guide you through the process.
“Architecture should speak of its time and place but yearn for timelessness.” – Frank Gehry
What is European Style architecture? Well, it is as broad as the word European. Its term encompasses influence from Tuscan, Italian, Spanish, English, and French homes. With varied rooflines, think of a French Chateau versus an Italian, eclectic Mediterranean style, versus an English Tudor. Oftentimes, practicality determines style. Does an area get a lot of snow or have a cooler climate? Steeper rooflines. Sun and warmer temperatures dictate a shallower roofline and wide overhangs. European style evokes ‘Old World Charm”. Living Concepts has a well-rounded variety of European styles, with classic “Old World” charm to look through and choose. The plans use current products and construction methods available but keep the details of the style that makes it timeless. Some plans have more Italianate personality, some French or English Country vibes. You’re sure to find a plan that is just perfect for the European style you most prefer.
As with Craftsman style, European homes abound with natural materials. Think of wood beams and tiles for interior décor. Externally, brick, stucco, wood, and stone are common.
A European home can be small and quaint, like a cottage, or large and estate-like. Foyers in this style often have open staircases, tall ceilings, and wide, arched doorway openings for an easy floorplan flow. Wood beams and columns leave light and openness between rooms but create a visual transition from room to room.
If warm sunny weather and warmer, richer palette colors make you happy, then your European style leans toward Tuscan, Spanish and Mediterranean. Details of iron railings, inside and out, as well as an infamous ‘Juliet’ balcony will surely be perfect for you.
If snow and rain, cooler climates and ‘homebody cozy’ is more your taste, then the French or English style home may be yours. While symmetry is evident in these styles, they are not modern, tight plans. These charmers have a simple, curvy, cozy nature to them. Think of your color palette as soft….cream, white, blues and greys or soft pastels. Shutters that flank tall windows are often seen on a French or English style home.
Living Concepts is your ‘one stop shopping’ for the European styled, perfect-for-you feeling home. There are many to look at so take your time and call us when you are ready with your selection. We’re here for you. We bring Europe to you…daily. You can travel to other locations when you can….but love the European Life you build, with our plans. We create it for you to find and live in it perfectly. We are so happy for you. Welcome home.
What do you think of when you hear the term “English Country” house? Larger than life? Grand, elaborate and Estate-like? Well, it can be, and is, however, in ‘real world’ home living, think classical refinement that tolerates wear and tear. A home that is flexible, yet elegant, calm, and still feels grand if you prefer, is English Country style.
From the exterior, a covered doorway, but not porch-like, welcomes you. Steep-pitched rooflines and dormers (a ‘gabled’ roof) are the ‘hat’ to the home whose ‘eyes’ are commonly large, squared-off windows.
Yes, fabled, charming turrets “towers” are also a part of this style, but less common. If you like that look and want that fairy-tale feel in your English home, you are in the right place. Living Concepts has many plans in this charming, well-established look, but with creature comforts and modern amenities, so go ahead, we encourage you to browse through and choose the perfect one.
As with other European-styled homes, the English Country uses timbers, stone, and stucco elements, both inside and out. Hardwood floors, that look a bit ‘scrubbed” and worn might be your choice. Shabby-chic décor with some added whimsy is allowed and even encouraged with this style. It’s yours, make it warm, make it ‘glow’ but mostly, make your English Country homeownership easy.
Browse. Choose. Call the expert Living Concepts team to get your goal, plans, and building process started. We are always here for you.
What does the style ‘Low Country’ evoke in you? In the 1700’s, the style was just a one-room cottage. Over time, it has evolved into an elegant, comfortable, practical, and perhaps a bit romantic architectural style. Think of a classical Southern home – that’s where low-country style began. With hip-rooflines, those that extend over a wide covered front porch, supported by pillars or columns, knowing that the porch is an extension of your daily living space. Be it a wrap-around or a long, deep front porch, this is a space to see and be seen on. In fact, having a multi-storied home with one porch above the other or a balcony is not uncommon. Landscape and well-manicured grounds are an eye-pleasing benefit for the easy, breezy times you’ll enjoy sitting outdoors.
Interiorly, high ceilings are normal. This allows the heat to rise, keeping your lower living areas cooler in warm temperatures. Having a transom, a crosspiece that separates the door from a window above, is common as well, allowing for more light and cross-air between rooms. Soft, neutral colors and textures are common too, again, keeping with a relaxed, but functional style to reflect light, and rooms that promote comfort and feelings of light, airy freshness.
While the English, Italian, French, and even people from the Caribbean influenced Low Country practicality, Living Concepts offers many Low Country plans in both large and small square footage, sure to meet your needs in a primary or secondary home.
What does Mediterranean style say to you? Beautiful scenery? Lemons? Tall arches and architecture? Wrought-iron? Olives? Yes, to all the aforementioned. Let’s talk structure, then the ‘life’ of the style will fit right in.
With strong influence from Italy and Spain, the Mediterranean style brings you relaxed, welcoming, warm vibes. Greece and France also add influence, so that this type of home can be formal yet comfortable, light and airy, with strong inside and outside living areas blending seamlessly together for a family or entertaining.
If you prefer a symmetrical-looking home, this is a style to consider. A symmetrical exterior typically has a front door centered and flanked by large windows, either squared or arched at the top. Wrought-iron detailing around them adds an Old-World charm. These windows play dual functions in allowing the outdoor breezes to stroll through the home (functionality), as well as to bring nature in. A Mediterranean home creates harmony with nature and the landscape around it.
From a floorplan standpoint, this style often has a large open feeling. Arches and columns are common between spaces and again, seamless transitions occur between indoor and outdoor living. Large kitchens, the center of many homes, can ‘anchor’ the plan.
With nature and natural materials playing an important role, you’ll often find décor of wood floors, ceiling beams, staircases, and bannisters. Tiled floors (again, a practical, functional purpose) can be single toned or bright and elaborate in a mosaic pattern. Earthy colors, in general, with splashes of jewel tones are classic in Mediterranean homes.
The landscape and easy movement between the home structure and the environment around it is very Mediterranean, so plant pots of herbs and flowers, topiaries, and add a water feature, such as a fountain.
Living Concepts is well known for the Old-World charm we bring to our plans. You have many options to choose from on our site. Enjoy looking for what best suits you. We’re here when you’re ready to build your ideal home.
While a cottage-style home sounds cute, and it is charming indeed, don’t automatically assume one is small. Yes, they can be small but are really any size. Here’s what Cottage is and how this style can be more tailored to your preferences.
The exterior of a cottage home is just as important as the interior. The exterior often has a centered door and obvious chimney(s). A front porch is a must – even if it just protects you from the weather and happy pots of flowers live there. Windowpanes may be diamond-shaped in design. Details on the exterior are very important. Which, leads to this; a cottage can be coastal, vintage, country or French (and more) in style. A coastal
cottage might be light in siding color, light in palette, materials, and airy inside. Vintage cottages might be stone or brick, with have hardwood floors, be colorful and eclectic. French brings floral decor, wood beams, wood floors, and European touches.
Small porches and gardens – easy, flowy, soft, and welcoming are common to cottages. The exterior blends into the natural surroundings. Benches for sitting, formal or whispy plantings create the romance or formality you want in a garden and match the feeling and detailed style of the home.
The interior is also commonly open. Dining areas and living areas are open to each other. Spaces are shared, but often, nooks and crannies are present for you to read in, relax in and observe the ‘goings- on’ around you.
Don’t confuse cottage style with bungalow. A bungalow is a true, well-defined style. Cottage brings several other architectural elements to the charming storybook imagined, easy-living, open-flow of comfort and nature/nurture feeling we all aspire to exist in daily.
Living Concepts has many cottage home plans to choose from. We look forward to talking to you about yours.
“When you have more than you need, build a bigger table, not a higher fence.” – Unknown
This certainly embodies what the Farmhouse style represents. Simplicity, a spirit of generous welcome, and a home that makes you and others want to stay, is the farmhouse feel. This must be true as the farmhouse has seen a boom in building trends over the last few years.
Traditional farmhouse style is a basic rectangle-shaped home with a deep, wide, covered front porch. The basic shape allows for expansion as needed. The deep wide porch invites you to ‘watch the world go by’, it is ideal for visits and when the days in the house are warm, it offers the space to relax with a nice cool drink.
A traditional farmhouse is modest in style. Typically, in a two-story home, the first floor has a large kitchen with plenty of cooking space, located at the back of the home. It’s not unusual to have an exterior door off the kitchen (for your favorite ‘backdoor’ kind of guests). For front-door visitors, a formal living room greets them. Unlike modern farmhouse style, the traditional farmhouse plan has a stairway near the kitchen, not in a foyer, or in the front area of the home. A central fireplace in a sitting/family area is also common.
A clapboard (wide board) exterior is traditional as is a gabled, slanted roofline. Metal materials for a roof is not uncommon, and these days, a growing trend. Exterior colors are found to be white, light blue, or pale yellow with darker accents of black or deep green.
Interior décor can follow the styling of simplicity, wood floors, wood ceiling beams, and shiplap (wide horizontal wood slats on the walls). Humble and modest in style, plaid materials and a rustic feel is what a traditional farmhouse offers.
A modern farmhouse has more metal furnishings, fixtures, and accents. Light colors in neutral tones and more contemporary elements bring the comfortable and welcoming feeling of the farmhouse into a more contemporary realm.
If you think that a Colonial home is stately, symmetrical, has lots of windows and is straight forward in style, you are right. In fact, these are features that define a Colonial home.
Colonial homes are square or rectangular with brick or clapboard exteriors. A two-story or one-and-a-half story with dormers is most common. Sometimes the home has side porches or extending wings, but typically has simple, geometric lines and a color scheme that is minimal.
In northern regions, rooflines are pitched, to help shed snow. In the South or in coastal regions, a hip roof (with all four sides being sloped), is more common as it withstands higher winds and storms better than a pitched roof.
Eye-catching entryways, from an external view, bring classical columns or a covered porch with decorative crowns. Most other exterior details are simple and understated.
Seeing a set of ‘paired’ chimneys is not uncommon. The idea of having multiple chimneys, especially in southern states, allows for better heat control/warmth in the home.
Interiorly, the symmetry is still evident. From the front door, step into a foyer, being met by stairs to the second floor. Also, a central hallway that intersects (often) down the middle of the home with a dining room and formal living room mirroring each other is very common. The kitchen lies at the back of the home. Bedrooms are located on the second floor, as might be a bonus room and/or attic space.
Although it may seem a Colonial home is simple and plain, that is exactly where its charm lies. Don’t be misled by straightforwardness, because Colonial homes are treasures, both timeless and classic. Add your décor stamp and make it light and bright or warmer with heavier, darker colors and materials. Your options for the cozy home feeling are endless.
Living Concepts brings you plenty of Colonial choices. Have any questions? Ready to order your plan? We’re here and look forward to working with you.
Although the style of a Traditional home might sound stifling, old, and outdated, it is anything but. While there are common parameters in the style, several complimentary designs and decor will work well with this home.
A typical Traditional style home is broad in concept. Where is the home located geographically? What building materials are available? Is there high history or culture in the area where the home is located? These factors give you a broad license, not stagnant limitations to your build.
The Traditional home has one or two stories and often has tall rectangular windows on the front façade. Wood or brick is common in exterior material and often in dark colors. Paint colors of red, brown, green, grey, or black are accented with lighter, brighter hues. For example, think grey exterior with white trim.
The phrase ‘the devil is in the details’ certainly holds true in this style. Crown molding, dentil molding, columns, and wood paneling, like wainscot (wood paneling with raised trim), certainly add detail and a feeling of tradition to your home. However, a Traditional home ‘base’ décor pairs well with other décor styles. Mix sleek glass and brass with ornate wood tables or chairs. Hanging a crystal chandelier in a hardwood floored foyer with a patterned area rug is just the right feel for a Traditional home. A Traditional home is a very livable home. Detail does not have to lend itself to busy and ‘overdone’. An antique sideboard would be framed nicely by silk drapery in a bedroom, dining room or family room.
Living Concepts brings you a wide array of Traditional plan choices. Look around. We’re here to work with you on your Traditional home options.