I'm excited about the winning plans in this year's HOWIEs because they show design possibilities to suit a wide range of budgets and site conditions -- from imaginative starter homes for infill lots to amenity-filled villas for country estates. The winners in the Traditional and Modern categories -- small, medium-size, and large -- are especially suggestive and an excellent place to start browsing for plans. Here's a taste -- other winners are profiled in subsequent posts. Note: the jury for the 2015 HOWIEs included Houseplans.com staff and Gale Steves, editor and best-selling author of Right-Sizing Your Home; Katherine Salant, syndicated real estate columnist for The Washington Post; and Leslie Clagett, author of The City Home and blogger at KBCulture.com.
LARGE TRADITIONAL
Plan 908-1, by Summit Studio
This 4 bedroom 4.5 bath, 4339 sq. ft. house won recognition for exceptional detailing inside and out, and for the way it expressed a rustic, porch-oriented style suitable for country settings.The kitchen-dining
area is separated from the family room by a dramatic two-sided fireplace, which defines each area without enclosing it for a greater sense of spaciousness. The kitchen revolves around a multi-
functional two-tiered island. Windows on two sides of the kitchen and three sides of the family room flood the main floor with light.
MEDIUM-SIZE TRADITIONAL
901-8, by SketchPad Inc.
The simplicity, clarity, and efficiency of this 3 bedroom 2.5 bath 2,208 sq. ft. design (the exterior is shown at the top of this post) attracted the jury's attention. See how the floor plan is organized along a central axis;
entry and screen porch are on the cross axis. Thanks to the high vaulted high ceiling, French doors to the
screen porch, and numerous windows, the great room feels airy and bright. The lower floor drew praise
as a day-lit basement that includes a second screen porch as well as a clever bunk room -- so it's a house of strong character that could suit many sloping sites where views are important.
SMALL TRADITIONAL
Plan 56-619, by Atlanta Plan Source
This two bedroom bungalow won for the amount of flexibility and easy indoor-outdoor living that it packs into
1,488 square feet. The almost square layout is organized around a central family room and "Reading Porch" opening to the rear terrace. Each corner holds a bedroom, kitchen-dining room, or flex room. Jurors called it "inviting for such a small design."
LARGE MODERN
Plan 496-26, by Leon Meyer
Jurors liked this modern house because though it is generously sized at 3,041 square feet - with 3 bedrooms
and 2.5 baths -- "it avoids sprawling." The upper floor steps back so the house does not overwhelm the street. From the front door you can look all the way through the middle of the house to the decks at the rear. The kitchen-dining area and family room open to two sheltered decks for easy indoor-outdoor living. The study could switch places with the laundry or could be treated as a mudroom. The design is all about providing a sense of spaciousness on a tight infill lot.
MEDIUM-SIZE MODERN and PLAN OF THE YEAR
Plan 909-10, by Hive Modular
This plan offers surprises in the loftiness of the double-height living room,
the abundant daylight throughout, and the deck or balcony off every major space.
With the garage at the base the stacked design is efficient but also imaginative in the way it allows each
elevation to be different -- which is unusual for a ready-made plan. "An innovative solution for sloping lots," summed up one juror. This design also won the Plan of the Year award.
SMALL MODERN
Plan 909-6, by Hive Modular
Comments on this 2 bedroom 2 bath 1,441 sq. ft. plan included: "It packs a lot of punch," and "A good
design for a small infill lot." It's actually a modern twist on the old row house idea. There's room for a formal
entry -- off the front stoop -- as well as a side-entry mud room and even a separate laundry near the bedrooms at the back. A peninsula divides the kitchen from the dining area and living room. High clerestory windows balance light from the windows at the front and side.
To see last year's HOWIE winners click here.
LARGE TRADITIONAL
Plan 908-1, by Summit Studio
This 4 bedroom 4.5 bath, 4339 sq. ft. house won recognition for exceptional detailing inside and out, and for the way it expressed a rustic, porch-oriented style suitable for country settings.The kitchen-dining
area is separated from the family room by a dramatic two-sided fireplace, which defines each area without enclosing it for a greater sense of spaciousness. The kitchen revolves around a multi-
functional two-tiered island. Windows on two sides of the kitchen and three sides of the family room flood the main floor with light.
MEDIUM-SIZE TRADITIONAL
901-8, by SketchPad Inc.
The simplicity, clarity, and efficiency of this 3 bedroom 2.5 bath 2,208 sq. ft. design (the exterior is shown at the top of this post) attracted the jury's attention. See how the floor plan is organized along a central axis;
entry and screen porch are on the cross axis. Thanks to the high vaulted high ceiling, French doors to the
screen porch, and numerous windows, the great room feels airy and bright. The lower floor drew praise
as a day-lit basement that includes a second screen porch as well as a clever bunk room -- so it's a house of strong character that could suit many sloping sites where views are important.
SMALL TRADITIONAL
Plan 56-619, by Atlanta Plan Source
This two bedroom bungalow won for the amount of flexibility and easy indoor-outdoor living that it packs into
1,488 square feet. The almost square layout is organized around a central family room and "Reading Porch" opening to the rear terrace. Each corner holds a bedroom, kitchen-dining room, or flex room. Jurors called it "inviting for such a small design."
LARGE MODERN
Plan 496-26, by Leon Meyer
Jurors liked this modern house because though it is generously sized at 3,041 square feet - with 3 bedrooms
and 2.5 baths -- "it avoids sprawling." The upper floor steps back so the house does not overwhelm the street. From the front door you can look all the way through the middle of the house to the decks at the rear. The kitchen-dining area and family room open to two sheltered decks for easy indoor-outdoor living. The study could switch places with the laundry or could be treated as a mudroom. The design is all about providing a sense of spaciousness on a tight infill lot.
MEDIUM-SIZE MODERN and PLAN OF THE YEAR
Plan 909-10, by Hive Modular
This plan offers surprises in the loftiness of the double-height living room,
the abundant daylight throughout, and the deck or balcony off every major space.
With the garage at the base the stacked design is efficient but also imaginative in the way it allows each
elevation to be different -- which is unusual for a ready-made plan. "An innovative solution for sloping lots," summed up one juror. This design also won the Plan of the Year award.
SMALL MODERN
Plan 909-6, by Hive Modular
Comments on this 2 bedroom 2 bath 1,441 sq. ft. plan included: "It packs a lot of punch," and "A good
design for a small infill lot." It's actually a modern twist on the old row house idea. There's room for a formal
entry -- off the front stoop -- as well as a side-entry mud room and even a separate laundry near the bedrooms at the back. A peninsula divides the kitchen from the dining area and living room. High clerestory windows balance light from the windows at the front and side.
To see last year's HOWIE winners click here.
