Overall width 38', Overall depth 70'

First Floor               1548 sqft

Second Floor          1376  sqft

Total A/C Space      2924 sqft

First Floor               Second Floor     

This house was designed for a small lot (50x98) which fortunately had a rear alleyway to have the garage out of sight. (The layout could work for a corner lot as well. If you have a more conventional (deeper) lot, the house can be even more satisfying with more living space in the rear - such as having a downstairs master suite or media room).

The design was inspired by Florida's New Urbanist community, Rosemary Beach, which combines West Indies vernacular style of half masonry and half wood with America's southern styles of Charleston, New Orleans, etc. The basic form of this house is of Charleston's Single House but without the side balcony for a more contemporary look.  The courtyard features a Moroccan fountain and is a great space for outdoor living/entertaining. The side entry requires the visitor to enter the courtyard space, lengthening the entry process to make the lot seems more generous.

On the inside, the foyer and great room wrap around the court yard with walls of windows for an atrium like effect. The two-story ceilings in the foyer and the great room make this house seem more spacious to compensate for the small lot. This is one house that feels bigger on the inside.

A neat thing about this house is that it's simultaneously traditional and modern. While the materials and the architectural details are traditional, the house's metal roof and pared down pure form gives it a modern flair as well. If you like both modern and traditional architecture, you can have your cake and eat it too with this plan.