MODERN COLLECTION

Modern home designs offer clean lines, simple proportions, open plans and abundant natural light, and are descendants of the Bauhaus-influenced International style of architecture, which developed in the 1920s. The most influential architects of modern houses have been Le Corbusier, Mies Van Der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Charles and Ray Eames. Flat or shallow-pitched roofs, large expanses of glass, strong connections to outdoor space, and spare, unornamented walls are distinguishing characteristics of modern home style plans. The lot is often incorporated into the design, turning outdoor space into an alfresco living room. Mid-century modern style homes are increasingly valued for their easy indoor-outdoor flow and provide inspiration for today's Modern house plans. The Case Study House Program in Southern California sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine was a prominent exemplar of modern home design in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

TRANSITIONAL COLLECTION

Modern home designs offer clean lines, simple proportions, open plans and abundant natural light, and are descendants of the Bauhaus-influenced International style of architecture, which developed in the 1920s. The most influential architects of modern houses have been Le Corbusier, Mies Van Der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Charles and Ray Eames. Flat or shallow-pitched roofs, large expanses of glass, strong connections to outdoor space, and spare, unornamented walls are distinguishing characteristics of modern home style plans. The lot is often incorporated into the design, turning outdoor space into an alfresco living room. Mid-century modern style homes are increasingly valued for their easy indoor-outdoor flow and provide inspiration for today's Modern house plans. The Case Study House Program in Southern California sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine was a prominent exemplar of modern home design in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Mediterranean Collection

Mediterranean house plans draw design cues from the whole of the Mediterranean region, including Moorish, Byzantine, Italian and Spanish influences intermingled with traditions of Native Americans. Santa Barbara architect George Washington Smith helped popularize the style -- an important offshoot is called the Spanish Colonial Revival style -- in the 1920s with patio-oriented houses that have white plaster walls and tile roofs. A perennial favorite in warm climates, Mediterranean homes have evolved into an eclectic home style that's found across the country. Today Mediterranean homes are typically constructed with a stucco exterior, have shallow often red tiled roofs that create a wide overhang for needed shade in warm climates. In addition to such signature details as large windows and exposed beams, Mediterranean style homes include patios or courtyards and open arches to catch breezes. Mediterranean house plans tend to express a relaxed outdoor lifestyle through a traditional

NEW ORLEANS

The American Craftsman style has its origins from the British Arts and Crafts movement which began as a philosophy and artistic style founded by William Morris earlier in the 1860s. The British movement was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, with its disregard for the individual worker and degradation of the dignity of human labor. Seeking to ennoble the craftsman once again, the movement emphasized the hand-made over the mass-produced.

The Arts and Crafts movement was also a reaction against the eclectic 'over-decorated' aesthetic of the Victorian era. It was an anti-Victorian movement, with William Morris a staunch socialist. However, the expensive fabrication and construction materials and costly hand-made techniques used meant that the created works of the movement were actually only serving a wealthy clientele, often derided as "champagne socialists". However the philosophy and aesthetics of the British Arts and Crafts movement inspired a wide variety of related but conceptually distinct design movements throughout Europe, as well as the 'American Craftsman' movement in North America.