Here is a split-entry house with a colonial styling - and a new approach to space. In many houses of this type, the basement is simpyl raised out of the ground. But this house is more like a full two-story - with the lower level recessed halfway below grade.
This way, all rooms are bigger, more usable, beacuse each floor contributes all its space to the living area.
Harmony is achieved here by the use of contrast and repetition. The rough, irregular stonework on chimney and garage front adds texture and color interest when used against the smooth, very evenly spaced siding of the main house. Controlled repetition of forms, colors and materials gives uniformity to the over-all front view of the home.
The floor plan has built-inflexibility to fit the individual needs of any family. For instance, with a full-sized dining room as shown here, you could convert one bedroom to a study or TV-room. Or, allocate the end of the living room into an informal family recreation headquarters.
The litchen is a downhill walk from the front entry. It is centrally located between dining, family and patio areas for quick formal or informal meal-time serving.
Individual closets are featured in the master bedroom, along with private bath and dressing area. Large items can be stored in the utility room or in the double garage.
Plumbing is centrally located, with extensions only for kitchen, upper shower stall and laundry. This means savings in labor and material initially and in maintenance bills in the future.
Over-all dimensions of this house are 48 feet by 47 feet. Living area, less garage, is 1.800 square feet.
This backyard side of the house shows that pleasing design goes all the way around - and isn't limited to just a dressy introduction. The bay window neatly ends the long, parallel design of the wall. French doors provide convenient access to and from the dining room for patio and outdoor living activities. The stone-wood combination of the front is repeated here in the paved patio area.
The master bedroom suite has that much-desired roominess. Although the bathroom you are looking into is actually a separate alcove, clever techniques make it seem an attractive extension of the bedroom: continuity if wall treatment in both alcove and room, extension of carpeting into alcove and a mirror over vanity for added depth.
In the alcove, the louvered doors mark one of the individual closets. Beyond and to the left is the shower stall. The private toilet is located directly across the alcove.
Flexibility of the floor plan is illustrated below. This bay-window end of the living room could be a dining area. Here it is used as a music and book-browsing nook. The area is sectioned off by ending the living room rug just behind the easy chairs, which face toward the main living area. Exposed hardwood flooring gives an illusion of greater depth to the music-reading section of the living room.
This nook also could be utilized as a bridge-players; center with card table and chair groupings, or a library with built-in bookshelves and storage area.
Here, this rooms has been furnished as a formal dining area. It could as easily be set up as a family room.
The french doors allow immediate dining expansion onto the patio for occasional large-group entertaining, or permit quick retreat indoors should a sudden change in the weather dampen an outdoor barbecue.
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