Select from the House Plans below:

Southern Cottages House Plans

At Southern Cottages we offer professional house plans for a variety of architect-designed homes and cottages. For inspiration, we draw upon the quaint and interesting, sometimes playful or whimsical characteristics of summer homes, vacation cottages and mountain getaways. We’ve blend traditional southern coastal home styling with contemporary architectural forms and open plan floor layouts to create a collection of exciting home designs.

We love the distinctive architectural features which gives our “Southern Cottages” their special character and sets them apart from your typical builders plans or subdivision house plans. Below is a description of a few of the architectural features that make our Southern Cottages house plans so special:

The Sheltering Roof

House plans with a sheltering roof or cascading roof give a sense of shelter and protection. The roof responds to and embraces the living that goes on within its volume. The cascading roof gives a sense of the hierarchy of social spaces underneath the roof and contributes to an overall cohesiveness of the roof massing of the house.

The Cupola

House plans with a cupola or windowed cupola provide a wonderful opportunity to get a great view from the rooftop vantage point enabling you to see over the tops of other houses or obstructions. The windowed cupola is a variation of the Italianate cupola, also known as a Belvedere.

House plans with attic rooms make great use of attic space which is normally a hot unused volume built into every house. We also refer to this feature as “rooms in the roof”. We feel that rooms in the roof are interesting spaces in that they often have varied height ceiling lines which follow the roof line and you have a sense of being in a cozy space in the attic. House plans with attic rooms generally must have a stick-framed roof, rather than roof trusses, to create the volume needed for the attic room.

House Plans with Rooftop Observation Deck

House plans with a rooftop observation deck provide a magnificent experience. There is nothing quite like being at the tip top of the roof and seeing that grand view of the coastline or other natural Vista. Care must be taken for proper detailing to provide a trouble-free installation and to prevent water intrusion at the structure.

House Plans with Balconies and Dormers

House plans with balconies and dormers provide light, views and outdoor access from the “rooms in the roof” and they give the home a distinctive and interesting roof line. They give the house a “lived-in and enjoyed” feeling and appearance.

Gazebo House Plans

Gazebo house plans use the familiar gazebo pavilion structure, often octagonal or turret-shaped, to make a special place for gathering and events and are usually incorporated into a porch or wraparound porch on house. This gives the house a playful or whimsical character while providing a desirable and interesting gathering spot.

Gazebo House Plans

Gazebo house plans use the familiar gazebo pavilion structure, often octagonal or turret-shaped, to make a special place for gathering and events and are usually incorporated into a porch or wraparound porch on house. This gives the house a playful or whimsical character while providing a desirable and interesting gathering spot.

House Plans with Covered Porches

House plans with covered porches expand the living space of the house while providing a place for you to live breathe and enjoy nature while being protected from rain in the hot sun. The covered porch protects from heat gain through windows while providing a wonderful transition from the environmentally controlled interior of the house to the outdoor areas, shaded and sheltered, where summer breezes can naturally cool things down. Every house needs a covered entrance porch.

House Plans with Inverted Living Area

House plans with inverted living areas place the bedroom floor on the first level and the living spaces on the second or top level. Inverted house plans are often desired when the view is a prized commodity such as on a coastal or waterfront property.

House Plans with Linear Rooms

House plans arranged with linear rooms provide a view, both front and back, from every living space in the house to the desired site feature (oceanfront, waterfront, mountain range) of the property. This works especially well for a home situated at the beach where both oceanfront and sound front views are possible.

Magnificent Treehouse House Plans

This is a phrase we use to describe our rooftop observation deck which is available on our Lookout Cottage house plan. Rooftop decks and balconies do provide a feeling of being in a magnificent treehouse and allow you to enjoy the natural beauty around you.

Oceanfront and Flood Zone House Plans

Oceanfront and flood zone house plans are built on pilings and the first living floor and supporting structure is elevated above the base flood elevation specific to your location. The ground floor under the house is generally used for garage, parking or other non-habitable use. The pilings are augured and driven deep into the earth and they are cross braced to withstand hurricane and flood conditions.

RV House Plans

RV house plans incorporate a large garage for motorhome or other RV. Often the house becomes a home base for the owners when they are not otherwise traveling. At Southern Cottages, we have several RV house plans which are architecturally interesting and well suited to this purpose

Plantation House Plans

Plantation house plans draw upon the southern colonial plantation style houses and, in our collection, also upon the South Carolina and Georgia low country style architecture. Architectural elements such as a grand entrance staircase and a wraparound porch give this style house a dignified and prominent appearance.

Nags Head Style House Plans

Nags head style house plans are designed in the tradition of the Nags Head Vernacular of the Outer Banks of the North Carolina Coast. Wrap-around porches provide protection from the elements. Rooftop balconies take advantage of magnificent views. The forms and shapes are reminiscent of the “gray ladies”, naturally weathered shingled beach houses on Cottage Row at Nags Head, which could be shuttered and protected during the many storms on the Outer Banks.

Cottages

We, here at Southern Cottages, fondly call these house plans “cottages” but don’t let that fool you. The house plans that we offer range from small house plans, starting at 1,423 square feet, to large house plans of 4,400 square feet, and are suitable for families of all sizes.