Many people shopping for house plans are reluctant to buy because they have a hard time visualizing what their completed home could look like. The House Designers has produced renderings of their top-selling plan finished with mid-level and high-end products to help illustrate the possibilities for their customers.
Building a new home is an exciting undertaking, but uncertainty often hinders the process at stages along the way. Shopping for house plans pose a particularly difficult challenge, as the average consumer cannot see beyond flat floor plans and elevations to imagine the homes that they could become. What’s more, the style of any renderings or photos provided can make it seem like the appearance of the final product is completely predetermined. The reality is that building a home offers plenty of design freedom, and The House Designers wants to make that clear.
In an effort to show how stylistically and financially flexible a single house plan can be, this leading online house plan retailer took one of their best sellers and created brand new renderings for it using a wide range of interior and exterior products. The results show the home plan two ways—a refreshed version of itself in THD-1895, L’Attesa di Vita, and a luxury depiction with all the best finishing options in THD-7878, Vita di Lusso.
“We chose to feature L’Attesa di Vita in this project because it is, in many ways, the perfect average home for our customers,” said Tammy Crosby, CEO for The House Designers. “With 2,091 square feet on one level, three bedrooms split across an open floor plan, and a bonus space above the garage, this plan offers just what today’s homebuyers want. And extras like a home office, an outdoor living area on the back porch, and a two-sided fireplace between the great room and the dining room only sweeten the deal.”
The mid-level/affordable build option for L’Attesa di Vita plays up its Craftsman design without cutting corners to reduce cost. The House Designers chose to use extremely durable exterior products with impressive warranties to make sure this home meets the expectations of a busy family and won’t require a lot of maintenance.
These products include:
~ Bellaforté Shake roofing from DaVinci Roofscapes in their Tahoe-Variblend color option, which provides the look of aged cedar shingles without the downfalls of the natural material
~ A Classic-Craft® Canvas Collection® front entry from Therma-Tru® Doors, which boasts impressive efficiency and unmatched beauty with a very style-appropriate divided lite design
~ Wood-Ultrex Double Hung windows from Integrity® Windows, which are exceptionally strong and come with plenty of finishing options to match any architecture
~ Non-Tapered Quick Wrap columns and Raised Double Panel Shutters from Fypon®, which help complete the Craftsman aesthetic with pieces that won’t rot, warp, or fall prey to insects
~ LP® SmartSide® Trim & Siding in Wheat color, which gives a subdued natural wood look with enhanced performance
~ Mountain Ledge® veneer from Eldorado Stone, to give the exterior a dose of contrast
~ Gallery® Collection garage doors from Clopay®, for authentic carriage house looks with modern operation
The interior of the plan was also completed using products that come with a mid-level price tag. The House Designers decided to produce a rendering of the kitchen/great room space, and it is shown with:
~ Bellawood Hues Buttercup Oak Rustic flooring from Lumber Liquidators, which comes with a 100-year warranty
~ Kitchen appliances from Whirlpool® that include a 33-inch Wide French Door Refrigerator, a 5.8 cu. ft. Freestanding Gas Range, and a 36-inch Wall-Mount Canopy Hood, each with special features you might expect from higher end appliances
~ Ceiling, window, and door trim from Fypon®, which is light, easy to install, and can be stained and painted to suit any interior design
Vita di Lusso follows the same blueprints as L’Attesa di Vita, but it includes a finished walk-out basement, a garage expanded to accommodate three cars, and has been outfitted with premium products. The result is a modestly sized home with the look of luxury and extra livability it affords.
“Sometimes we encounter customers who say they want more in their houses, but they can’t communicate what that means and don’t like the grander options we show them,” said Crosby. “Our goal with Vita di Lusso was to illustrate that you can take a moderate house plan and dress it up to match your vision. This is exactly what so many people don’t know they want, because they assume that bigger must be better and don’t realize that a home of reasonable size can still offer finer details. Better yet, choosing to go this route benefits the owners because their home will require less maintenance, offer lower utility bills, and reduce their environmental impact compared to a larger plan.”
The same companies came together to give Vita di Lusso its distinctive design and air of rustic refinement. Priority was given to products that complement the Craftsman nature of the architecture to the highest degree, without compromising on the long-lasting quality that homeowners want to invest in. The following selections were chosen to outfit the exterior:
~ Multi-Width Slate roofing from DaVinci Roofscapes in Brownstone, an eco-friendly and impact-resistant slate-look tile that maximizes value for its style
~ A Classic-Craft® American Style Collection™ front entry from Therma-Tru® Doors, their line explicitly dedicated to providing an authentic Arts and Crafts aesthetic
~ Next Generation Ultimate Double Hung windows from Marvin®, which combine fine craftsmanship and modern mechanisms for a stylistically correct product with improved performance
~ Tapered Quick Wrap columns and Quarter Round Shutters from Fypon®, for genuine Craftsman detailing with extra resilience to the elements
~ Cedar Shake Siding from LP® SmartSide® in Sand color, which pairs traditional looks and engineered durability
~ Rustic Ledge® veneer from Eldorado Stone, an elongated stacked stone that provides a neat yet bucolic appearance
~Reserve® Wood Collection Limited Edition Series garage doors from Clopay®, which are crafted with real wood, insulated for enhanced efficiency, and flaunt traditional carriage house design
The interior products chosen to complete Vita di Lusso are top-of-the-line. The reason for the increased cost varies—it can be due to exoticness or greater functionality—but they are well worth the investment for those who want to elevate the quality of their home and/or tailor it to their lifestyle. Interior products include:
~ Bellawood Matte Brazilian Chestnut flooring from Lumber Liquidators, a low-gloss solid hardwood with a very high hardness rating that keeps it looking good with minimal maintenance
~ Kitchen appliances from Whirlpool® that include a Double Drawer Refrigerator with Dual Icemakers for better organization potential, a Double Oven Gas Range with Convection Cooking that can prepare more dishes at once, and a professional-looking Wall-Mount Canopy hood
It is impossible to give a single final price for a home due to high variation in the cost of materials and labor, so estimate the cost to build either of these plans in a specific area with The House Designers’ cost estimating tool.
The House Designers has launched a contest to coincide with their release of these reimagined house plans. People are invited to vote for their favorite version; those who participate will be eligible to win one grand prize voucher for $500 off the cost of either the L’Attesa di Vita or Vita di Lusso house plan. The first 25 entries will be given a coupon for $100 off the cost of any house plan valued at $500 or more and a Home Building Organizer to help coordinate their building project. The next 100 entries will still earn a coupon for $100 off a house plan valued at $500 or more. Find full contest details here.
To explore these fully detailed renderings, please see The House Designers’ infographic. A list of Architect Preferred Products for these builds can also be found on their plan pages at THD-1895: L’Attesa di Vita and THD-7878: Vita di Lusso.
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Christine Cooney
Christine has over a decade of experience as a house plan and floor plan expert. Outside of providing her expertise to customers to help them find and build their dream homes, her passion and knowledge of the home building industry allows Christine to guide families and builders through all of the important steps from finding plans to building custom homes that meet the expectations of today’s new home owner. Christine’s years of knowledge of the diverse trends and needs of the modern homeowner has made her into an authoritative and trusted voice in the online house plan community.