Here’s a home that easily adapts to any family size, lifestage, or lifestyle. From the outside, a sense of charm is gathered from both European and Craftsman-era design styles, where brick, stone and siding enhance a tasteful array of gables, arches and tapered columns. Stepping inside from the covered front porch... Click to read more about this home’s interior.

A fireplace and outdoor kitchen make the covered rear deck a favorite place to hang out. The great room's cozy fireplace draws attention with it's striking details. Click to see more images.

Your End of the Deal
Reviewing Responsibilities of Builders and Buyers
By Carol Smith

Effective communication and accurate information are prerequisites of a smooth new home experience. Home buyers and their chosen builder enter into a kind of partnership where each has tasks to perform, more or less in a particular sequence. Those tasks vary among regions based on local practices. The Key responsibilities include the items described below.

Home Buyer Responsibilities
FIGURE: Funds
Even the buyer of a two million dollar home has a budget. Whether your budget is two million or another magic number, knowing what you can (or are willing to) spend from the beginning eliminates surprises and disappointment. A mortgage payment you are comfortable with is a great feature to include in your new home.

DREAM: Features & Choices
Develop a list–either on paper or in your mind–of design details you want. By gathering your thoughts ahead of time, you will be better able to articulate them to the builder you choose. As the process progresses, you will be called upon to make many choices, typically within a defined schedule. Gathering ideas in advance makes this easier and faster, allowing your builder to proceed in an orderly and timely manner... To read more Click Here.

Is your home more polluted than New York City?
By Adrienne van Dooren

According to the EPA, “the air within homes and other buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest and most industrialized cities.” Since most people spend 85-90 percent of their time indoors, the health risks (asthma, lung disease, cancer, etc.) are drastically increased due to interior pollution.

Many people don’t realize that many common building and home décor products emit poisons into the home on a continuous basis. Traditional “stick built” homes are generally built using treated woods, pressed wood products containing formaldehyde, off gassing pvc, oil based floor sealers and synthetic carpets which release pollutants continuously.

If you are building a home, it is important to build “green.” A good green builder will use only non-gassing materials, from the structure itself to the floors and countertops, to ensure a healthy home.

Too many consumers assume an “energy efficient” home is the same thing as a green home because it saves the environment... To read more Click Here.

Ed Begley, Jr. and MyGreenCottage.

90041 Multi-Level Deck with Angle Corners		90051 The "How-to-Build" Shed Plan		90018 Simply Fancy Gazebo

We offer a wide selection of today’s best-selling do-it-yourself project plans. All plans come with complete materials lists and step-by-step instructions designed for the do-it-yourself customer. Click here to see all of our project plans.

From Mundane to Magical Add a Twist of Something Special to Your New Back Yard

90020 Fancy Storage Shed

With about a million things to think about, it’s understandable that if you’re planning to build a new home, you may not have spent much time thinking beyond the home itself. The yard – especially the back yard – has likely settled toward the bottom of your list of things to lose sleep over. But it’s in the back yard, perhaps the most understated spot on the property, where you can add a twist of something special that will set your new home apart from your neighbors’. You can build a project plan... To read more Click Here.