Southern Living Southern Living Cottage Style 2023

HOT OFF THE DRAFTING TABLE Check out these new Southern Living House Plans, created by the South’s top architects and residential designers with charming cottage style and efficient design in mind Pipers Way PLAN #2080 2,852 SQUARE FEET A two-car garage is cleverly concealed on the right-hand side of the house and helps this modern cottage fit seamlessly into existing neighborhoods. The foyer opens into a walk-through dining room. A spacious kitchen with large island completes this entertainer’s dream. DESIGNED BY: Lifestage Home Designs BEDROOMS: 4 BATHS: 3 full Shiloh Creek PLAN #2079 1,640 SQUARE FEET DESIGNED BY: Lifestage Home Designs BEDROOMS: 2 BATHS: 2 full, 1 half Copper Springs PLAN #2078 1,640 SQUARE FEET DESIGNED BY: Lifestage Home Designs BEDROOMS: 2 BATHS: 2 full, 1 half Honeysuckle PLAN #2085 1,816 SQUARE FEET DESIGNED BY: C3 Studio, LLC BEDROOMS: 3 BATHS: 2 full ROOM TO GROW The architectural scale of these homes only makes…

Lake homes have always been refuges for weekend and summer escapes, but Charlotte native Sarah Crosland craved that state of mind every day. So in 2020, when the stars aligned for her to build on Lake Wylie (a reservoir that’s an easy commute to the Queen City), the busy executive decided to trade town for rural life. “Although I work in Charlotte, I loved the idea of being able to come home to a quiet spot by the water,” Crosland says. “This place is very much in the country—I’m 2 miles down a gravel road through the woods. The stress of the real world slips away when my tires first hit the gravel after a workday.” When imagining her dream house, she collaborated with a drafter to design a plan, but…

When homeowner Jacque Hamilton had the chance to purchase her dream house in WaterColor, Florida, she jumped at the opportunity. “I first discovered it nearly 20 years ago while jogging through the area and tried to buy it then,” says Hamilton, who was drawn to the home’s showstopping front porch, classic French doors, and floor-to-ceiling windows. “It’s been a love affair ever since.” Designed by architect Jim Strickland, founder of Historical Concepts in Atlanta, the house sits on Buttercup Street in WaterColor, a resort and vacation community in South Walton County off Scenic Highway 30A. When she was unable to purchase it, Hamilton settled for renting the home and then later managing it as a rental property through her business Exclusive 30A. “To say I’m excited to finally call it…

THE LAFFERTY AND BERNARD FAMILIES have never met, but if they did ever happen upon each other, odds are high that it would be on a nature trail. Both couples recently retired to the South and built homes in the middle of expansive woods featuring walking paths and stunning water views. For Pam and Jed Lafferty (who landed in Cape Charles, Virginia), a swath of sand and the Chesapeake Bay glitter behind their home. Mary and Tim Bernard’s place in South Carolina is accented by ancient live oaks that are tinseled with Spanish moss and miles of deepwater river. Those outlooks demanded windows—and lots of them. The Laffertys and the Bernards both lit upon our Old Oyster house plan, lured by its spacious porches and decks. And it should come as no…

Good things come to those who wait—just ask Whitney and Andrew Rhodes. Right before they married, the thirty-somethings purchased property in small town Denham Springs, Louisiana, with big dreams of building a classic farmhouse. “We knew exactly what we wanted, or at least we thought we did,” says Whitney of the home’s initial design. “We were scheduled to break ground the week after our honeymoon, but a few delays gave us time to consider other options. We still wanted a farmhouse look, but one with a more cottagey feel.” Thus, the owners went back to the proverbial drawing board. Although they retained the authentic farmhouse framework—the deep wraparound porch, wide-plank wood siding, and steeply pitched gable roof—they took a looser approach with the interior design and opted for an open-concept floorplan. The…

Scott Rider’s mind often races at 3 a.m. “That’s one of the things about Parkinson’s disease—you don’t sleep well,” says the 62-year-old who’s a former All-American in track. About 15 years ago, he was diagnosed with the neuro-degenerative condition, which affects almost a million Americans. Rider’s hurdles are no longer on the track but in daily life, and his midnight thoughts and dreams often turn to raising awareness about the disease and helping others living with Parkinson’s and similar challenges. “This house was one of those ideas,” he says of the Adaptive Cottage recently constructed in his Habersham neighborhood—a home specifically designed to accommodate those who have mobility issues or wish to age in place. Others readily embraced Rider’s vision, including Robert Turner and Patrick Kelly of the Habersham Land Company.…