what state are you in? If the homes don't have a basemen I'm glad to hear someone is thinking of a 'safe place' anyway!

I love transoms over doors! I prefer the fiberglass tub/showers myself - I think they're easier to clean. I'm very grateful my place has the fiberglass instead of tile. They probably did that because of the cost of tiling. With the cheaper fiberglass people will find it easier to pull it out and put in a tiled one I guess.

Do you think when other homes are built like these models they will cut back on the 'walk thru' space?

I don't agree that wide walkways and entry halls are wasted space, unless having them makes the rooms themselves disproportionately small. Wide spaces like that lend a gracious feeling to a home. When there's not enough walk thru space a house feels cramped and poorly designed. I've lived in both, and the house with better than average walkways and transitions feels and lives bigger.

Thanks for the report. Maybe the larger walk-through spaces are meant to accommodate for Universal Design/ADA compliance that a wheelchair could get through.

I know we tend to see tile showers here, but I know a lot of people who prefer fiberglass. My sister and BIL renovated their bath, took out the tile and put in fiberglass.

I think they've been building bathrooms like that for at least 15 years. My dtr's million dollar fourth floor walkup condo in Chicago has one, and my son and his wife bought the model home in a very upscale neighborhood in Illinois in May 2006. Last house sold in the subdivision. Not one of their four bathrooms has tile, but they are all wallpapered, as are the bedrooms and dining rooms. In both my kids' homes, the Master bath is configured the way you describe, and their walk-in closets are so big son made a sitting room out of part of it. Now THAT was a ridiculous waste of space!

You saw a lot of granite on your tour? What about stainless steel? Neutrals? I'm curious about that, since they seem to have been popular for so long, in all-level homes. And wallpaper is everywhere!

Did most of the homes have basements? I hope so in a tornado corridor.

Thanks for the briefing. Maybe I'll go on a tour myself.......

I'm in Alabama.

Re basements: the communities I toured were garden homes on slabs, so no basements. The storm shelter was a self-contained unit that installs under the garage floor. A hatch slides back and you take about 5 steps down into a metal(?) box that has a couple benches in it. I would compare it to the cabin on a very small cabin cruiser. But it only has to hold your family for 10-15 minutes, so comfort isn't really a big concern.

Re the wasted space: I primarily felt this was the case in the smaller homes (1,400 - 1,700 square feet on one floor). The secondary bedreooms were very small (maybe 10' x 10' or 11' x 11') and the living rooms were small, with the front door opening directly into them -- a few extra feet would help in those area. But I think there must only be a few ways to fit a 3/2 into a certain footprint, so they probably did the best they could. Oh, and they weren't universal design homes by a long stretch. Steps in and out from front and garage, and the kitchens and baths weren't set up for UD.

Re kitchens: the granite, stained cabinets, undermount sink and stainless appliances were standard, even in the lower-priced community. The lower-priced community had standard carpet or wood-looking vinyl/laminate (which actually looked really good) and had standard tile floors in the kitchens and baths. The higher-priced community had standard prefinished hardwood in the main areas, standard tile in K&B and carpet in bedrooms.

Re decor: The models didn't have wallpaper. Colors in the simpler models were still fairly neutral, and consistent throughout the main living area, as they were all very open plans. But in the upper end there were some different choices made. I saw a sort of salmon/apricot bedroom, and a bedroom that was either black or very, very dark blue. All had white trim, and it looked great.

Jakabedy, I was pretty sure you were from AL, but when Desertsteph asked I looked at your member page. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it and loved the last line. ;)

While I like the look of tile in a shower, I much prefer the ease of cleaning that a solid surface offers.

natal -

I forgot about the member page. I really need to update it, as I am now older and the "on-the-way" grandbaby is now 16 months old!

Thanks for this informative report, jackabedy--- I haven't been to a model home in several years, not since there was a southern living design home near me. I do like walking through and seeing the new trends and the way ideas trickle down and up though all prices and locations.

I absolutely agree about wasted space in smaller homes and often think it must be more difficult to design a smaller home than a larger one. We take our generously sized bedrooms for granted, though. When I lived in Europe in the 70s I was always surprised when I went into a 9x10 bedroom, even though they were the norm in very nice houses in almost every country.

I also wanted to add that one of the communities was sort of a "new urbanism lite" type of place. The lots were narrow, and everyone had rear-loading garages serviced by alleys. This makes for a very attractive streetscape (no permanently open garage doors and basketball hoops and bikes and "I'm restoring it" boats covered in tarps littering driveways). But the front yard setbacks were maybe 10-15'? With no more than 15' from side to side? And with the garage in the back, that left you with sort of half of what would have been a very small backyard, anyway. I didn't walk to the back, but it looked like the driveway might have been just barely the depth of one car, but possibly shallower than that. So that means that the third car, when junior starts driving, has to go . . . where? Because I'll bet the CC&Rs prohibit extended parking on the street.

The thing is, with the new urbanists, they wanted to bring back front porches so that people would feel more of a community. But the bulk of these folks will never open their front doors, entering and exiting through the alley in their cars. But maybe folks do get out and about with strollers, dogs, etc. Because there were sidewalks and a pool/playground area. And the nicer neighborhood even had a lake for fishing (it was built on a defunct golf course), so that was also walkable.

I should also add that the more expensive neighborhood managed to deal with water/runoff issues in an imperceptible way. The entry-level neighborhood had the ubiquitous unsightly "ditch" running behind the houses, and you were expected to just put up your fence and ignore it, I suppose.

I agree with KSWL on the importance of generous hallways etc.

It's one of the first things I notice about newer construction, is all the mean little hallways and stairwells. They use a lot of space for an impressive foyer, but skimp elsewhere. It's one of my pet peeves.

In our last house, built 1904, even the third floor had hallways more than 8' wide and 9' ceilings, too. It makes all the difference.

I enjoyed reading this very much even though my experience of planned communities in Ontario is light years away from those in Alabama, and yet strangely familiar, if you understand my meaning. I've spent most of my adult life in these spec communities, getting progressively larger and more customizable versions. Currently, though part of a community, the home we are in has shed most of the internal telltale signs such as those one piece fibreglass tub/shower enclosures and prefab one size kitchens. (no disdain here just making an observation).

I agree that the claustrophobic feeling of tight halls is awful and so spending money on opening them up or adding nearly invisible partitions (half walls, spindles, wide openings) is a really good idea. In my own house I incorporated the halls into the rooms in many cases, making the pathway a suggestion created my furniture, which I prefer. I have seen and lived alongside these front facing garage free homes and do enjoy the street scape more that way. But like you, question whether form is really following function here.

Mass produced suburban homes, to me, can often look like an expressionless face, because they design them (at least in my part of Canada) with the family spaces all in the back and the front reserved for lesser used formal and work spaces. Maybe that is an age old design, but the with more uniform facades it can leave communities feeling cold. Walking down the street and being presented with 2 sealed garage doors, and a dark office can make you wonder if the armageddon has come and you missed the signs. I think a viable solution is something I've seen more called 'the widelot'. Which encourages the houses to be wide rather then deep. And backyards shallow but long, across the back of the home. That might help change the landscape.

"Walking down the street and being presented with 2 sealed garage doors, and a dark office can make you wonder if the armageddon has come and you missed the signs."

GREAT metaphor, girlville!

Were the communities all down your way, or did you come this way? We haven't been to any/many in our lifetime. Before we built, we went into a few in Greystone. Toured the first two, the third I stopped DH half way through and said let's go. It all gave me the hibbie jibbies. Too much McMansion makes my skin crawl. I also was getting a horrible migraine (paint fumes?) so it was time to head home.

I do like the new urbanism communities (Mt Laurel - although their roads are too narrow), Seaside, etc. but couldn't live in one. Too crowded for me/us.

I keep DD2's baby while she at work. She lives in a garden home (yeah, 10 plans maybe 12, but they have decent yards. Not right up against each other and not right on the road) and all the trees weren't cut down (at least in the backyards). Anyway, first thing she said today was she saw a truck going down 280 with something on it - got close enough to read it was a storm shelter. She wants one - the kind that bolts down to the garage floor. They do tornado rooms too - can build it inside a pre-existing closet, but its walls ceiling cannot touch the existing walls/ceilings, so you loose some closet space.

This is the company we looked at last year after April 27th (can't believe it was a year ago) and the one she saw today:

Here is a link that might be useful: Great American Storm Shelters

Allison,
I'm not sure if it was the same company, but the shelter looked very similar. it was under the garage floor with a sliding hatch. It can be put in at the time of the build, or retrofitted. DH and I were talking about it and we may get one. Our house is about the least stormproof thing around that didn't come on wheels.

Re the tour, we went to Chace Lake (in Hoover on the old Chase Lake golf course, just south of the Galleria) and Waterstone, which is out here in Calera. They are both Signature Homes communities, so it was interesting to see where they were similar (floor plans, general look), and where they differed (lot sizes bigger out here, but you back up to a ditch. more brick in Hoover, and alley garages, but tinier lots). When comparing apples to apples, it costs twice as much to live in Hoover.

I wanted to see some of the new homes over on Overton Road, Pump House whatever -- the big Arts and Crafts looking ones. But we didn't make it over that way.

Didn't know they could retrofit in the garage after a build. I don't think she wants that though - would rather have a walk-in. She also wants her pets to be able to go in with her and have a bit of room. I think her closet is the best option in this house.

I agree you should have a safe place. Especially with all that glass! ;D @ wheels.

Signature builds pretty houses/neighborhoods, but they are not built well at all. DD2 had a townhouse near the Colonnade. She sold just in time - then found out everyone was having major window rotting problems, roof problems. Trusses were spaced so far apart if we have a major snow and/or ice store (like 93) people are going to get hurt. She bought there without DH blessing.... what can you do.

When she moved, we looked at two of their newer (2 years ago) communities - Chace Lake was one of them. The other was out Sicard Hollow Rd. Although they were attractive exteriors (for the most part) and the interiors were spacious, the materials and structural part were not so nice.

Pumphouse Village? Those are Old English style, CRE Realty. Right on 459, so I can't even imagine the noise.

The Cove at Overton are English too.

Can't think of a Craftsman community other than Mt Laurel.

That's interesting about Signature. When I walked through the houses in Calera I was trying to figure out how they were doing it for the price. I'm sure the land and labor is cheaper now than it was pre-crash, but they were including more surface amenities. It would make sense that shortcuts are taken elsewhere.

When I say Arts & Crafts I mean in the original sense -- English Arts & Crafts, a la Voysey, Mackintosh, etc. In my mind, I separate that from Craftsman. So I think we're saying the same thing.

The new house at The Cove at Overton:

Some Voysey and Mackintosh:

Yes, they are similar to the old pictures. The new houses remind me of McAlpine & Tankersley and Dungan Nequette (both AL architectural firms for those not from AL).

I've enjoyed reading this thread...
Would love to do a 'Parade of Homes' cross-country (Canada) as housing styles do really vary from one coast to the other.

girlville~I wonder if you've lived in the same area as I am...
We live in north Oakville in a planned community built along the principles of new urbanism. I do love the garages in the back laneways as it makes for a 'clean' streetscape.
I agree that with so many of the (newer) homes in GTA, the homes seem to be 'all garage'. In this neighborhood, the winters are quiet 'in the hood' as people are entering their homes through the garage to backyard/back entrance so little social interaction. In warmer weather,the 'hood is alive with people out strolling with kids/dogs, lounging on front porches and so on. When we moved from Hfx, we really loved the unique style of this community and while the houses are somewhat on the small side (@ 2000 sq ft), you feel part of a community which makes us want to contiunue to live here.