Why We Love Southern Living House Plan 1561

Designed by Mitchell Ginn, the Elberton Way house plan is neck and neck with Plan 1375 to be our most popular house plan ever. Here's why we think Elberton Way may edge out Tideland Haven to cinch the win.

Why We Love It

Ginn had an evolving family in mind while designing Elberton Way. This layout works just as well for a young, growing family, as it will for an older one on the cusp of being empty nesters. The floor plan packs in a roomy 3,469 square feet with 3 ½ baths and 3 options plus an option to turn the upstairs "loft" into a fourth bedroom. Ingeniously though, the first floor is a spacious 2,400 square feet with an open (and large) kitchen/living room, formal dining room, a master suite, a guest room, a tiny home office or mudroom, and not one–but two–covered porches to ease with the flow of the home. In the remaining 900 square feet upstairs, Ginn fit in two bedrooms and two baths plus the loft and a huge attic to accommodate all the trophies, art work, and Christmas decorations that families amass. Because of Ginn's design, the first floor is able to function as a manageable home on its own with an upstairs that can "open and close" as children come and go.

See More: Our 12 Best-Selling House Plans

WATCH: The Best Southern Decorating Tips of All Time

The Wow Factor

That sloped roofline feels likes its straight out of a Hans Christian Anderson story. If that doesn't charm you enough, then the prominent stacked stone façade mixed with brick and siding will finish off the charm fest. The front porch is welcoming and gracious, but the tudor-inspired arches give it a more formal touch than a white-shingled cottage would have. If you don't like the mixed materials, this home can be a painted shingle style home like one of these or all brick, just make sure that you paint the millwork a bold enough color to give it definition.