The ePlans collection of Southwest style home designs are all about keepin’ it cool!

The hot, sometimes scorching weather indigenous to the Southwest region makes it critical for houses to maintain temperate conditions. You’ll see re-occurring features in this collection that help these homes do just that. For instance – Southwest house designs generally have shaded areas as well as outdoor retreats, like courtyards, decks and porches, through which the homeowner can flirt with the sunshine drenched climate without being cooked by it. Some house plans in this collection also feature special decorative touches such as stone floors—something painful to walk on in a cold climate, but acutely refreshing in a region like this.

The typical Southwest style home is low to the ground - two stories at most, and asymmetrical, creating myriad views and traffic patterns in the interior. They also tend to utilize wood, brick and stucco on their smooth walls and call for spiral columns, patterned tilework, courtyard fountains and graceful wrought iron.