Houseplans.com Announces Winners of Annual Howie Awards

PETALUMA, Calif., March 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Houseplans.com, the largest online database of ready-made house blueprints, today announced the winners of this year's Howies – an annual awards program that recognizes outstanding work in the field of ready-made home plans.  Houseplans offers tens of thousands of home, cottage, garage plans and more – many from world-renowned architects – making the once-expensive and complex process of designing or renovating a home both simple and affordable.

As part of the annual program, numerous award categories are judged by an invited jury of design professionals and Houseplans' staff. This year's jury included:  Gale Steves, editor and best-selling author of Right-Sizing Your Home; Katherine Salant, syndicated real estate columnist for The Washington Post; and Leslie Clagett, author of The New City Home and blogger at KBCulture.com. (The People's Choice category winner is voted on by the public through social media). This year's winners include:            

• Plan of the Year/Medium Modern: Hive Modular, Minneapolis, MN (Plan 909-10). This plan offers surprises in the loftiness of the double-height living room, the abundant daylight throughout, and the deck or balcony off every major space.
• Large Traditional: Summit Studio, Louisville, CO (Plan 908-1). This 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath, 4339 sq. ft. house won for exceptional detailing inside and out, and for the way it expressed a rustic, porch-oriented style suitable for country settings.
• Medium Traditional: SketchPad Inc., Ada, MI (901-8). The simplicity, clarity and efficiency of this 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, and 2,208 sq. ft. design attracted the jury's attention.
• Small Traditional: Atlanta Plan Source, Alpharetta, GA (Plan 56-619). This two bedroom bungalow won for the amount of flexibility and easy indoor-outdoor living that it packs into 1,488 square feet.
• Large Modern: Leon Meyer, Victoria, Australia (Plan 496-26). Jurors liked this modern house because though it is generously sized at 3,041 square feet - with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths -- "it avoids sprawling and would suit a wide variety of tight infill sites."
• Small Modern: Hive Modular, Minneapolis, MN (Plan 909-6). A modern twist on the old row house idea. Comments on this 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,441 sq. ft. plan included: "It packs a lot of punch," and "A good design for a small infill lot."
• Energy-Efficient: Confluence Architecture, Carbondale, CO (Plan 902-1). A 1,928 sq. ft. cabin that draws architectural inspiration from the agricultural and mining ruins of rural Colorado.
• Kitchen: SketchPad Inc., Ada, MI (Plan 901-1). Praised for efficient layout around the sink/buffet island, and for the unified and stylish material palette emphasizing the contrast of warm wood floor, cool, white marble counters and green tile backsplash.
• Bathroom: DesignHaus (David M. LiaBraaten), Rochester, MI (Plan 892-8). Combines a thoughtful arrangement -- double vanities in an ample counter across from the built-in tub and walk-in shower -- with sleek contemporary style.
• People's Choice: Rick McAlexander of Associated Designs, Eugene, OR (Plan 124-925). This Craftsman style plan includes an expansive great room with island kitchen at one end. Amenity-filled 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath with a design that is all about easy and flexible indoor-outdoor living.

With Houseplans, customers can search the largest inventory of home and floor plans available for purchase on the market today. The inventory, which you can search with options like size, shape, lot characteristics or cost,  features virtually any style, from adobe and Victorian to Colonial, French country, Prairie or Southern Plantation.  The website's vast offerings are simple to navigate, all efficiently categorized by architectural style, house size, room specifics, your construction budget and other characteristics. Blueprints available for purchase are functional and customizable by the Houseplans Design Department led by architect Nicholas Lee, AIA, and the company's customer service seamlessly guides users through the entire home designing and/or renovating process.

For more information, please visit www.houseplans.com.

About Houseplans

Founded in 2004, Houseplans is the largest online database of ready-made house blueprints. Thousands of homes have been built, remodeled or renovated using plans from Houseplans. Top architects and designers from around the world continually submit new plans to Houseplans and millions of people visit the site every year to browse floor plans for ideas and inspiration, start renovations or find the blueprint for their dream home.

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