Great room at heart of compact Kettering

The Kettering is a small home with a big heart. It makes an ideal starter home for a young family, or a downsized home for empty nesters wishing to simplify their lives. Its big heart is actually a roomy, vaulted great room, open to a vaulted kitchen. Standing in this expansive space gives you the feeling of being in a much larger home.

For those who like porch swings, there's a perfect place for one at the right end of the railed porch. Add a few more pieces of outdoor furniture, and you'll create a semi-private outdoor living area for relaxing, chatting or watching the world go by.

Natural light spills into the vaulted entry through a sidelight. Just past the coat closet, you step into the high-ceilinged, vaulted great room. Windows fill most of the rear wall. Two of them are sliders that provide patio access and summer air circulation.

The kitchen is designed for efficiency. Stove, sink and refrigerator are all within a few steps of each other. The raised eating bar gives family and friends a place to sit and chat with kitchen workers without slowing down meal production or cleanup.

Laundry appliances are close by, tucked in a passageway that links the kitchen and garage. The garage door opens to the left side, rather than the front. People who prefer not seeing a big garage door when they look at their home will appreciate this feature.

Three bedrooms (or two and a den/office) fill the right side of the home. The Kettering's vaulted master suite has a large walk-in closet, plus a private bathroom with a large shower. Two linen/storage closets line the hallway outside the bedrooms.