Compact Sedgewood ideal for small family

The compact, country-style Sedgewood could be built as a vacation home, a starter home, or a scaled-down dwelling for empty nesters. Its 41-foot-wide footprint fits neatly on a narrow lot.

Tapered columns seated on stone veneer bases support the roof of the wide, recessed front porch, and decorative corbels highlight the ends of both front-facing gables. Multipaned windows, a sidelight and a transom also add their sparkle to the front facade.

Light washes into the foyer through that same sidelight and transom, along with slender panes at the top of the door. A roomy coat closet is just a few steps down the hall.

Family gathering spaces fill the home's left side, while bedrooms line up along the right. The living room and dining room flow together, creating one large, window-bright space at the rear. And that space is open to the kitchen as well.

The long eating bar that rims the peninsular counter shares one edge with the dining room, which allows it to double as a buffet for festive family meals and entertaining. Counters, built-in appliances, and a pantry wrap around three sides of the C-shaped kitchen. Laundry appliances are nearby, yet out of sight, in the pass-through utility room that links to the two-car garage.

Secondary bedrooms and a shared bathroom are up front, along with linen and towel closets. The owners' suite is at the rear. Amenities there include a roomy walk-in closet, and a private bathroom with dual vanity and a shower.

Squared wooden posts line the outer edge of the Sedgewood's wide covered porch at the rear, and this space opens onto an equally wide patio.