Creole CottagePlan SL-109

In many areas of the Lower South, French and Spanish influences blended to form a unique house type-the Creole cottage. Borrowing freely from European styles, early settlers on the Gulf Coast gradually modified the design to adapt to the warm, humid climate. Although born in towns from New Orleans to Mobile, the Creole cottage also appeared in the interior South, where the Greek Revival style influenced it. The symmetry, center-hall plan, and exterior chimney are characteristic of this influence.

Like its predecessors, our Creole Cottage is raised slightly to place the living areas above the damp ground. A steep, gabled roof sheds subtropical rains; the roof's pitch breaks slightly to cover a wide gallery on the front. Six slender columns support the gallery roof and a balustrade. Long, shuttered windows on the lower level combine with round-top windows in the dormers to define the regional look. The house offers about 1,650 square feet of heated space, with approximately 360 additional square feet in the deck and gallery. The plan contains a combination living/dining room to the left of the foyer.