Rehoboth Beach Prototype House

I designed a prototype house for a typical Canal Corkran building lot. Most of the lots on Wades Court are 100w x 120d. I originally purchased the lot next door to ours, and planned to build this house spec so we could control what was built next door. I ultimately sold the lot to fund the construction of our house, so this remains un-built. The project has been gathering dust on my shelf, so I decided to post it here.

I tried to take full advantage of the zoning setbacks by utilizing the entire buildable footprint. I also had the idea of creating a "hacienda" style floor plan, with cottage or vaguely craftsman style on the exterior rather than something Spanish. I often refer to my work in Canal Corkran as "Farmhouse Modern." There is a lovely view from the rear of this lot to a large pond with a water fountain. However, it is sandwiched between 2 other lots, unlike our house which is on the end, and has nice views out in 2 directions. It also is different to 23 Wade which I also designed and built, which literally has no views, so the entire house there looks inward to a large pool court.

Here I tried to balance both by taking advantage of the rear view, but also providing a more intimate private space inside. Hence the interior open air courtyard. This space would have an outdoor fireplace and fountain, with landscaping including trees and other perennials. The plan features a sweeping driveway which provides guest parking and access to a separate drive court for additional parking and access to the side entry garage.

The first floor plan accommodates all the usual niceties, including a formal Living/Dining area, a very large open plan Kitchen, with a 12’ long island opening to a spacious Family Room and adjacent screen porch. All of these spaces are connected with a circulation spine whose axial orientation provides a vista from the front door through to the rear view. All of these rooms would be a single story of varying heights to allow for dramatic and lofty ceilings. The second floor would be accessible from a feature stair off the 2 story Family Room.

At the front of the house would be a traditional “casita” or spare room with its own en-suite bath and kitchenette.
The Master Suite is on the first floor at the rear and provides direct access to the pool terrace. The Master Bath would have French doors off the walk-in shower to a private garden. Adjacent to the Garage would be Bedroom with a separate entrance from the side which could be used as an au-pair suite. There is a large Laundry area with a separate catering/butler pantry with direct access to the courtyard space. A separate stair connects this area to rooms above the garage.

The Second Floor would contain 3 Bedrooms off of a common loft area. Each Bedroom has an en-suite bath. Over the Garage and accessible by a separate stair is a large studio with bath and kitchenette. There is also a small room that could be used for storage or even an office. This area could be connected to the main house through the adjacent room, or kept separate.

I also show a partial basement space that could accommodate media, wet bar, exercise wine and billiard rooms. This space could have a separate access from the stair landing out to the pool terrace.

Overall, the house encompasses approximately 4,500 square feet of conditioned space (not including the basement). There are 7 Bedrooms (including the studio), 8 ½ Bathrooms, and a spacious open floor plan opening to a large pool terrace with pergola and spa. All of it surrounds an open air landscaped interior court with a series of tall glass doors.