Southern Cottages

We found the house plan for our cottage on the internet and then contacted Michael R. McLeod, Architect, P.A. the architect. The plan provided lots of living area and was well suited for a lake front structure. As the cottage was to be constructed in Canada changes had to be made for a basement foundation and insulation in the walls and ceiling. As, well we wanted to add a mud room to make winter entry easier. We were able to mark of these changes on the study plans and Michael updated the construction package to reflect the changes. The construction drawings were very detailed. The structural layout made material take off easy and cost effective and our builder found the detail saved him time and ensured the building was constructed the way it was designed. The detail in the electrical simplified work and eliminated many questions. We found Michael McLeod and his firm very easy to work with. All correspondence was by phone, email and post. The permitting process was easy with the detailed construction package provided by Michael. We never had to contact him during construction as we had all the information and detail required. We found Michael McLeod and his firm very easy to work with. All correspondence was by phone, email and post.

I came across Mike's designs after looking for about one year for just the right design to fit on my bay front lot along the southern NJ coast. The site is very exposed to extremely harsh weather conditions, flooding waters, wave action and very high winds are common place on this site, which forms a point that juts out into the bay. Mikes design of the island cottage fit perfectly for our site. The hip roof which makes up a large part of the architecture of the building not only serves an aesthetic look but serves an important function in deflecting the common place 70mph plus gusts we get here on this site, and one of the most important features why the design was chosen. As someone who had the pleasure & experience of building his own home. Mikes island cottage became a labor of love. It's symmetry in the framing process made it a pleasure to build although the hip rafters & commons required ALOT of patience, especially on this windy site. I have now lived in this home for the past 13 years and in that time the house has kept us safe & we have survived some incredible storms, notably Sandy. Our community was directly struck with an enormous storm surge that took out over 300 homes. Unfortunately we lost our neighbors around us, but we survived even though we were struck by debris of other buildings breaking apart and massive waves that struck our house. That's a testament to its designer and all the great craftsman that were involved in putting her together. Currently, we have been fortunate and consider ourselves very blessed to have survived Sandy, but again it had lot to do with the overall design & strength of the home. Most of the people in the community we live call us the blue lighthouse since the roof is a blue aluminum standing seam roof. Many fisherman use the home as a landmark and mark there GPS to our home. Recently we had the home raised to current base flood elevation and are still in the process of enclosing the bottom & landscaping. For us alterations to the plans had to be made In order for the design to work. Overall Mike was easy to work with & understood our concerns so that it was an easy procedure. Our plan & design was unique to our site and that offered us a real personal touch. Here it is 14 years later, and all we have to say is thank you Mike for a great design and as one of my neighbors said about our house " it sings" and "it anchors our street. " Thanks again ...John

After putting together our wish list and considering designing our house ourselves, my wife and I did some looking and decided to purchase plans for the Island Cottage from Southern Cottages. This design had all the features we wanted. We are self-building not contracting the construction. Construction is not my profession. I was sure I'd have to do a lot of research to get it right. The quality and accuracy of the plans have sure made it easier than I expected. The design went through the permitting process without a hitch. (The building official even commented on how the plans facilitated his review.) As for customer service, I can't say enough about the positive experience I've had. I thought that once I had the plans in hand that would be the last interaction I'd have with the architect. Not so. Mike and his staff have kept in touch with me, and I with them. When a couple of questions came up that I thought would be best answered by them, I sent an email. Within a short time, I got the answers I needed. The main house is now framed in, and we're ready to start the wrap-around porch. Overall, I've found our experience with Southern Cottages to be exceptional and the plans were a great value for the price.