Building a home for yourself is the American Dream. For some people, it is
important to build something unique.

Alternative Home Designs

You've worked your rear end off and reached a financial status where you can
do some dreaming. One dream is to buy some land and build a home on it. You've
found the perfect plot, and now you're wondering about different styles of
homes. Here are some alternative designs to get the creative thoughts flowing.

A very unique home design is the atrium home. An atrium home is designed to
emphasize an open middle area, not an exterior appearance. If you've been to
Europe, you've seen this design in larger cities.

You'll be walking down a street lined with bland looking windows. You pop
into one of the buildings to find a bathroom and it is like entering another
world. The exterior of the building is no great shakes, but the interior is a
slice of atrium heaven with an open area covered in a lattice or left wide open.
The interior is a collection of sitting areas, plants and perhaps small pools
for fish. Not a bad idea, eh?

Taking the design to its full scope, the home is designed...underground. The
design can be done in a variety of ways, but it is built below ground to take
advantage of geothermal concepts.

The primary idea is to use the constant temperature of the ground to regulate
the climate in the home. The top of the roof is flush with the level of the
ground and everything else is below level. For practically purposes, picture an
oasis in the desert, but dug into the ground.

In these modern times, the below ground design has some excellent energy
options. You can put solar panels across the top of the roof to generate power
and most people will be none the wiser. By being out of the wind, you also cut
down on wasted energy.

Going below ground with your atrium home is a pool of creative opportunity.
As long as you take care of drainage issues, the design parameters are pretty
much wide open.

When space is at a premium or privacy is vital, atrium homes are often the
answer. In a large city, an atrium design can help you create an oasis from the
noise and madness of daily life.