Lucia's little-house plans

Contractors keep building center hall colonials because people keep buying them. It’s too harsh to call them the junk food of residential architecture; they are more akin to the Ford Taurus or the Toyota Corolla—ubiquitous and indistinguishable. In today’s transient and uncertain times, I understand why these houses continue to sell. It’s because people feel safe in them, knowing that if they have to sell and move, there will be another family waiting to buy and move in.

It’s too bad that more people don’t opt to build and live in houses with more charm and character. The houses designed by Maine architect Robert Knight are not whacky one offs with minimal appeal. On the contrary, his buildings would fit right in in most parts of the country. Especially appealing are the smaller structures he’s designed and collected as Lucia’s Little Houses, 20 different homes that are all between 700-2400 square feet, with most in the 1500 square feet range. Knight sells plans for the houses for $725 each. And if you bought a set of plans, built the house, and then, heaven forbid, had to sell and move, I feel certain that there’d be another family wanting to buy and move in.