New for November, is the Bahama Breeze house plan, which was inspired by the casual elegant resorts of the Caribbean. This European-style, two-story home was designed with lots of large windows and sliders to capture the outdoors. There’s plenty of curb appeal with its beautiful mahogany and gas lantern entrance, front porch and balcony featuring large decorative columns and double entry doors. The grand room is magnificent with its wood beamed ceiling and staircase. When it comes to entertaining you have a large kitchen with island and open dining space. There are plenty of outdoor living spaces with the enclosed veranda, front and rear porch and balconies.

As for pampering and privacy, the second floor master suite has a see-thru fireplace into the spa-like bath retreat with garden tub and walk-in shower. The ceiling is vaulted with beams and there’s a large 20 ft wide window seat. There’s a wet bar and private access to a home office.

Additional amenities include a wet bar, elevator, exercise room with morning kitchen, 2 laundry rooms, second floor media room, a veranda with retractable screens and much more.

Capture the elegance and pampering of the Caribbean with this new house plan.

The editorial staff of The House Designers has spent several months working with their architects, designers and builders to find out what green building products they would recommend to consumers looking to build their dream home. Here is our list of Top 10 Green Home Building Products for 2009 based on performance, innovation and design:

1. GE Hybrid Water Heater

The new GE® Hybrid Water Heater is the first water heater to be ENERGY STAR® rated and the first to be listed on the U.S. Department of Energy‘s website. This new energy efficient heat pump electric water heater can reduce energy expenses up to 62%, saving as much as $320 annually on energy bills.

2. ALNO Kitchen Cabinet

The ALNOCLASS kitchen cabinet collection lowers the carbon footprint, while delivering high style and cutting-edge technology. The door fronts are constructed of 100 percent sustainable oak from FSC-certified forests and its matte lacquer finish is free of VOCs. Those looking to spice it up a bit can add a mobile multifunctional niche unit that keeps your most important kitchen utensils within arm’s reach. The best part is that the glass cover, which is used to conceal the components when not in use, can be outfitted with your choice of colored LED light fittings.

3. Benjamin Moore’s Green Promise® products

Benjamin Moore continues to grow its portfolio of Green Promise® products, which includes Aura, high–performance low–VOC paint; Natura Zero-VOC interior paint, which is considered one of the greenest and safest paints available in the residential market. The Green Promise® designation is Benjamin Moore’s assurance that its environmentally friendly coatings meet and exceed the strictest industry standards, while also delivering the premium levels of performance and color you would expect from Benjamin Moore. But how did they get to be so green? The reason is the combination of both the base paint and the colorant. In addition to Aura and Natura, the Green Promise line also includes Aura Bath & Spa, Waterborne Ceiling Paint and ben.

4. Brizo faucets and showers

Brizo®, the luxury brand of Delta Faucet Company (DFC), brings eco-friendly elegance into the home with a line of products that are both environmentally responsible and aesthetically pleasing. Showcased at the 2009 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show, the new Brizo green platform includes a range of water-efficient products with luxurious and sustainable design. Many Brizo lavatory faucets, such as the Vesi® Channel and Vesi Curve design, flow at 1.5 gallons per minute (gpm) at 60 pounds per square inch (psi), saving approximately 30% of water. In the kitchen you’ll find many product lines featuring its new SmartTouch technology, which allows the user to turn the water on and off with just a tap anywhere on the spout or handle. The faucet’s hands-free functionality allows users to easily wash hands, dishes or food without ever touching the faucet. With this new technology, homeowners are able to conserve water and energy by activating water only when needed, saving an average of 0.3 gallons of water per minute.

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I’m always look forward to receiving my Dream Designs each week, because I have yet to find the best house design. I am of the mindset that with all the house plan companies online, there is no reason I should have to incur the added expense of hiring my own architect and worrying that the builder doesn’t run into lots of problems building this brand new, never-been-built house. I find it kind of funny that this week’s issue with a Halloween theme featured my dream home. The Siena was so unique looking that it immediately drew my attention. I knew I wanted a stone exterior with lots of different textures and earth tones, but this was such a treat with its cedar beams and accents, which give it a very warm, rustic appeal.

I love to cook and this kitchen design has everything I could ever ask for, including a gorgeous kitchen island and large walk-in pantry to store all by cooking supplies – and let me say I like to be very well stocked when it comes to food. The dining room was large enough for me to host holiday dinners. My current house doesn’t have a dining room so I actually have to rent a table for my kitchen area to fit the whole family.

It was so nice to actually be able to see photographs of the interior of this home. I couldn’t call my husband fast enough to tell him I was ordering this house plan.

The rustic feel of this cook's kitchen has great appeal.

I was delighted to see your article “What Women Want in Home Designs.” We will soon be calling on an architect to help us plan our home and the ideas you mentioned in the article agree with what I’ve been telling my husband. In addition to those mentioned, we will also have drawers in the kitchen as opposed to lower cabinets. They’re much easier to get to the back without having to stand on one’s head! In Texas we must store things in the house because the heat in the attic or garage breaks down plastics, papers and other materials. The house we build will have a large utility room with a lot of storage as well as washer and dryer, utility sink and long counter for crafts, sorting recyclables and folding clothes.

I hadn’t thought about the space to set groceries near the pantry, but I know the driveway or garage where I unload my car will be closer to the kitchen than it is now!

Thanks again for your articles and inspiring collection of house plans.