Orlando Homebuyer's 2007 Home Design Challenge

Well, sort of. Actually, Orlando Homebuyer invented the family, who we’ll unimaginatively call the Smiths. But the lot—a 99-foot-wide-by-121-foot deep site boasting four huge oak trees—is real, and located at 1776 Via Palermo.

Basically, the combination of a fictional family and an actual homesite were the main ingredients of our 2007 Home Design Challenge. We contacted some of the region’s most accomplished architects and building designers and gave them free reign to come up with an ideal home for this site, and for this family.

Mr. Smith, we decided, is an amateur handyman who’d like a workshop. Mrs. Smith is a crafter and both are into personal fitness and entertaining friends. And Mrs. Smith has elderly parents who visit frequently and might well need to move in permanently once the teenager is away at college.

As for the home, we said that any style goes. The only criteria would be that the structure would have to meet City of Winter Park requirements related to setbacks, maximum size allowable for the lot (about 5,200 square feet) and tree preservation.

But beyond that, we said, be creative and have fun with the concept. And the talented participants did just that, dreaming up an array of approaches to meet the Smith’s needs and the city’s requirements.

(In fact, there is a home actually being built on the lot by Holloway Custom Homes.That plan, by Origins Residential Design, is also included.)

On the following pages, then, are the creations submitted by these residential artists, including elevations and floorplans. What’s our favorite? Hard to say. Each had its unique charm—but we’d like to know what you think.