The Comfortable Cape was created to show that traditional design appeal and modern, energy efficient home construction can go hand in hand.

This 2112 square foot, three bedroom house has the looks and all of the comforts that you'd expect in an old New England or coastal colonial era home or turn-of-the century shingle style cottage. But it also has the advantage of high tech windows, super insulation, window shading and an efficient air handling system for maximum energy savings. The illustration above shows a cedar-shingled coastal cottage, but the Comfortable Cape can be clad in any of a variety of different sidings to change the look.

Country Home Plans, Prefabs and Building Kits  Find do-it-yourself building plans as well as professional blueprints for beautiful homes by top North American designers. You'll learn how to have a timeless timber-frame barn home crafted for you, where to find log homes or how to get an energy efficient small home shipped right to your country acres or vacation property as an easy-to-assemble prefab building kit.

Do It Yourself Plans for Free Solar and Wind Power  Here's an inexpensive way for do-it-yourselfers to start saving on home energy costs. Earth 4 Energy is a downloadable guide that shows you how to build your own solar panels and your own backyard wind turbine for as little as $200 each.

Design Your Own Home andS Landscape  Plan3D is an online service that helps you create a home (or garage, shed, and room extension), landscape it and lay out furniture.  Everything is online and inexpensive, so you can get started today.