via designcrave.com

The designs are stunning. The lines are intriguing. The comments to the posting at DesignCrave are hilarious!

The American public is so accustomed to traditional and colonial designs that these fantastic contemporary home designs seem to create an immediate negative reaction. However, as one commenter at the site stated, contemporary home design provides the architect and designer with an opportunity to fully use the space and materials to their best purposes. I also think they look great.

Some people see this type of design as cold and sterile. However, it in no way has to be that way. Our home when we lived in Southern California was contemporary in style, but was quite warm and comfortable.  We thoroughly enjoyed the well designed layout.  Houses are smaller in California and, thus, have to be designed to be much more space efficient.  We used every bit of space in that house yet never felt cramped or in need of more room.  Our home now in Maryland is strikingly different – more like the anti-contemporary house.  It is a true colonial brick house, designed in the style that was, and continues to be, so popular in the 18th, 19th, 20th and early 21st centuries.  We enjoy the new house.  It is much bigger with a great basement, but the efficiency of the design is lacking and, given our California experience, seems glaringly so.

So, the next time you see that contemporary house, before your react to the strong lines and design, be sure to think fondly of the architect that designed it.  It likely has more thought and design strategy in it than the McMansions that we are so accustomed to seeing.