The Red House is one of the first two Seaside Cottages. It was originally designated as the sales office at the beginning of the construction of Seaside.
The house is based on prototypes from northwest Florida of which the architect, Robert Davis, had sketches and photographs. The design highlights the pitch and form of the roof which is gabled in the center with a surrounding hip roof covering the porch. The porch faces south to capture the prevailing south-southeast breezes and contributes to the passive solar design of the house by shading it in the summer when the sun is high and allowing the window glass to collect heat in the winter when the sun is low.
The initial concept promoted a large interior living space wrapped by a porch, and over time the porch was filled in as small spaces were enclosed. As gas stoves gained popularity over wood stoves, the kitchen was moved inside, and the same was true of plumbing to accommodate a flush toilet and septic tank. A small bedroom was partitioned off, and the porch is still used to accommodate guests. When originally built, a return air grill at the top of the ceiling allowed for fans to carry the warm air from the central space to the periphery to heat the partitioned spaces.
