Ashley Mason's ideas
Symmetry gives stature and importance. From the hipped roof and chimneys to the dormers and window placement, everything about this design makes us focus on the middle, or center line. By drawing our eye to the center and then up to the Palladian window, the front of this house appears prominent, elegant and, yes, static.
The sitting room is the main living area for the family. There’s a TV in here, too, so it’s a great place for the family to relax on the weekends. It’s elegant but not too precious, meaning the younger children can spend time in here without worry. Sims Hildith’s in-house upholsterers and cabinetmakers made all the furniture except the brown sofa. The architects, in collaboration with Sims Hilditch, installed all the paneling and bookshelves. A dated fireplace was replaced with a brand-new one to give the room a sophisticated feel. Ottoman: custom made with Huntingtower fabric in Grape, Abraham Moon & Sons; brown chesterfield sofa: Flamant; pillow fabric: Auricula, Jean Monro; curtain fabric: Zoffany; bronze Moorish figure lamp: Besselink & Jones; wall paint: Shaded White, Farrow & Ball; paneling paint: Light Gray, Farrow & Ball; fireplace surround: Chesney’s
When the Goffs purchased the house, the woodwork, ceilings and walls were dark colored. “It was all a bit funerary,” Gale says. “With the deep porch, there is really no direct sunlight on the first floor.”Choosing to paint the cherrywood was a difficult decision, but Gale says she doesn’t regret it. “I wanted a lighter home,” she says. “Once we started painting the woodwork white, we started seeing details you couldn’t see in the shadows.”She left the stair rail the natural color of the cherrywood, and feels its details stand out better against a white backdrop.The bronze radiator screen (it looks like an elaborately carved wooden chest to the right of the stairs) was also left untouched. “This was one of the first houses to be heated by radiator. The system is nearly 130 years old, but it works like a charm,” Gale says.She worked on the interiors with her daughter, interior designer Kirby Goff. The color scheme was taken from the trio of stained glass windows found in the entry.
This is the back entry; the built-ins and wallpaper were existing. Tip: Consider concealed storage in a mudroom or entry area. “It’s really nice to have closed storage in this type of room,” Duffy says. “All of the organization is hidden, and it looks much cleaner.” The one touch she did bring in was a beautiful light fixture from the beach house. It is wrought iron with hand-painted porcelain flowers.
Photos by Laura MossHouzz at a GlanceWho lives here: A married couple and their 2 teenagersLocation: Northern New JerseySize: 6 bedrooms, 4½ bathroomsThe home has beautiful colonial revival architecture. “The former homeowner had impeccable taste,” Duffy says. “There wasn’t one wallpaper we got rid of.” While they kept the wallpapers, she created custom glazed, textured walls in some of the rooms. The key was to give a lot of the existing pieces a makeover to fit in here, and accentuate them with new pieces to round out the design.
Symmetry. Georgian homes are generally between one and three stories high, often two rooms deep and symmetrical both inside and out. The classical orders — the proportions used in ancient architecture — were adhered to in the construction of both mansions and terraced homes, although with terraced and semidetached townhouses, allowances were made for having the front door off-center to allow a decent-size room to fit beside the hall. Windows are rectangular, and country homes have chimneys on both sides with a front door in the center. Georgian homes typically do not have porches.
History at a GlanceWhat: Georgian architectureWhen: 1720 to 1830Characteristics: Understated elegance, simplicity and symmetryProfessional advice from:Hugo Tugman, Architect Your Home - Interior Your Home Michael Parinchy, Probuild360
After: With custom cabinetry, interior designer Nicholas Kaess was able to carve space not only for a storage area but also for a makeup table. He replaced the bathtub with a combined tub-shower, freeing up room where the shower stall had been for a stackable washer-dryer. “Having laundry in the apartment added a lot to its value,” he says.
Overhead clothesline. This laundry room in Stockholm, Sweden, contains a feature that is very practical for winter weather: clotheslines placed overhead to enable several rows of clothing to air-dry. This overhead line setup is common in Sweden and Switzerland. Clotheslines typically hang down from the ceiling low enough so you can reach the line and attach clothespins to secure laundry. Alternatively, you can place items on the lines using hangers, as this image shows. The radiator on the left, under the window, can blast some heat to help clothes dry faster. Some homes even have fans mounted to help the air circulate.Find a variety of clothesline typesFreeze-Dried Clothes? Houzzers Share Their Winter Laundry Tales
The porch ceiling is a color known as Haint Blue, another nod to the region; lore has it that it keeps the bugs or the restless spirits away. Learn more about blue porch ceilings
Nothing conjures up relaxation quite as well as the Southern porch. Make the most of yours with classic shutters in a dark hue, lantern-style fixtures and easygoing porch furniture.
A unique blend of elegance and down-home practicality, Southern plantation-style homes exude charm and grace. Key features might include columns, wide porches (single or double), shutters and — if you are lucky — mature trees dotting a vast lawn.
Try mixing and matching some colorful chairs.
A dining table. Enjoying a meal outdoors is one of the best ways to use a porch. Even if your porch is very small, a petite café table for two will do.Porch lovers, tell us: Have I missed any aspects of porch life you'd like to read about in this series? Let me know in the Comments section! More: Wraparound Porches | Sleeping Porches | Screened-In Porches | Modern Porches | Banishing the Bugs | Dining on the Porch | Color on the Porch | Small Porches
Dining area. Clearly, there's not room for a huge dining set, the kind of teak collection with armchairs so heavy that they're hard to move. But that's actually why I love this space. The green wall is a privacy buffer, but it is also the backdrop to the bench for two that's situated to look into the space. Combine the bench with a café table and two bistro chairs, add some pillows and table linens — and it's an instant gathering place for four friends to enjoy an al fresco meal.The crushed rock is a versatile solution, doubling as both flooring and path material. It's also simple to rearrange this seating, move the pots around and bring in a few stools to accommodate a larger party.
Haint Blue ceilings. The blue ceiling is a bit of a rural myth; the thought behind it was that bugs would get confused and think the porch ceiling was the sky. It was also said to ward off ghosts, and Sherwin-Williams' Haint Blue paint is named after the ghosts of the Afro-Caribbean legends. Whether it works or not, it's a charming antique touch to add to your porch and an interesting conversation starter.It's kind of funny how viral this blue ceiling story is. After my friend Suzannah explained to me why her porch ceiling was blue, I had mine painted blue. Then my brother saw it and had his painted blue, and the whole thing went full circle a few years later when the painter came back for other work and told me the story of blue ceilings. I had to remind him that I was the one who originally told him the story, and he said he'd painted dozens of ceilings blue after repeating the story to his clients. It's an irresistible design move.
Most of double-stacked porches include a distinctive detail you'll have to look up to see. "Another traditional Lowcountry detail is the haint blue ceiling, which has a rich history here and is still found on the majority of porches," says Jeff Thomas of WaterMark Coastal Homes.
"They were one room wide to maximize the flow of air and to increase the amount of light to cut down on mold and mildew," says Frederick.Other distinctive Lowcountry architectural styles include the Charleston- style house with the narrow end facing the street and the porch on the south, and the Beaufort-style T-shaped house: one room thick, with a porch wrapping three sides.
One distinctive Lowcountry design move that never goes out of style is a raised first floor. "The first floors were raised off the ground to keep out the floodwaters and to allow breezes to circulate under the house," explains Frederick.
I like this... with gravel or moss.
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