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This
is the exterior of a large and gracious house in a western suburb on a
beautiful corner lot. The owners felt that both the exterior and the
interior could use some attention. On the outside, the home's color
scheme was a little drab, and did not really reflect the character of the
architecture - Arts & Crafts with a faint Italianate feeling.
On the right is the exterior after a fresh color scheme and some additional
landscaping
was added. The porch columns and terrace walls were stripped to reveal
the original glazed bricks, and the garden wall was painted to harmonize
with the soft, warm white color of the bricks. The trim and window
casements were painted the same greenish-gray color, something like the pietra
serena found in Florentine Renaissance architecture, which served
to simplify and unify the elements on the facade. Below ae some
pictures of the interior. |
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| On the
left is the view of the entry hall before. My client had made a good
start with the use of William Morris's Golden Lily wallpaper, but the
space, a large and central one, lacked the essential feeling of welcome
that all entries should have. The table in the center, an obvious
choice, actually served to hinder the flow among the other rooms, and
created a visual barrier that subconsciously said "stop."
The picture on the right is the way the room looks now. On the
original plans, we discovered that there was a fireplace intended for the
corner where the big pier mirror was. When we looked behind the
mirror, we discovered that the masonry was there, but it had never been
opened. I used all the original woodwork from the mirror to create a
mantle and fireplace surround, and we installed a ventless box. Two
wing chairs, a nice table and a pretty lamp create a wonderful spot to sit
during a party. The feeling now is definitely one of warmth and
welcome. |
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| The photo on the left shows a
room that my clients had not really used to full advantage. One of
the problems, as you can see through the windows, was that the house next
door was very close. No one liked being in the room because it felt
so exposed. I suggested a billiard room, which you can see on the
right. We added a picture rail, used a Morris paper below, and added
sconces and a ceiling fixture that was more in keeping with the large
scale of the room. To solve the next-door-neighbor problem, we had
some leaded glass panels made, based on those at Morris's Red House, and
mounted them directly to the existing Pella frames. They look so
natural and authentic, it is hard now to believe that they weren't always
there. Click here
for a better view. |
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| These are some views of the
sunroom off the billiard room. On the left is how it looked
before. Despite the wonderful natural light, the room felt cold, and
the style was decidedly Country French, which did not go with the
architecture of the house at all. The walls and trim were painted stark white (my least favorite
color), and the lamps were too small to do much to warm things up.
The picture in the middle shows the same view afterwards. I painted
the walls and the brick piers the same color as the exterior stucco, and
the trim the same wonderful green as the trim outside. A wicker
loveseat and matching sofa, along with a generously-sized ottoman, are
covered in Morris fabrics. The wooden slat blinds are the wide ones,
just like in the period. After we installed this room, the husband
called a few days later to tell me how much he enjoys this space now,
which before he never entered. I like it so much I put another photo
of it on the far right. |
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| On the left is a view of one end
of the living room before. While there is a nice, original fireplace
and mantle, the space feels curiously unfinished, and lacking any
anchoring weight. The flanking loveseats are the right idea, but the
white slipcovers are too stark. The photo on the right shows my
solution - built-in bookcases that also cover the radiators now complete
the picture, and give a feeling of solidity and purpose to the area.
A custom pair of Lutyens-inspired chairs replace the sofas in the proper
scale. I changed the wall color just slightly to a warmer, happier
shade of tan. |
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| On the left is the other end of
the living room before. Again, the idea is a good one, and the
furniture layout is logical and functional. I tend to leave existing
furniture layouts the same, unless there is something terribly wrong or
non-functional about them. In this case, they were the right kinds
of pieces, just the wrong details. We got a pair of sofas on
sale at Macy's, and built the rest of the pieces around them. The table
in the corner is an MFDA exclusive copy of a design by CFA Voysey, one
of my favorite Arts & Crafts architects. The brass
lamp continues this feeling. The white woodwork was stripped and
stained, revealing quartersawn white oak surrounds. The plaid wing
chairs ended up recovered in the entry hall above. The family used
this space a lot, so it had to be comfortable and functional. I am
happy to report that they still do. |
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