Style of the House
If I have to give it a description, I'd say the house I've designed is a European Country House.
The style is of European origin--but not strictly English, French or otherwise. To me European means old-world--when nothing was as defined, stylized or rigidly adhered to. I'm having stone walls with more mortar than usual, hoping to achieve the look of a time when uniformity and precision were not the goal. The outside walls are 18" deep, to create deep sills on the inside and outside. The driveway will be gravel. And I'll let vines climb some walls with abandon.
The labels so commonly used today--cottage, farmhouse, bungalow, estate, etc.--are too quaint, specific or formal to describe my house. And as much as I'd like to find a name that evokes automatic charm, I feel like labeling it with a suggestion of lifestyle, has a pretense I'd like to avoid. So it's just a house in the country--could be the European countryside, or the Oregon countryside.
The main features that give my house its distinguishing character are what I call greenhouse rooms and ceilings. You'll enter the front of the house through a greenhouse porch. (My vision: that perhaps it was added onto an old home.) You'll walk in, shed wet coats and umbrellas, and approach the actual front door. This porch will also be a cozy place to read a book and sip hot chocolate, with snow carpeting the landscape. This design is repeated in a functioning greenhouse on the property.
Many years ago I toured a house with what I call a breezeway. It was a long hallway flanked by the house and the garage--with a glass ceiling and glass doorways at each end--that could be left open in warm weather (hence, breezeway). We've altered this plan a little, because we moved the garage to take advantage of a southern view. But my breezeway will have the same function. I think of it as a large mudroom--a good place for dogs to access the house--with a glass ceiling, and a brick floor.
And finally, knowing that an outside patio in Oregon is unusable for several months, and that those same months can be rather gray, I decided to cover my patio with a glass ceiling. The ceiling is raised on posts above the sides of the patio, so there will still be a breeze and fresh air. But, with a warm blanket, the outdoor fireplace will be usable all year.
We designed and incorporated these greenhouse features into our plans, but the structures are being made by an East Coast company. They'll fly out to do the installation toward the end of the construction period.
Classifications aside, I don't expect an instant patina that can only come with age. My objective and hope is that my new house doesn't look newly built.
The labels so commonly used today--cottage, farmhouse, bungalow, estate, etc.--are too quaint, specific or formal to describe my house. And as much as I'd like to find a name that evokes automatic charm, I feel like labeling it with a suggestion of lifestyle, has a pretense I'd like to avoid. So it's just a house in the country--could be the European countryside, or the Oregon countryside.
The main features that give my house its distinguishing character are what I call greenhouse rooms and ceilings. You'll enter the front of the house through a greenhouse porch. (My vision: that perhaps it was added onto an old home.) You'll walk in, shed wet coats and umbrellas, and approach the actual front door. This porch will also be a cozy place to read a book and sip hot chocolate, with snow carpeting the landscape. This design is repeated in a functioning greenhouse on the property.
Many years ago I toured a house with what I call a breezeway. It was a long hallway flanked by the house and the garage--with a glass ceiling and glass doorways at each end--that could be left open in warm weather (hence, breezeway). We've altered this plan a little, because we moved the garage to take advantage of a southern view. But my breezeway will have the same function. I think of it as a large mudroom--a good place for dogs to access the house--with a glass ceiling, and a brick floor.
And finally, knowing that an outside patio in Oregon is unusable for several months, and that those same months can be rather gray, I decided to cover my patio with a glass ceiling. The ceiling is raised on posts above the sides of the patio, so there will still be a breeze and fresh air. But, with a warm blanket, the outdoor fireplace will be usable all year.
We designed and incorporated these greenhouse features into our plans, but the structures are being made by an East Coast company. They'll fly out to do the installation toward the end of the construction period.
Classifications aside, I don't expect an instant patina that can only come with age. My objective and hope is that my new house doesn't look newly built.
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