house & garden details
EVERY STYLE HAS ITS OWN vocabulary. A house made up of related components speaks eloquently. Because proportion is consistent and design antecedents are common or related, the house tells a coherent story. Taking a hodge-podge approach to the selection of architectural elements, on the other hand, will produce cacophony (or, at least, incoherent mumbling). This is as true of new houses as old ones.
Decorating and furnishing are ephemeral and may be personal, eclectic, or mixed. But key elements—the entry door, porch parts, fireplaces, window trim throughout—are part of the architecture, and these would be difficult or expensive to replace in the future Such major elements should speak a common language.
Where do you begin? Look at existing elements, interior and exterior, for clues to style. Sometimes there is more than one theme; for example, a predominantly Arts & Crafts house may have Colonial Revival woodwork in the dining room. Honor the original intention, but pick one dominant theme in any additions (or replacements) of major elements. What you add will look as though “it’s always been there.” The pages that follow offer a sampling of permanent fixtures that are key to style and appropriateness. Find included, too, elements for landscape and garden that round out the impression.
1. ARCH ANGLE WINDOWS archangleohio.com
Manufacturer of
