While I like open layouts, I have found that I love the traditional feel of doors and spaces. I like the chance to slip away to another space, the ability to close off a room, or have a more intimate feel in a moment’s notice. The blue house we looked at was very traditional in layout, with every space having 4 walls. But the ceilings were high, the light was bright, and the flow was excellent – it didn’t feel broken up to me. My only complaint was the kitchen’s separation from any sort of living space. I do like that openness for casual entertaining. So when we began thinking about building I sketched up this layout.
Ok, clearly I didn’t do the above (our wonderful architect did). Mine was an unproportionate version, lacking any details. (We’re still working on those details, but getting there!) But I knew I wanted the front of our house to feel formal, and the back to be a bit more relaxed. I liked the idea of there being space for a big table in the kitchen/living area, with the flexibility to move that table into the “dining area” when the kids get older. With 10′ ceilings and lots of windows, every room will feel “open” without necessarily being so.
I’ve spent countless hours scouring the internet for inspiration of all sorts for this home, and you get to a point where you feel like you’ve seen everything. A few weeks ago I decided to take a break from the computer screen and head to the bookstore for some fresh ideas. While there, I picked up a book that did not really interest me by it’s cover, but the pages inside exclaimed everything I had been searching for in terms of how to approach building a traditional home today.
It happened to include the inside of the exterior I’ve been most inspired by! I love when that kind of thing happens. And this home is for sale, if you have a $10 million dollar budget.
I feel very strongly about keeping most of the bones of the house in line with the colonial style, and Gil Schafer has done such an incredible job of doing just that. He highlights 4 homes in this book, and it is rather hard to tell which ones are new builds and which are renovations.
While I am excited at the chance to start from scratch and make this home what we want, I also long for it to have a soul…to feel old.
We are still working to finalize the plans and hope to have them complete in the next few weeks. In the meantime, I’m already scouring the internet and thrift/antique stores for elements that can help make this house feel like it’s been there as long as the other homes in the neighborhood. Yesterday I sealed the deal on something wonderful for the entry, and I hope to share it with you in a few weeks.
Do you prefer defined spaces or open layouts? Cozy or grand? Comfortably casual or formally traditional?
N says
"The Great American House" is one of my all-time favorite home/architecture books, and it is amazing. My all-time favorite, however, is "Creating a New Old House." It is truly unbelievable how old the new houses in it feel. I hope you like it as much as I do!
http://www.amazon.com/Creating-New-Old-House-Yesterdays/dp/1561587923
themakerista@gmail.com says
I can't thank you enough for sharing! Looks wonderful.
Rebecca - Hello Creative Blog says
Building a house would be so much fun…but I agree, it needs soul!
Jennifer@The Chronicles of Home says
I kind of like a mix of everything you mentioned at the end! I like rooms but also like some sight connection between the rooms so they feel sort of open to each other. Good luck – such fun!
This Design Journal says
wow, your approach is both inspiring and refreshing.Especially so, since the internet it so full of Scandinavian,mid century and modern designs. I have loved your blog from day 1,I found it.Only sad part is the long waiting game to see this venture getting fulfilled.Anyways, keep going and the posts coming.
themakerista@gmail.com says
That's so sweet of you, Anima! It's certain to be a waiting game and I'll do my best to document along the way. Best of luck with your new adventure too! I see you just started blogging, congrats!
This Design Journal says
Thanks Gwen.Please do visit and your opinions and suggestions would be invaluable to me.
Catherine Hansen Peart says
Oh, I love that book. I recently got it from the library and pored over it for a good long while. Now I am really excited to check out that other book mentioned in the comments! I like exactly what you said. A mix of formal/casual, open/closed. I am kind of over total open plan everything. This is going to be such a fun journey following you along!
Rachel Rardon says
Love the direction, Gwen. I really appreciate your sentiments about preferring a home with a few walls, there's something exceptionally inviting & cozy about having proper space to entertain, as well as rooms to retreat. I've said it before, but I'll say it again – it is such a joy to follow along on your building process, thank you so much for sharing!
themakerista@gmail.com says
You're so sweet, thanks Rachel! I appreciate you following along and thanks for being here to listen. I love doing this, but the interaction with those who read is what's really priceless. Have a wonderful weekend!
Gwen
Kristin@bliss-athome.com says
I love it. That's my biggest beef with all these new homes going up…they lack charm and soul. I love that they are new, but they all start to look the same. The direction you are going is so wonderful. You are soooo lucky you get to design it the way you want it 🙂 Not many of us get to do that. xoxo
jan Partist says
I thought everyone now a days had to have an open floor plan, it's so refreshing to hear from someone who likes walls and doors! I agree that the kitchen should be open to a living area-mine isn't and I wish it was. But, we are older and it is so nice to have people over for a nice dinner and not see the mess in the kitchen and be able to sit and have drinks in a setting that is "grown up" and not full of dog hair and drool. We are casual/traditional/cozy type of people though there is a feel of formalishness to our sitting area all are welcome to put their feet up on the coffee table!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Jan, thanks so much for this. It made my evening! I totally agree that I want places to feel formal, but I want people to also feel comfortable in them. I don't want them to say "don't touch anything"…I just want them to feel grand and have character. Thanks for following along and I hope you have a lovely weekend!
heather gilmour says
I like so much how you are planing to organize the rooms according to the architecture sketch. It's very nice to have covered veranda.
Domestic cleaning Putney
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks so much, Heather! I am looking forward to spending time out there.
jan Partist says
Daughter and I both follow and guess what we are in KC area! You too have a wonderful weekend!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Oh, fun Jan!
thehorseenabler says
We heart mouldings hard core chez nous. We live in an HOA (our first and absolute last time, but the schools are wonderful as are the parks, so live and learn), in a cookie cutter big house built in 1997. When we purchased it in 2007 we knew, we knew, we had to make it ours while understanding there were a limited number of directions in which we could take the house (ultra-modern wouldn't suffice, for example). Every surface touched, from having the entire house smooth-coated (had been that icky knock-down texture) and mouldings and casework installed, etc. In all fairness, we are only just finishing up our master bedroom now as I ran out of steam and that old monkey on my back, MONEY, back in 2008 when we did the rest of the house. What I would've given for something like Pinterest to have existed back then to further tease my eye (+ pocketbook) … but it didn't, and I think we did pretty well. I can see your post is from last summer, so you're probably well underway, but in our next house (which will probably be my mausoleum — bwa ha ha) there will be storage built into storage. Never enough closets! And coat / backpack / shoe storage next to the garage door — why would these silly builders build large family houses in the Rocky Mountains without a dedicated mudroom? I get the traditional thing, even though I'm decidedly untrad, I get and respect it, and exercised it in spades in this house which leans that way as well. Very excited for you. Very!