While we were there… restoring the Strasburg stone home… we thought we ought to go ahead and build a sweet little stone cottage. It now serves as a guest house and studio for the homeowners… pretty cute, huh?
Found in this new structure is five key ingredients to excellent design and construction. When combined a home can be created that is striking in appearance to all who gaze upon it.
First it’s small. Now houses don’t need to be small to be attractive, and it is possible to have an ugly small home… but the odds are in your favor that if you build small, that the structure will be attractive. Large homes can be attractive too, but one must avoid the flaws so prevalent in the dreaded McMansion.
The second feature found in this home is the simple, elegant, and historical lines… nothing here for show, no doo-dads, fake gables, or plastic columns. Simplicity at it’s best.
Third, is the quality stone work… lot’s of stone… and not some kind of stick-on random pattern stone work. Here we have the best stone available for this location, laid by skilled masons. Brick can be nice too… if well done.
Fourth… install a quality roof. This one is copper. The eye and the mind, can’t help but notice the added richness, if the house is worthy of possessing a precious metal for it’s roof, then it must be precious. Like fine jewelry on a woman.
And finally use antique wood on the interior. An antique is always worth more than something newly manufactured. It’s warmer, worn from use, and of a higher quality than can be found anywhere else.
Originally posted 2015-03-08 17:27:23.