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This home, as nice as it is, could have been so much better, at no additional cost, nor additional labor, with just a couple of minor design adjustments implemented.
Keep in mind that the combination of log and stone is one of the best mixes a homeowner can put together.
Here we have a nice vintage log cabin with a great original stone chimney… notice that the stones are laid flat and in a horizontal pattern, and that they have great texture and color.
Later on, the current homeowners have added this stone addition and used properly matching stone… which was a wise choice.
But, somehow the addition falls flat… it’s… “nice”, but not… “OMG!!!… that’s AMAZING!!!”
What happened?
Well, for one thing the newer stone work on this addition drifted away from being horizontally laid to more of a “random pattern”… as if it was laid with the aid of a giant shotgun.
But, the larger failing here is one of design (or lack thereof)… a lack of attention… to the roof pitch and an “eye-pleasing” use of windows.
The nearly flat roof that crowns this stone section gives this give it an “industrial… mobile home… modern” look.
And, with regard to windows… the simple addition of a little window on the chimney end, and larger one on the long side, would have dramatically improved the overall appearance.
So what’s the point in all my rambling here this morning?
Too much coffee you say? lol
It’s just that… If a person is going to build… if they are going to buy a nice piece of land… if they are going to use attractive materials… shouldn’t they arrange those materials in the most attractive way that they can?
And the secret to learning appealing design?
Simply look at every home, and every photo of a home, that you find attractive… study each home and try to figure out what it is about that particular home that makes it special (or not special).
Then do it again… and again… and again.
Or… hire someone who has done this process, over and over, for years, to design your home for you.
Certainly beauty is in the eye of the beholder… but I would be willing to wager that I could have spent 15 minutes with a pen and the back of an envelope and convinced this owner to make a few adjustments that would have blessed him for years to come.

Originally posted 2015-12-02 15:26:29.