The staircase tower elevation is now really the only thing holding us up from full construction plans. I am not quite comfortable with the Tudor style elevation that I received on Friday. Everything else came together nicely, so I am hoping we can work out the peak details quickly and move on....
Geri has explained that this is not a dominant peak and it won't matter as much as I think in the grand scheme of things, but I really want to like every aspect of this house. I have been driving by houses and collecting pictures for so long, and I want to be doing things with our own house that I would notice and find appealing on any home.
I come back to three words.....timeless, subtle, and quaint. We would like every element of the house to evoke the spirit of these words.
I like so many examples of English and French Country details, it would seem like it should be easy to incorporate a few of them artfully into the stair tower. I really want to get this first phase right so that we establish a style precedent for the whole project.
I have drawn three elevations that I think would lend themselves to the overall design of our home, without stealing the stage in any way. I might be happy with any one of the designs below, but each one has several details that need to be properly executed, or it could end up looking less than authentic, or even forced.
Overall, I prefer when windows end up within the triangle of a peak space, but our stair window design does not allow for this, so I would like to try to incorporate the peak into the overall tower design as much as possible. I like that the roof is now curved, but I would also like it to sit as low as possible so that it seems to almost act as an awning for the windows on the side.
Design A.
I gave this one to Geri a few weeks ago, and I still think it may be the simplest way to achieve what I want. The pagoda style window awning can sit up a little higher than the imaginary transverse peak line, and can be supported by brackets. Many of the homes in Woodlea Mill have this feature. (photo below)
Woodlea Mill home detail
Copper Summit Inc. makes these awnings
Design B
This my attempt to soften the current design. It keeps the panel look going all the way to the peak, but uses a few softer arches for the trim boards within the peak. It could also have a slight depth change, with the highest portion projecting just a bit farther.
Another trim board alternative...
Design C
This design gives me a little of the hip roof I wanted. It is also Larry's least favorite, but it makes use of a half hip roof, commonly seen in French Country homes. It reduces the appearance of height, which is also something I like, and it gives us an opportunity to do a minimal soft curved, somewhat Tudor looking, detail pattern around the rounded vent. I think this one would blend with both the current house, and the grand plan.
Older supporting photos......
This is a quick tracing of the 3-D elevation, but with some modifications.
I changed the new stair tower detail and added the 3-car garage.
Spring Hill Farm house inspiration.
This photo shows how the roof could be supported by brackets, rather than by the top of the box bay window, as it is in the Spring Hill Farm house.
I have also been on the fence about the gable dormer over the garage, so I tried a shed dormer. I think it might look more balanced with the extra mass of the 3-car garage.
Windows and doors have not really been addressed yet, but most are close to what I want.
I made additional adjustments so that our house looks more like the Jack Arnold house (Below). I removed the trim arches over the windows, since they will be inset deeper in the stucco, and adjusted the roof overhangs back. There is also a slight curve to the tail of the gable roof lines, shown on both the Jack Arnold house and the Spring Hill Farm house. If we are going to replace our roof, I want that curve in the new one.
Spring Hill Farm house at the end of the court. They actually did wood windows and wood stained trim. It looks great in person. I like a lot of the trim details he did on this house. I would probably still do Clad windows, but this is the look I would want.
One of the original drawings I gave for exterior inspiration.
