Ivy Covered Houses

I love the look of a house covered, at least partially, in ivy. It's a look of permanence and solidity and a house covered in ivy seems as though it has always been there and always will be. There is a school of thought that says allowing ivy to grow on a house is an invitation for trouble, and lots of it. Certain types of ivy can invade mortar, pry loose siding, and become so invasive that they can literally eat a house. Others say that if that were the case, the centuries old University buildings and homes dotting Europe would have long ago been reduced to piles of rubble.

From what I have learned, that charming look of ivy growing over a house can be safely done if certain care is taken. Using a type of ivy that climbs using "suckers" (little suction cups that allow it to cling to a surface) is relatively safe, whereas ivy that climbs with tendrils (little roots that dig in and wrap around whatever they can) can quickly turn into a sort of cancer.

In any case, care must be taken, and pruning must be done. I would not recommend any type of ivy for a house clad in siding. The ivy can too easily get behind the clapboards and cause real problems--water intrusion, loosening of the cladding, etc. Masonry is a much safer material to train ivy up. But it should always be pruned away from window and door openings, and stopped before it gets to any wood cornice work, downspouts, or chimney flues, where it can easily work it's way into places it should not be and result in expensive damage.

English Ivy, for these reasons, is best avoided, but a Boston Ivy that is properly cared for, can give the house that charming appearance. So weigh the issue of ivy carefully before you plant it, most ivys propegate very easily and can be quite difficult to get rid of.

At any rate, here are some wonderful ivy covered houses to inspire:

Notice how the ivy has been kept away from the windows and shutters here.

The facade of this house in Savannah is nearly completely covered in ivy, and feels as if it has been there for centuries.

A gorgeous ivy-covered Georgian.

A classically detailed cottage with ivy covered walls--is that wysteria or bouganville climbing over the portico?

Ivy lends a feeling of permanence to this Tudor, and has been carefully pruned to stay on masonry walls.

The first floor of this Dutch Colonial is anchored to the site with climbing ivy.

The stone walls of this house are softened with ivy. Love how the oval windows "pop" in the greenery. (via The Enchanted Home)

So, what is your take? Is ivy worth the risk?

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Here's The Story

Last week I showed the floorplans and elevation of a large Georgian style house and hinted that I would be writing more about it. Well, I wish the story behind it were more engaging, I would love to tell you that we were about to break ground on our dream  house, or even that a wonderful client was planning to call it home, but the truth is much less exciting.

I imagine anyone who works in design can relate to what I am about to say, particularly those who, like me, work in relatively small towns. My work comes in waves of "sameness"...a particular style takes hold of the collective public conscience, or the architectural guidelines of a new neighborhood dictate a certain "look." My career has seen waves of "Craftsman-ish" houses, "European-ish" houses, and what I like to call "High Mountain" style houses. These might be sprinkled with some unusual variants here and there--an infill lot in an established neighborhood, a large scale renovation of an older  home, or just a client with a very unique vision, but at times I have found myself screaming for something to design other than a stone and stucco house with a walkout basement and heavy timber accents (in the upstate of South Carolina and Western North Carolina, where many of the custom  homes I've worked on are--this is the expected look and palette for so many of the newer homes in resort communities.)

And so, every year or so, I force myself out of the box and do something different. A couple of years ago, I grew fascinated with Tudor style homes (a style I have never had a custom commission to do), then with the beautifully detailed but smaller homes of the 1920's-1940's. These studies are my way of doing some self-directed continuing education, and sometimes make it to my portfolio of pre-designed houses.

I recently re-read the book "Get Your House Right", I am working with a client on the design of a classically detailed low-country style house, and he had recently finished that book, along with several others on Federal, Greek Revival, and Georgian design elements. I have always loved a classic "Five Over Four and a Door" type house--to me, a properly designed one never loses it's appeal, and there is just a definite sense of "home" from them. So that was the defining idea for this house. I did NOT set out to design a house this large. In fact, I decided that my partner and I would be the fictional client for these plans, and we decided that the layout of our current house suits us just fine, but our wish list would add a few things...a music room for a grand piano, "wouldn't it be nice if all the guest rooms had their own bath?", "I've always wanted a huge library with those rolling ladders.", and "I would love a dedicated home theatre in the basement.", and after seeing dual staircases in a house online, someone just had to have them.

So, 14,000 square feet later, there it is. A little something to stretch my design muscles, and a springboard for exploring various topics in design. (Check here for a growing list of topics that have spun off from this plan.)

•  Ivy Covered Houses
   

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A Small Bathroom Update

One of the first projects I designed out of school was an addition for a dear friend of mine. She had inherited a two-bedroom, one bath home that her grandparents had built in the 1970's. What had been a perfectly efficient home for retirees was way too small for a young family. We designed a new master suite and family room to expand the house, and those rooms served them well for eight or nine years, but it was time for an upgrade.

The original addition had been completed on a tight budget. Vinyl flooring, out-of-the box prefab shower, and inexpensive cabinetry kept the original bath costs low. But it was time for a major upgrade. The original shower was a neo-angle fiberglass affair that provided no elbow room. It was so tight, even the water was looking for an escape--a slow leak around the shower had caused some serious rot in the floor system.

The original bathroom was in need of an all-out update.

Expanding the footprint of the bathroom was out of the question for a number of reasons, so we had to work within the existing 7 foot by 8 foot footprint. The top of the homeowner's wish list was "the biggest shower you can give us."

The new floor plan called for a much larger custom built shower with half walls and glass. The existing fixture layout still seemed to make the most sense, and it helped the budget to leave everything in it's original location.



But the locations were all we kept. Here, you can see the exterior wall of the original house after the bathroom was demolished.

Drawing from other renovations they had completed, my friends wanted to see a lot of sparkle in the new bathroom. They had installed glass tiles in their other bathroom the year previous, and loved them. So generous use of glass tile was definitely part of the palette for the new master bath.

After. Gone is the claustrophobic angled shower. Replaced by a sumptous custom glass and tile one. High end finishes and fixtures are a 180 from the previous. The floors in both the shower and the main bathroom are an absolutely gorgeous natural green slate that perfectly compliments the glass tile accents.

The custom espresso stained vanity gives them more storage than the old unit. We struggled with what to do the countertops in. Every natural stone we tried seemed either too white or too yellow to work with the Kohler Memoirs sink. In the end, the glass countertop was the perfect solution. This picture shows a  hint of the slate floor.

A closer look at the glass countertop.

One more look. The nickel framed mirror and contemporary lighting are the perfect final touches.

As always, I am linking to the Metamorphosis Monday party at "Between Naps on the Porch"--they bring together the most amazing transformations on the web every week. Click over there to check out more. And be sure to join us on Facebook! 



A Little Something in the Works

Front Elevation

The Main Level Floor Plan

The Upper Level Floor Plan

And the Lower Level Floor Plan

I'll be writing more about this house, but for now just enjoy a little floor plan porn--14,000 square feet of it to be exact.

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Going Up

There may be no architectural element on the interior of a house more important than the staircase. It's often positioned such that it's the first thing guests see when they enter. Mothers daydream of their daughters sweeping down a dramatic stair on prom night. Family photos are staged along their risers. Even the most humble staircase is more than a means of traveling between floors. So here's a look at some of my favorites.

Love how the balusters connect on this stair.

Gorgeous limestone and iron stair (via The Enchanted Home)

I adore a classic black and white floor! Great ironwork here. (via The Enchanted Home)

Crisp paneling and a simple railing make a beautiful first impression. (via Traditional Home)

What is not to love about this space?

Dramatic stair by Norman Askins. Beautiful inlaid floor.

Another Norman Askins stair, love the detail along the stringer.

Stunning front door and paneling in this home by Gabriel Builders.

A "haint" blue ceiling and stunning skylight crown this stair.

The seagrass runner keeps these double stairs from feeling too formal.

Great double split stair provides interesting views through the house.

A flawless curving stair by Robert A. M. Stern

Another by Stern...does this one remind anyone else of Auntie Mame?

A sweeping stair, a rotunda, and black and white floors? I have died and gone up the Stairway to Heaven. (via Whitehaven)

So which is your favorite? Do you have any special stairway memories or traditions?

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Remaking the Ranch House

Over the years, I've had the opportunity to be involved in the renovation of a number of classic ranch houses. The ranch house enjoyed it's heyday from the late 1950's through the late 1970's. Today, they are often located in established neighborhoods, and are attractive for the convenience of one-level living. But that's often as far as their attractiveness goes. Small, outdated kitchens and baths are common, closet space is lacking, and time has often taken a toll on wooden trim, siding, and decks.

Most ranches were built at a time when formal living rooms and dining rooms were still expected, a master suite was little more than a larger bedroom, and while there were no rooms above to keep ceilings low, it's rare to see anything higher than the standard eight foot ceiling anywhere in a ranch. So over the next few weeks, I will be sharing several ranch house renovations I have worked on.

The first is a house I actually worked on twice. The first time, the house had recently been bought by a young professional. I helped him clear away acres of carpeting, 96 rolls of metallic 1980's wallpaper, and assisted in selecting the "staple" furnishings. A few years later, the homeowner was married with a young son, and a daughter on the way, and they contacted me again (shortly after I had joined the architecture firm of Design Elite) to discuss some additions. Their initial wish list was short--a better master suite and a family room they could see the pool from.

The house had already been added to over the years. The original garage had been converted to a family room, and the master suite had been expanded. But these original additions were poorly executed and were already dated. Like many projects, the wish list grew. With renovations, it's often like pulling a loose string on a sweater...before you know it, all you're left with is a pile of yarn. And that was certainly the case here. Let's take a look at the house prior to the renovations:

The house was a pleasant but dowdy ranch, with no particular style. The lady of the house wasn't far off of her description of the house as "a giant double-wide."

A close look a this wider shot shows the break in the roofing at right where one of the original additions was made.

The owners had put in a gorgeous salt water lagoon pool and extensive landscaping that our renovation would have to respect. The weathered screened porch was the only place they had to enjoy the backyard from...something our renovation would need to solve.

This view of the original kitchen was taken when the owner first bought the house. This was among the most attractive wallpaper in the house if you can imagine.

This is the original floor plan. Large rooms, but not enough of them for the growing family. A general lack of detail and poor connection to the outdoors needed to be addressed.

Because it was also time to replace the roof, and the original siding was deteriorating, the builder commented at one of our first meetings that he would be "plucking the house like a chicken." And he wasn't lying. The planned demolition was extensive enough, but discovered rot, termite damage, and water intrusion, meant there ended up being very little but the studs left of the original house.

After a year of planning and construction, the owners had the house they wanted:

A new front porch gave the house a sense of arrival. Stone foundation work and variety of materials and roof forms meant the "big double wide" look was long gone.

Out back, the new family room and master suite overlook the pool, and two porches (one is just out of the camera's view) allow the family to enjoy their backyard.

The kitchen was widened, raised, and opened to the new family room. Some of the most important space added in this renovation was the vertical space. The low ceilings of the original house are gone--replaced with coffers and vaults.

The new master suite has a multi-tiered tray ceiling, a wall of windows overlooking the back yard, and an alcove that featured a window seat, morning kitchen, and access to the study (the husband had requested easy access to his home office from the bedroom)

The new master bathroom features tons of built-ins, a huge shower, airjet tub, and a tray ceiling.

Throughout the house we added thickened cased openings, wainscoting, and deep crown moldings.

The "after" floor plan highlights the large master suite, a more conveniently located laundry room, and the expanded living space. The irregular footprint was dicated by the existing pool and a desire to preserve existing mature trees on the site.

To keep the hallways from seeming like a maze of narrow passages, we created a small rotunda with a high tray ceiling to act as a hub and to provide visual relief.

The additions added only 1200 square feet, but the house feels much larger owing to the higher ceilings and site lines that were created.

I'm linking to the Metamorphosis Monday party at Between Naps on the Porch! Click over there for more before and afters. And check back here for more ranch house redo's.

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Poolhouse Plans

I was recently hired to design a poolhouse structure as part of a family's backyard makeover, and posted some serious poolhouse eye-candy here on the blog a while back. Since then, I've noticed a lot of search engine traffic for people searching for poolhouse ideas and plans.

If you've got a pool, you already know why a poolhouse is a great idea. Providing swimmers with a bath and kitchenette outside means less wet feet trampling through the main house. I've seen some poolhouses that were little more than sheds for housing pool toys and chemicals, and some that were big enough for a family of six to live in full-time. This design lies somewhere in between.

The exterior is a combination of brick, stone and timber. The central open-air living space is framed with gorgeous timber truss work. An outdoor fireplace features an inlay of herringbone brick, and the entire structure is skirted with a stone foundation.

The plan shows a large central outdoor living space. A cathedral ceiling framed with timber makes this a dramatic addition to your home and provides shade for when the sun gets too hot. To one side, a small, fully equipped kitchen means poolside snacks are just a step away from the action. And a large bath and changing room is conveniently located. With built-ins for storage and a walk-in shower for cleaning up after a swim, this bath is a perfect pit stop for pool parties.

Interested in the plans for this poolhouse? Then please contact us at southgateresidential@gmail.com

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