The Allure of French
Country Home Designs
French country home designs from a modest stone dwelling to an elegant chateau have an attraction about them and make dramatic statements.
Architects having borrowed upon the French for ideas of beauty and design traditions, homes can be constructed with a mix of French details and their eye-catching features.
The architecture and character of French country home designs differ from one region to the next, and were influenced by the available resources of local building materials of brick, stone, or stucco.
Fine limestone quarried near lower Normandy is the most coveted stone for urban homes because of its simple elegance, along with sandstone and granite.
Decorative half-timbered building is indicative of French influence. A half-timbered building has vertical, horizontal, and diagonal strips of wood set in masonry.
Drawing from a variety of details some French country home designs are distinguished by their distinctive and very tall hipped roofs and dormer windows.
A hipped roof slopes down to the eaves (edge of a roof) on all four sides and a dormer window sits vertically on the sloping roof with a roof of its own.
Details of French Country Home Designs
- Heavy doors with over sized hinges and door knockers, with inscriptions or the family crest etched overhead.
- French doors, made with many small panes of glass, allowing the light in and often leading to balconies or patios with views of landscaped gardens and inviting courtyards with stone steps.
- Impressive arched doorways and tall multi pane casement windows, hinged at the side and opening in the center with functioning shutters.
- The French are masters at creating hand forged iron works so evident are wide curving staircases with exquisite wrought iron work, leading to rooms with distinctive crown molding and trim framing the windows.
The charming style known as French Normandy is distinguished by a round stone tower topped by a cone-shaped roof.
It was romanticized and created from the traditional French farmhouse in Normandy and the Loire Valley of France, where instead having a separate barn, farm silos were often attached to the main living quarters.
This tower is usually placed near the center, serving as the entrance to the home. The homes often resemble miniature castles with arched doorways and siding of stone, stucco, or brick, and many have decorative half timbering.
Unlike French Normandy houses, French Provincial homes do not have towers. These homes resemble small country manors with impressive hipped roofs and window shutters.
These brick or stucco homes are stately and formal and tend to be square and symmetrical.
Distinctive characteristics are the tall second story windows, often arched at the top, and that break through the cornice, adding to the sense of height and are especially prevalent on America’s French Provincial homes.
Return from French Country Home Designs to French Country
|
