The Exterior of The 2009 Southern Accents Showhouse

Although you may have seen the pictures on-line, I wanted to write a post about the 2009 Southern Accents Showhouse we finished in August of last year.  I have to say that I cannot be more proud of it.  From the exterior to every single detail, this house is a true showhouse.  However, in today's market of over the top showhouses, our's quite different.  You will not find a multi-tiered theatre room or a pool with waterfalls.  This house is a statement of how to design and build a new old house.

Larry Boerder, the architect, did an incredible job of designing the house in a Cotswold style that would sit beautifully in the English countryside.  The house is set on 2/3 of an acre and was designed to appear as if it had been added on to over the years with two wings off the main portion of the house.   The  hand-chiseled stone is as close as we could find to a Cotswold stone and is beautiful.

The back of the house is every bit as beautiful as the front.  With a large loggia (we did put a flat screen on above the fireplace), classical pool (we did do some simple fountains), over the top landscaping and an outdoor kitchen built completely out of oak beams, the backyard  and back of the house are magnificent.

If you've read my blog very long you know that I usually design most of the homes we build.  This one was a little different but I made sure I designed some part of it -- the outdoor kitchen area above (and many of the details inside).  Although the design is similar to one I had seen before, I incorporated the beam and bracket details Larry designed for the house.  We planted Merlot Wysteria on the corners of the outdoor kitchen to eventually cover the entire roof. 

The sidewalk and driveway are cobblestone pavers that fit the house perfectly.  Notice the large overhang and brackets over the garage.  This is actually one of my favorite architectural details of the exterior.


My next post will be on the interior.  Joseph Minton and his staff did an incredible job of making sure the exterior and interior blend perfectly.  We actually had one lady tour the house who had come from England and commented that the house would fit perfectly in the Cotswold region.  Here's Joe and his staff.

Sconces for an English House

While we are in the framing stage of building the 2009 Southern Accents magazine Showhouse, we are working on all of the details: door hardware, lighting, beams, kitchen design, tile selections, plumbing fixtures, etc.

One of my favorite building products to find is lighting.  As I've discussed in a previous post, lighting is not an easy selection to make.  At least, the correct lighting is not easy.  If you are going to build or remodel a house in a particular style, the lighting is one component that should match the design of the house.  Careful attention to the correct style can make the design of your house cohesive and beautiful.

The pictures I have included today are of interior and exterior sconces that I am considering using for the 2009 Southern Accents magazine Showhouse.  As I noted in the post on Spanish Colonial lighting, some of these could be used for Spanish Colonial houses but most of these today are exact reproductions of sconces that came out of English styled houses from the 1920's and 1930's.  I hope you enjoy seeing these and if you would like more information on buying any of these please send me an email for pricing, sizing, etc.