Breaking Tradition: Our Traditional Georgian Home Gets a French Makeover
by
BygoneVintage
(IC: blogger)
When we purchased our home in the Spring of 2013, we knew that while it wasn’t exactly our “style” it did have really great bones and character that we could work with to create our dream home. Everything about it was traditional – from the red brick Georgian exterior, to the matchy-matchy wallpaper and drapes on the interior. So we set about a plan to break the tradition out of it and give it a more French inspired feel.
While I am usually a fan of ironwork and Juliet balconies such as the one previously above our door, I am not a fan of rotting wood which we found all throughout the balcony area itself which meant it was going to need replacing regardless. To add insult to injury, the balcony wasn’t even real – those french doors (that don’t match the rest of the windows) are tinted because they actually are just stuck to a wall in my daughter’s room. It was all just a fake facade created many years ago - they don't open and have brick behind them.
We also didn’t like the oddly placed curved pitch over the fake balcony. Maybe there was a canvas awning there at some point? I don’t know, but with all the other angles and pitches being so defined, this seemed a little out of place. Then there were the cheap synthetic shutters that didn’t suit the windows, the urns that were removed from the front of the off centered sidewalk, the overgrown landscaping, and the multitude of unfriendly diseased pine trees riddling the front yard.
And here’s our vision on paper:
Now THAT has some wow factor! The plan was to have the new facade built in cast stone and would you believe from this one simple drawing, the company was able to reproduce the look almost to perfection. It was an amazing process. In a few short weeks the truck arrived carrying about 50+ pieces of cast stone that were put together like legos by some seriously skilled masonry craftsmen in a matter of days. Did I say amazing?
In the end, the look is now more refined yet still soft and inviting, and it reminds me of the French chateaus I dream of renting for a vacation some day in Provence. The neighbors have been in awe of the whole transformation, and it was funny to see people drive by and do a double take. It really is a completely different home!
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Published April 10th, 2015 11:40 AM
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3 of 208 comments
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Christina Mazzei on Jan 28, 2018
Wonder why they thought to remove windows and cut all the trees down? I like the paint job and the column removal.... but the rest was already lovely. Oh well -- they can make their house how they like... and really, it's nice either way.
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Cheryl Evans-Kent on Jan 28, 2018
Looks updated and I like the new color theme. I wonder how the paint on the brick will do over time
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