I admit there are lots of times that I cringe when visiting a newly constructed or renovated house. I know it’s because I’m an architect, and we architects could be so very fussy. But actually, with just a small bit of thought we could all make our homes so much better. It’s just a matter of thinking through a few of the detail issues.
So here are a few solutions to poorly executed ubiquitous details that irritate the hell out of me (and lots of architects and artists). These options are often easily implemented, and by doing this, it is possible to easily change a home out of cookie cutter to special.
Stephen Fuller Designs
1. Two-dimensional and badly sized shutters. So often the shutters are screwed into the walls so they lay flat. And it is clear that the shutters won’t come near covering the entire window.
Solution (shown): Install the dividers with a few authentic hardware in order that they lie “proud” (in front of) the window along with the wall. And dimension them so they look as if they would actually cover the window once closed.
Tim Cuppett Architects
2. Skinny trim. Please do not settle for 3-inch baseboards and two1/4-inch casings. Trim has a lot to offer and will really make a room special.
Solution (shown): Think about various profiles and proceed for the larger sizes. Doing this will add a richness to your own rooms which you didn’t think was possible.
Motionspace Architecture + Design
3. Dark hallways. Why is it the space you traveling in a lot of is often gloomy and dark? And what’s with linen closets at the end of hallways? (More on this in number seven.)
Solution (shown): Get some light into the hallway with glass doors to the bedrooms. And if you have privacy issues, just use a translucent instead of transparent glass.
Mark pinkerton – vi360 photography
Or add a skylight or two.
Schnarr Craftsmen Inc
And when a big rectangular skylight is not possible, try out a tubular skylight. This is often an inexpensive way to dramatically boost the quantity of natural lighting a dark hallway receives.
Bosworth Hoedemaker
4. The 80-inch-tall door. As much as there is a rationale supporting the 80-inch-tall door, it makes very little sense in a room having an 8-foot ceiling, and even less feeling in a room with a ceiling that is taller. It’s just that the proportions are wrong, and there’s simply too much wall space above the door.
Solution (shown): when you intend to use an 80-inch tall door, consider the space above the door as a chance for, say, a transom such as this allows light and air to filter between chambers.
Hull Ancient
Or think about using that wall space.
Crisp Architects
Even better, for a very open, bright and tasteful room, choose the windows nearer to the ceiling, as in this area.
ASID, Christopher A Rose AIA
5. The Palladian window. Surely, Palladio could weep when he saw just how ubiquitous and badly scaled his namesake window is now. It’s not that these are not terrific windows, it is just that they’ve turned into a cliché.
Solution (shown): Look at utilizing a Palladian window in circumstance. Properly detailed and scaled, this window can be quite elegant and right, as in this example.
Bud Dietrich
6. Window that is removable grilles. I get it. I do. Every time I wash the windows I mutter to myself “Just snap out the window grilles, wash the window and snap the grilles back in.” But heck, windows with detachable grilles seem so flat, therefore two-dimensional, not authentic in any way.
Solution (shown): Though windows with genuine divided lites (ADLs) and insulating glass may be prohibitively expensive, windows which use simulated divided lights (SDLs), like in this example, have exactly the same look in a portion of the price tag. Really, there’s no reason to not possess an authentic-looking, if not precisely authentically built window.
Vanguard Studio Inc..
7. Linen cupboard focal points. Yes, near the bedrooms we need a place for towels and sheets and blankets and all of the stuff. But why should the linen cupboard be in the end of the hallway and visible from the primary living area of the home?
Solution (shown): Definitely a little market displaying something artful and beautiful will give more joy to your life than any linen cupboard ever will.
Koch Architects, Inc.. Joanne Koch
8. Underused hallways. Definitely a hall may be utilized as more than just a room to stroll through.
Solution (shown): The easy addition of a built-in shelving will transform a hall from a passageway to a destination in its own right.
HP Rovinelli Architects
9. Cookie-cutter garage doors. Why is it that regardless of the style of home, the garage door invariably is your double-wide, raised-panel?
Solution (shown): With all these options to choose from, garage doors which match with the home’s architecture, as in this example, are definitely possible.
Allen Patterson Residential
10. Weak eaves. where the roof and outdoor wall satisfy should show craft and detail. It’s, after all, in which the two major outside structural elements intersect.
Solution (shown): instead of using a standard 8-inch soffit with a perforated vinyl skin along with also a K-style gutter, look for ways to extend the roofline and introduce rafter tails, as in this example.