French Inspired Patio Table: Which is your Favorite?

Greetings everyone!

Today is yet another cold day here in Indiana.  I believe it made it up to a whopping 39 degrees today..burrrrr.  After the holidays we are pretty well much over the cold and snow.  Yes I know winter has only started, but there is nothing wrong with also starting the countdown to spring!

Looking out over the snow covered patio gets us thinking about warm summer evenings sitting outside and enjoying fresh produce from the garden.  Today's inspirational images remind us that warmer times are just around the corner. 

The new house will have two separate outdoor seating areas just perfect for one of these French inspired patio tables.  Can you see yourself enjoying a bottle of wine at one of these tables with your family and friends?  On second thought, I could really enjoy a bottle of wine anywhere!

Choice 1

We like how these smaller bistro style tables were pushed together to form one larger table.  The space is enhanced by the French blue shutters and red flowers, both providing a "pop" of color. 



Source

 

Choice 2

This wood table provides a separate dining space away from the house, and surrounded by nature.  A great way to spend a quiet evening.

Source

 

Choice 3

This outdoor French style table appears to be made of iron.  The green seat cushions do a good job of blending in with the natural surroundings.



Source

Choice 4
Looks like a great French bistro table.  Lunch for two anyone?

Source

Choice 5
What an amazing place to dine outdoors!  You can actually rent this home in France if you are in need of a good vacation. Great terrace covering the large patio table.

Source

Choice 6
We love the idea of placing a table under the arbor. Arbors do a great job of letting in just enough light, while vining plants can give off beautiful flower blooms.



Source

Choice 7
A small french style patio table on a crushed stone path.  What an amazing little well!  

Source

 

Choice 8
Large rustic tables are great for the outdoors.  I don't like the idea of having a very formal and expensive table outside only to be exposed to the weather.  We also don't want to move all of the furniture indoors every fall.  This wood table under a shelter is just perfect.  It has protection from the elements and since it is made of wood it can stay out all winter.

Source

Choice 9
What a long French style wood table.  It looks like you could seat 14 or more people at this table.  How great it would be to spend long summer evenings outdoors with your neighbors and friends (assuming you want to share your wine with them).

Source

Choice 10
This wood patio table sits under a retractable roof, allowing for more control of the sunlight.

Source

 

Choice 11
More bistro style tables on a crushed stone terrace. Great French blue shutters as a side note.

Source

Choice 12
A great private outdoor French style table.  More terracotta pots and flowers brighten up this space.

Source

This is the view from our current patio.  We intend to use this French style iron table at the new home, but with new cushions.  This patio is covered and has a great ceiling fan to keep the air moving in the summer.

Another view from the other side of the patio.  We also have roller shades to keep the western sun under control.

On the house front; we have so many meetings scheduled with contractors over the next week.  On the agenda are 1) Wood Floors 2) Custom Cabinets 3) Built In Shelving 4) Heating and Cooling 5) Brick / Stone / Stucco Selections.  You will all get to see the "narrowed down" selections VERY soon.

 

WINE RECOMMENDATION

 

As we mentioned before; if you are going to sit out on the patio, you might as well enjoy some wine.  Here is one we highly recommend following a recent tasting we hosted.  If you want to spend a few dollars on a bottle (and know it's going to be good) give this one a try. 

 

 

2009 Grand Vin de Bordeaux

Chateau La Bonnelle

Saint Emilion Grand Cru

 

 

Wishing everyone a great day!

 

-Rob and Tonya

Read More

French Home Exteriors: French Doors and Exteriors on Chicago's "Most Expensive" Block

Good morning everyone!  Rob here posting this week as Tonya has been busy packing some non-essential items in preparation for the move.  You will see more regular posts from me as construction begins on our home in the coming months.  My posts will focus a great deal on architectural design and will feature many photographs and videos of the home being built from start to finish.  We anticipate this being a fantastic experience and look forward to sharing and learning with all of you.

One of my closest friend since childhood moved to Chicago after we both finished college.  We usually meet up with him during all of our visits to the city.  This past weekend he had a specific street he wanted to show us that is filled with inspiration for French style home exteriors.  In fact not only is this street French / European inspired, it has been called "The Most Expensive Block" in Chicago.  Most homes take up 2 or 3 Chicago lots with the crown jewel of the street taking up 7 city lots.

Today's photos take you for a walk down North Burling Street in Chicago. There is some great architecture here.

This home caught our eye right away with the black french doors and glass transoms.  The windows also trimmed in black, tie the entire look together.  Cast stone or limestone is something you see on many French and European style homes.  The black window boxes add a great touch to many of these homes, complete with automated watering.  Can't help but notice the two boxwood planters on both sides of the double staircase.

A boxwood boarder is not something you see often in Chicago.  For any of you that have walked around the city, the space between the sidewalk and street usually consists of grass that has been half killed off by our four legged friends.  To see manicured boxwood's with an irrigation system in this space is the exception and not the rule on the streets of Chicago.

While I am not a fan of glass around a door, I could live with this on the second story as it is shown.  The iron Romeo and Juliet balcony is very similar to one that will appear above the front door of our future home.  The interior has to be a great space with all of that natural light coming in from the sides and transom windows.

This home has more of an Italian feel than French.  For me it is the lack of iron railings in front of the doors and windows which has been replaced with cast stone spindle's.  It could, however, pass off for a French Riviera style home.  The red terracotta roof tiles really add a punch of character.

This doorway enters the patio space at the home above.  There are so many different things going on with this door I am not sure what to call it?  I think I will just stick with European because I feel some French, Italian, and Spanish influences here.  I think this is one of the most creative ways of installing a light fixture over an exterior door.  The cast columns are just amazing.

Now to the crown jewel of the street.  From what we have researched, this home is over 27,000 square feet covering four floors.  It sits on seven city lots and is estimated to have cost over $40M to build.  The land alone is worth over $10M.

This is the side garden view leading back to the iron gazebo.  I hope to find a similar one to place in our backyard (the gazebo not the house).  Thankfully the cameras didn't catch me reaching up over the iron fence to snap this shot.

The other side of what is perhaps one of Chicago's greatest mansions. Notice the second story patio space above what is the four car garage. I really like the shape of the black iron gate.  They also used crushed black stone for their driveway and courtyard.The entire space is trimmed with pavers.  Everything was executed well at this home.

The neighbors place is not to shabby either.  This home has a beautiful wood gate has been stained black.  I think it adds a touch of elegance.  The roof line of this home is also very French.  For those of you familiar with Chicago, the Waldorf Astoria (formerly the Elysian) in Chicago has the same style of roof line.  I bet that roof deck is a fun place to hang out in the summer!

I really like the limestone / cast stone on the front of this home.  It has a more Roman style arch (as one reader has pointed out) over the center french doors.  I am starting to find that I really like small round, oval, and square windows.  If you want to see a great small window, check out Tina's bathroom at theenchantedhome.blogspot.com .  These unique windows always get my attention.

Again, more great black trimmed french doors and windows.  This transom / door glass is a unique combination as the door has the 1/4 arch and the window is also arched to match the door, but also squares off at the top to match the windows above.  Really like this look.

Of course we had to get a shot of the two of us outside the streets main attraction.  Only wish we could see what it looked like on the inside.

House Update:  Our working plans from Jack Arnold should arrive tomorrow.  There are some additional changes that we already know need to be made, but we are getting closer.  We hope you sign up to follow along as we share our building experience with you.

Wishing everyone a great day!

-Rob (and Tonya)

Read More

French Style Landscaping: Using Terracotta Planters

I must say I didn't always love terracotta pots.  Then at some point it was like a light switch flipped and every planter needed to be replaced with terracotta.  They should be, they provide many benefits over plastic containers. For example:

1) Terracotta is porous, making it nearly impossible to overwater your plants.  Plastic containers hold in water.  Terracotta allows for water to move through the clay and evaporate.

2) This evaporation is good for the roots, as it allows for cooling just as if the plant were in the ground.  The plant roots can breathe.

This home was designed by Jack Arnold of Tulsa, Oklahoma.  His home designs are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen.  Like great architects, he too knows its all in the details.  These little details, like the perfectly placed terracotta pots, work together with other elements to give an amazing feel to the space.  As you might already know from previous posts, the home we will be building and featuring on this blog was designed by Jack Arnold.  It should be fun to see one of his homes built from start to finish.

How interesting is this terracotta factory?  There are so many shapes and sizes of terracotta to choose from! I feel most people just think of using terracotta for planters, but terracotta has been used for thousands of years to create sculptures, tiles, and bricks to name a few.

These terracotta pots really do their job of taking your eye right to the wood door.  I like how they use trees to add height to the space.

This terracotta pig is just too neat.  I want one!

The classic terracotta pot with boxwood ball.  Very French / European.

Residents of this town really believe in the use of terracotta roof tiles!  They should, they last for many many years, and are very tolerate to the environment.

This French designed home has a great couryard.  There appears to be no landscaping in the front other than the terracotta planters.  In addition to the planters, this house really has it going on.  A beautiful stone exterior home, with light blue shutters that are functional.  I also like the small oval window on the second floor, as well as the large square window with copper roof.  I can only assume this large window is in front of a gorgeous staircase.

Another traditional use of terracotta, but in a round ball planter.

Terracotta is a great material to use for your planters, so get out there and start planting!  As always, hope you continue to follow along as we build and share our French Inspired Home designed by Jack Arnold.

Hope your day makes you smile!

-Rob and Tonya

Read More

French Style Home Design: Exterior Materials

I want to briefly touch on the subject of exterior construction materials for a French style home. I bring this up because my wife and I were sitting out on the patio of a local restaurant this weekend when we noticed how much we liked the brick and stone combination on the outside of the building. This again brought up the conversation of what material(s) we plan to use on our home.

Originally we planned to use stucco, a common material used in French style homes. Our problem has been identifying a local craftsman that is skilled in applying this material properly. It also appears that none of the builders in our area have faith in the material itself. Indiana has very mild winters in comparison to other areas of the country, with average temperatures ranging in the mid to low 30's. Because we hover right at freezing, we go through many freeze / thaw cycles, which we are told long term is not good for stucco.

The material recommended as a substitute is Dryvit, a "synthetic" stucco if you will. Unfortunately we do not have faith in the material or process. For those of you who are not familiar, Dryvit is essentially a thick piece of insulation that is covered with a thin coat of stucco-like material. It eliminates several steps used in traditional stucco and minimizes the risk of wear over time.

So we turn now to brick and stone. There appears to be no end to the combinations that brick masons can perform. There are so many patterns and types that it can leave one overwhelmed of which to choose while also making them afraid that the wrong decision was made.

Our goal is to create a home with old world French charm. A home that looks one or two hundred years old and makes you smile when you pull up the driveway each evening. So here are a few samples of old world style brick and stone, with one stucco just in case we change our minds the next time we eat dinner outside.

This old world style stone was found at HGTV. We love the variation is both size and color of the stone. Brick was used as an accent above and below the window to break up the solid stone wall.

Is this entry just not great? Limestone was used under the windows, while the stone was arched above several of the doorways and windows.

We really enjoy this brick size and color.  To break it up a little, there was a soilders row placed at the top, and bricks were turn on end around the window.

It adds so much character when the bricks are uneven. (Great lanterns too!)

This image comes from decorpad.com.  I am sure many of you have seen it before, but I just had to add it also.  It is a great example of a Gascony style home also using stone.

We took this picture while touring a home a few weeks ago.  It has a great stucco exterior with a rough finish.  I can look at this image and just picture the mason swaying his arm as the finish was applied.

Taken by my wife at the restaurant

We welcome your comments on using the materials discussed in todays post. Also, please join our blog so that you can follow along as we build our French inspired home.

Read More

French Style Landscaping: Potted Plants

As we said before, this blog will follow along with the construction of our French inspired home and all of the decisions from start to finish.  While some of the initial planning is still being decided, we will go ahead and start posting about some of the things we have been learning the last few years.  On occasion, we will probably throw in a great recipe or something unique (and at a great price) that we bought for the house.

Today we want to talk about potted plants.  It’s funny because several other blogs have also discussed potted plants and urns this week.  I guess spring fever is taking over and we are all ready to start getting our hands dirty and our yards back into bloom.

Keeping with the French style, we love to use pots / urns; terra cotta, glazed, concrete, it doesn’t matter.  There is nothing that accents a French style home better than a nicely organized arrangement or a simple hydrangea or boxwood.  What we love is that they are mobile!  Did your hydrangea not like where it was last year?  Okay, get a dolly and move that pot to another location. It’s so easy because you don’t need to dig it up and replant.  Trust me we learned the hard way.  I think half of the plantings in our landscape were planted two or three times over just because we played with their location.  Also, if you have an atrium then you can just wheel those plants right into the protection of the sun filled room and enjoy them a little longer, if not all year.

I tend to favor terra cotta pots made in Italy.  There may be no science to it, but these pots seem to grow more beautiful as they get older.  The plantings also seem to do better than those planted in terra cotta made elsewhere (sorry USA).

Love this Courtyard.  You could change the landscape just by rearranging the pots !

(Also great for when you move - take the landscape with you!)

The classic american boxwood.  These are courtesy of Southern Living. 

The Meyer Lemon Tree; a must for any serious home cook, plus they look great in the kitchen in front of a large open window.

Any flower looks great in Terra Cotta pots.

Tomorrow I will post some videos showing how we keep our outdoor pots watered all summer long while never touching a watering can.  Till then, happy planting!

Read More