French Style: Tall Mirrors and Paneled rooms

I started writing this post weeks ago, and kept finding image after beautiful image (most of which are in this post – it’s a long one!). I finally had to force myself to stop researching and start writing.

Earlier this year, I went to a tour of homes and was particularly struck by the look and feel of one of the houses.  The house was built in 1993, and has a wonderful floor plan, great natural light, and 11 foot ceilings.  The current owner purchased the house a few years ago, and enlisted the original architect to update the house to suit 21st century life. 

The mirror above the mantel in the living room particularly caught my eye. The tall proportions of the mirror are so elegant, and so perfect for the architecture and style of the house.

The mirror is perfectly sized to the space – the width exact to the width of the mantel, the height right up to the base of the molding. The Greek key pattern on the frame is a subtle detail.  I took a quick iphone photo, and later asked the homeowner where the mirror came from.  She told me that it came with the house, as it is built in. 

Although the room itself is not paneled, the style and design of this mirror reminded me of the many paneled  rooms I have seen in which the mirror is incorporated into the paneling and made an integral part of the architecture of the room.

The mirror in this Paris living room reminds me of the mirror from the house on the tour – perhaps because of its custom fit proportions, and the great height in this tall and airy room. Via Pinterest.

The mirror above the fireplace in this Paris apartment also has a similar look and feel. Note how the width of the mirror is the same as the width of the fireplace, and how the mirror is perfectly sized almost as if it is a piece of paneling in this room. Source.

Here is a side view of that same space, and the mirror profile and molding can be seen quite clearly.

Here is another view of this beautiful room. The wall between the windows shows how the mirror repeats the size and shape of the paneling on the walls.  The mirror beautifully reflects that sublime Parisian light, and provides lovely balance to the room.

Many of the inspiration pictures that I found for this post came from Paris apartments. A tall mirror above the fireplace, often incorporated into the paneling of the room and part of the architecture of the space, seems to be a style that is very French.  It works beautifully with the lofty ceilings and the tall windows and doors that bring in so much light in classic Paris apartments and French houses.

I love the simple style and large scale of the mirror and molding above, which is integrated into the molding. The shape and style repeats the arches of the windows and the framed opening of the door.  As a side note, it’s interesting that the furniture plan for this room is centered on the room, not the fireplace.  Source

Designer Thomas Pheasant’s Paris apartment has a charming mirror above the fireplace. This type of mirror that is incorporated into the paneling was probably designed and crafted as part of the original architectural envelope of the apartment.

Thomas Pheasant’s first book was released a few weeks ago; it’s called Simply Serene. The cover features a vignette from his Paris apartment. The book can be found on Amazon here.  Thomas designed the interiors of my sister’s newly renovated house, and gave me a personally signed copy of the book. I am reading it this weekend!

Initially, I had a hard time finding pictures of mirrors that are incorporated into paneling, as I could not land upon a search term that yielded good results. Finally, I decided to search on ‘chic Paris apartments’, and found some excellent classic examples such as this salon in a French apartment, with traditional paneled walls that integrate two mirrors into the paneling.

Another classic example of a French paneled room (an architect told me the correct term for the carved panels is boiserie). Note the mirrors built into the paneling above the fireplace and on the walls.

A room in a Paris apartment that is currently for sale – the absence of decoration allows appreciation of the pure architecture of the room, including the classic boiserie ensconced mirror above the fireplace. As a side note, what a beautiful door leading to the hall.

More elaborate examples were easier to find. This room is in Château de Montgeoffroy, via a Cote de Texas post.  It is such a strikingly French room – the floors, the French doors, the interior shutters, the carved boiserie, the furniture layout – all are hallmarks of classic French style.   I see different things each time I look at this image, and this time I am noticing the beauty of the architectural mirror above the fireplace. Note how the the detail of the carvings around the arch of the doors is identical to the detail around the arch of the mirror. I wonder if they are the exact same measurement?

A view of the other side of the room shows that the interior door openings are identically designed.

Another highly ornamental example of a boiserie room (I lost my source – perhaps in the Grand Trianon?).  The carved moldings were often gilded to emphasize the form.

Timothy Corrigan has a new book detailing the extensive five year renovation and restoration of his extraordinary French chateau in the Loire Valley. There are many of beautifully paneled rooms that incorporate mirrors, including this room above.  

The book is An Invitation to Chateau du Grand-Lucé: Decorating a Great French Country House.  If anyone has read it, let me know your thoughts – it is on my wish list. I have heard great things about it, and wish I could have attended his lecture in Atlanta last week. The book can be found on Amazon here. Note the elaborate carved paneling and the mirror in the cover room – so beautiful.

Another example from a Paris apartment.  Note the elaborate ceiling, seen in the reflection. Source.

The Paris apartment of Mario and Anne Grauso, featured in Elle Décor many years ago, via Habitually Chic. Note the trumeau detail in the glass panes.

I appreciate the contrast of the 19th century boiserie and the sleek and modern style of the décor. It appears that the mirror is part of the paneling, and the edge is gilded. The style of the carving on the mirror is more in reference to the paneling on the walls versus the elaborate style at the ceiling.  I appreciate how the height of the mirror emphasizes the glorious height of the room. The carved decorative piece above the mirror is another important detail – and it appears that this element is matched on the other side of the room, based on the reflection in the mirror.

Found on Pinterest, a decidedly modern take on a classic French paneled room. This looks like it could be a separate mirror, or it could be part of the carved molding of the room, gilded for contrast. I am not sure what I think about the lettering on the mirror, but the bones of the room are extraordinary. Note the interesting take on the chevron pattern on the floor.

 

I love this modern take on a paneled mirror, in a sophisticated room by designer Stephen Sills (photo by Heather Clawson of Habitually Chic).  This apartment is from a historic building that was recently renovated top to bottom; the apartment is one of the projects featured in Stephen Sills’ new book Decoration, which is one of fall’s most anticipated design books. Decoration is being released next week; click here to get a preview on Amazon. It looks sublime!

A project by famed designer Robert Couturier was featured in Elle Décor in a spread called “Francophile Fantasy in New York”.  In this no budget renovation, Couturier and the clients decided to create interiors inspired by 18th century French style; all of the boiseries and wall moldings throughout the apartment are made by Féau & Cie in Paris.  The vignette pictured above particularly caught my eye because of the mirror, and I love how an additional mirror was hung on top.

 

This room beautifully displays the French style, with the tall paneled mirror, and the addition of the antlers to cap it off is the perfect touch to balance the formality of the design. I really like the chaise that is placed in front of the fireplace – an unusual furniture arrangement. I wonder what the rest of the house (or apartment) looks like? I am not sure where this picture is from, it was found on Pinterest.

Design by Richard Halsberg and Barbara Wisely. A beautiful modern day example of a mirror incorporated into the carved panel design of a room.

Greet Lefevre’s family company specializes in exquisite custom design and hand crafted paneling. I found this beautiful example of her company’s work on her blog Belgian Pearls. I love the trumeau style detail of the mirror – note how it is split into two pieces.

So, after a many different inspirational images, from Belgium to France to the East Coast to the West Coast, back to the original inspiration for this post in Atlanta.  What I originally appreciated about this from the moment I saw it was a fresh take on French style. The feeling is created by incorporating a tall, elegant, and perfectly proportioned mirror, created with carved molding in a delicate Greek key pattern .  It is not necessary to have a room with elaborate molding to create this look and feel, but high ceilings are a must if the mirror is going to be placed above a mantle.

What do you think of this style – does it speak to you?  Creating this post was such a pleasure as it reminded me how much I love French architectural details. I particularly like seeing spaces in France that are hundreds of years old, being lived in and decorated for the 21st century. And, how aspects of 18th and 19th century French architecture and interiors are being incorporated into designs today.

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A little architecture tourism

One of the best side benefits of designing and building a house is my heightened appreciation for all things architecturally related.  I am enjoying seeing familiar places with new eyes, and appreciating the beauty that has always been there, but escaped my notice.

This building, part of the National Cathedral School in Washington D.C., has always been a favorite because of its distinctive green slate roof.  It was designed by Robert W. Gibson in the French Chateau style, and was built in 1899-1900.  As I passed by it recently, on a gray and rainy day, the green of the roof was particularly striking.  This photo was taken with my iphone, so lacks a lot of clear detail.

The dormers on this building are particularly striking to me.  The rhythm of the small simple dormers flanking the elaborately styled limestone dormer is very pleasing, and a closeup reveals a little tiny former above the central element.  I wonder what this space looks like on the inside?

I returned the next day, when the sun was out.  The five spandrel figures (called such as they are carved into the spandrel – the space between the curve of an arch and the rectilinear boundary moulding) can be seen from this vantage point.  They were sculpted by Louis Amateis (1855-1913), who also carved the bronze doors of the Capitol building; given that the school is all girls, they are called ‘‘The Qualities of Womanhood’. (source)

Purity (source)

Faith (source)

Art/Music (source)

Motherhood (source)

Nursing (source)

A better picture of the roofline and the beautifully carved limestone window surround on the dormer.

A side view of the building is just as beautiful, with even more layers of dormers on the roof. 

A detailed view of the carvings in the central dormer.  It’s amazing to me how much detail and effort went into the design of this element, which can’t even be seen clearly from the ground. (source)

Although I did not notice it when taking the pictures, the lantern piques my interest.

A photo on Flickr (source) shows a more complete view of the back side of the building. 

This building is just around the corner from the house where I lived from age 4 to 8;  I must have walked by hundreds of times, and yet never really noticed the details until this trip to DC. 

In researching this post, I came across a book that looks quite intriguing:

It is described as a fascinating tour of Washington D.C.’s monuments, statues, headstones, and memorials. Click here to purchase on Amazon.

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Painted brick houses

I have written another painted brick post with 15 real life examples of painted brick houses and the colors used on the trim and paint, please see link at the bottom of this post.

For many years, I dreamed about building a brick Georgian house. In fact, this is the picture of the ‘dream house’ that I posted in January of 2008:

I love the symmetry and order of a classic Georgian house. This house still speaks to me…the windows, chimneys, palladian windows – all elements that I find to be quite beautiful. Architecture by Harrison Design Associates.

Working on a home from scratch, somehow I knew that I wanted to go more French in style. Perhaps more accurately, a home that combines some aspects of the Georgian that I love, but which is inspired by French architecture but does not slavishly emulate it. In some ways, what I like seems to combine aspects of both French design with perhaps a little English influence.

When I saw this magnificent DC house on the blog of Architect Design (above), I was immediately struck by its beauty. However, what struck me even more was Stefan’s description: the house (designed by Paul Cret, a French architect), was built between a Louis XV house and a Georgian style house. The house in this picture was meant to compliment the French house on one side, but make an easy transition to the Georgian house on the other side. It is stucco, which is very commonly found on French style houses in Europe (and America). I seriously considered using using real stucco on the exterior of my new house. There are countless spectacular examples of masonry stucco houses in Atlanta that are extraordinarily beautiful. (Photo credit: Architect Design)

However, I keep coming back to brick. It is my favorite material for the exterior of a house, and it is definitely a favorite in Atlanta. Red brick does not seem to go well together with a French style house, so I researched painted brick. I love this picture from Apartment Therapy DC – although the picture splices together two different houses, it shows the transformative effect of paint on a Federal or Georgian style house. (Photo credit: Apartment Therapy)

In Atlanta, it is very common to see what was formerly a red brick house updated to make it look more European. Case in point: this house in Atlanta started its life as a 1930s Federal style house, but in recent years it was totally renovated (taken down to the studs) and transformed into a Neoclassical masterpiece. Architectural design by William T. Baker, landscape architecture Alec Michaelides of LandPlus. (Photo credit: Things That Inspire)

Another home whose architectural appearance and color palette has immense appeal to me is the personal home of designer (and attorney) Ty Larkins, whose home appeared in the December issue of House Beautiful. Although I marveled at the interiors of this home, what really stood out to me was the exterior, as this is on my mind these days. I contacted Mr. Larkins to ask about the exterior of his home, which looks like it is an older house even though it is newly built (a ‘new old house). (Photo credit: http://www.tylarkins.com/)

Mr. Larkins told me that he used old brick on the exterior of his new house, then had it painted with latex paint (not too flat, not too glossy). I think the result is beautiful! Painting brick is a great way to get the monolithic appearance of stucco, or achieve a certain uniform look as an alternative to stucco. (Photo credit: http://www.tylarkins.com/)

The painted brick look is clearly one that has great appeal to me. Last spring, I had the pleasure of touring the home of designer Lori Tippins. I recently emailed Lori, and asked about the exterior of her home. Lori told me that many people think that her home is old even though it is newly built – and she partially attributes that to the fact that she used hand made bricks in the construction of her home (as opposed to machine made). They are not old, but they have interesting shape and character. I love the texture that they give to the exterior of Lori’s home. (Photo credit: Things That Inspire)

This beautiful new house in the Brookhaven area of Atlanta was designed by architect Rodolfo Castro, who worked for Summerour Architects before establishing his own firm Castro Design Studio (website, and Facebook page). I often walk my dog in this area, and was shocked one day to see what had been a red brick house was suddenly painted white (Benjamin Moore Ballet White –OC 9; the shutters are Benjamin Moore 977 Brandon beige – the colors were selected by Rodolfo and interior designer Jessica Bradley).

 According to Rodolfo, the owners loved the durability of brick, but wanted a more delicate look, and from the first day of design knew that they wanted painted brick. I think the result is spectacular, and the slate roof is the perfect touch for this timeless house. I had the privilege of a private tour of this house by Rodolfo himself (at the tail end of construction), and it is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. (Photo Credit: Rodolfo Castro)

I love this new home in Charlotte, designed by Pursley Architecture. When this house was designed, the goal was to make it look like an old house – like it had always been there, and had a story to it. Although the article in Beautiful Homes magazine does not note why the owners or the architect chose painted brick, I think it is beautiful and charming and does lend a sense of age to the home. Image via Beautiful Homes, photography by Michael Partenio.

Architect Stan Dixon’s award winning renovation of a 50s ranch home is painted brick.

So is this charming new house, also designed by Stan Dixon. I love this house; I drive on this street at least once a week just to see it. The house is so beautifully designed and grounded to its environment, people often comment that it looks like it has been there for decades. The lovely landscape architecture certainly contributes to this effect - landscape architect was Alec Michaelides from LandPlus.

This beautiful new Georgian home in the Brookhaven area of Atlanta, also designed by Stan Dixon, is painted brick. This is very common in Atlanta homes, old or new – Atlanta seems to like its painted brick homes!

This beautiful home, designed by Louisiana architect A. Hays Town (1903-2005), was one of the first house that I saved into my architecture inspiration files. I included the house on my post on green doors, and was delighted when an architect who had apprenticed to Mr. Town emailed me and said that he had worked on this home. He said that the house has a brick exterior, and had a ‘mortar wash’ technique in which the bricks are loosely set, then the mortar is rubbed into the exterior creating a unique and beautiful layer. The reader also noted that his clients will often purchase old brick to attain a certain look in a new house.

When looking into the mortarwash technique a bit further, I came across a product made by Boral Brick called ‘Pastelcote’. This home, in a lovely enclave in the heart of Buckhead, was the Southern Accents Showhouse in the early 2000s, and was designed by Greg Palmer of Harrison Design Associates (website, Facebook page). I spoke with Greg about the house, which he describes as Normandy inspired. Boral Pastelcote was used on the exterior – the house is bricked with Boral bricks, and Pastelcote is a special finish applied to the exterior to give it texture and and solid color. Greg told me that Pastelcote was inspired by a brick treatment in Australia that is very similar to mortarwash. He also noted that he has used it on homes where the clients want the monolithic look and appearance of stucco, but prefer to use brick.

The Glen Parsonage, designed by Philip Trammel Shutze, has an interesting finish on the brick (here is a link to a larger view). You can see the forms of the bricks quite clearly, but there seems to be something smooth over the bricks. I am not sure if this is a result of years of painting, or whether it is a special treatment – perhaps the mortar was spread over the surface of the bricks to give a smooth appearance. Any Shutze experts out there who could answer this for us? Photo credit: Architecture Tourist.

Another type of brick treatment that I see in Atlanta is a whitewash or limewash treatment; it is achieved by using a thinner, more translucent mixture that allows the natural color of the brick to show through. Whitewashing brick is lower maintenance, as it is supposed to age with exposure to the elements, achieving a certain patina that is beautiful and elegant.

This magnificent house was selected by Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles as one of the most beautiful examples of classic architecture in Atlanta. When it was renovated several years ago, the architecture firm Spitzmiller and Norris did a masterful job both inside and out in making this extraordinary house even more special. I spoke with Rick Spitzmiller about his work on the house, in particular on the front exterior of the home. Rick said that the beautiful whitewashed brick makes this grand home much more approachable and less imposing despite its elegant facade and grand face to the street. The result is a house that is truly grounded to its beautiful environment, and very welcoming. I thought this was a fascinating observation.

A close up of the front door of the home. I had the pleasure of seeing this house on a tour of historic homes, and it was by far my favorite home on the tour. The house sits on almost 5 acres, and the grounds are simply magnificent. The landscape design is by Graham Pittman.

Here is another house in Atlanta that was recently renovated by architect Stan Dixon. This house was designed by James Means (1904-1979), an architect whose work is much loved in Atlanta. Means trained under the great Neel Reid, and his houses are known for their beautiful scale and proportion. This house was originally constructed in 1970, in a Virginia Tidewater style. However, the brick used on the house lacked the character typical of Means houses, so the original brick was limewashed to soften the appearance of the brick while still maintaining the character of the original house. Landscape design by Howard Design Studio. (Photo credit: Things That Inspire)

Here is a close up of the limewashed brick. Architect Stan Dixon had the limewash applied to reflect natural weather patterns – so, for example, in the area where the rain would pound down on a surface, the limewash is lighter. This gives the limewash a patina right away.

Another treasured painted brick house in the Druid Hills area of Atlanta was designed by Neel Reid (1885-1926)– discovered through the Architecture Tourist.

Finally, a picture I saw on a post this weekend from the wonderful new Atlanta blog, Whitehaven. The author went on a tour of homes by Neel Reid, and took a picture of this charming house. The brick intrigued me. Is it painted – or is the color integrated? Helen, one of the authors of Whitehaven, said that the tour guide identified the brick as ‘buff colored brick’ that has never been painted. Given that the house was designed in 1909-1910, I found this to be fascinating. Painted or not, it shows that this look has been a distinct style in Atlanta for at least a century! (Photo credit: Whitehaven)

I could literally include at least 50 more pictures in this post, as a painted brick house can be found on virtually every street in Buckhead, but I think I can rest my case. Painted brick seems to be a classic choice for Atlanta houses, and unless something radically changes, it is more than likely what I will have on my new house. Readers, I am curious; do you see painted brick much in your neck of the woods?

I have written a new blog post on painted brick houses, please visit to see 15 more examples of actual painted brick houses and the colors that the architects, designers, and homeowners selected for the brick and trim.  http://www.thingsthatinspire.net/2014/03/painted-brick-houses-what-color-to.html

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