ENGLISH MANOR
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English Manor
Birmingham, Michigan |
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Design Description
In the tradition of historic English Manor country houses, this English Manor residence has an aura of timeless, stately bearing and a refined elegance which is carried seamlessly from the exterior architecture throughout all of the interior spaces to create a cohesive and artful integration between the interior and exterior architecture. While the house is sited on acreage with beautiful manicured lawns, mature trees and English-style gardens, the property “in-town” Birmingham is long and relatively narrow. This required a creative architectural footprint to aesthetically house 3-cars and numerous, spacious interior rooms including an English conservatory, two-story barrel vaulted library, and large dining and gatherings spaces, while creating a charming European streetside elevation. A stone arched porte-cochere was designed, with an inner, open-air motor courtyard, styled after an upscale horse stable, allowing the carriage-style garage doors to be sheltered from the street. A second story enclosed bridge, with windows facing into the motor courtyard and toward the street, creates the drive-under and connects the main house to a guest suite that is housed above an independent single stall garage. A veranda off of the library repeats the arches of the porte-cochere and formal front entry, giving balance and scale to the ordered façade, while stone courtyard walls create a welcoming approach, exuding an English country charm. The design concept was to integrate classic, traditional architecture with a fresh, modern interior aesthetic. Antique rugs, exquisite millwork, interior stone walls, limestone fireplaces and floors, and beamed and coffered ceilings are juxtaposed with modern art and contemporary furnishings.
