European Style Fountains and Water Features: Which is your Favorite?

Good morning everyone!

Who doesn't like a good water feature or fountain?  Its been so hot this summer that I could sit in one all day!

Right now the site plan is being prepared for the house.  (Psssst...if you missed our home's exterior view from the plans featured in our last post you can see it HERE.)

The site plan will show us the house placement, the pool placement, the utility placements, and the driveway placement.  Right now the plan is to have a single drive come off of the road which will lead to a circular drive in front of the main entry.  Another drive will exit the circle and head to the side load garage (if you are looking at the plan, the garage is hidden on the right side).

Now the focus is on what fountain to place in the middle of the circular driveway so plumbing can be planned.  We want it to be a main focal point while still keeping with our style of  home.

Today's images (and there are several) include sample fountains from our inspiration file.  If I have missed a credit please let me know.

CHOICE 1

This home has a great fountain sitting center stage in the circular driveway.  We also want to have enough room to plant boxwood's or roses around the fountain base to form a hedge.  The individual sprays shooting towards the center (like a crown fountain) appeal to us, but we are not sure about the two tiers emerging from the center.  Keeping the tiers clean is always a hassle at our current home, so we may want to skip those and only use water jets to create the water feature.

CHOICE 2

We took this picture while vacationing with some friends in Jamaica last year.  The property had about ten large fountains, all equally beautiful.  While I would take this fountain in a heart beat, it would look out of place in front of a French Old World style home. The fountain has four horses around the base that shoot water into the pool below.  The pond size and spacing is just right for plants and grass. I guess we will just need to visit this fountain more often!

CHOICE 3

 

 

Love this fountain with both cherub's and lion heads.  I only worry that the water might get a little too close to the edge with a good wind and run the fountain dry during the day.

CHOICE 4

This fountain got me off track and thinking in a new direction.  I was focused on having a circular driveway, but this courtyard with its drinking style fountain looks amazing.  It has a very rustic old world appeal that would match our homes style.

CHOICE 5

This fountain has several of the individual components we like all wrapped up into one. The crown jets shooting from the outer edge of the pond, an urn that overflows into a tiered basin, and a single jet shooting up in the center.

This one is not in the running for the focal point of our drive, but it was too fun not to share!  Our dog would do the same thing given the opportunity!

CHOICE 6

For a courtyard driveway this Roman pillar drinking fountain would be a great choice.  This still might get tucked into a corner near one of the two veranda's if we don't do a courtyard driveway.

CHOICE 7

Another European style drinking fountain.  I just love the color.

CHOICE 8

This is another great fountain for any style driveway.  It appears to be a modification of an old world drinking fountain.  Perhaps this was once a main water source for the village?

 CHOICE 9

This cast stone fountain is very similar to the village fountain from above.  It has great details like the scrolled copper spouts.

CHOICE 10

Yet another cast pillar fountain

 CHOICE 11

This fountains pond basin is close to the size we had in mind.  The three tiered cast stone fountain in the center may be slightly larger than necessary when compared with the basin.

CHOICE 12

These small fountains are really starting to stand out.  Modern versions have an on / off handle for water conservation.

Another interesting trough style fountain.

CHOICE 13

This style of urn fountain is high on our list.  The pond size is just right.  There is enough space for boxwood's to grow around the outer edge.  There is a single jet of water coming from the center to add some height.  Its not so large that it overwhelms the space.  What a great little fountain.

CHOICE 14

This one too is on our short list.  Again, very simple in design with only a few jets creating a crown feature.  If this had a single water jet coming straight up the center it may be perfect.  The pond size is great, and there are no statues or cast stone tiers to keep clean!

CHOICE 15

This fountain is a perfect size and style for this house.  It incorporates stones from the exterior of the house to tie the two together.  It would have been nice to see the center water jet shooting slightly higher to add a focal point to the fountain.

CHOICE 16

Yet another cast stone fountain with three tiers and a cast stone basin. 

CHOICE 17

Now here is a different approach.  I like the square basin that seems to vanish into the ground.  It also has a beautiful overflowing urn.  Too much for the driveway of an old world french style home?  Maybe for a courtyard on the side of the house?

CHOICE 18

This cast bronze fountain is amazing.  There is so much detail in the figures.  The overall appearance is well balanced between the basin size, fountain size, and home.  For our old world home, this fountain may have too much detail!  I expect that there will be a few boxwood's going in the exposed soil surrounding the fountain.

These little lions won't help with the driveway fountain, but they may just show up along the end of the swimming pool.  A pool is a great source for creating a water feature.  A few simple jets shooting up from and back into the pool makes for a great effect.

CHOICE 19

This three tiered fountain may have too much water flowing for its size.  With that much water, one needs to think about the surrounding buildings and how the sound will bounce.  I imagine this is quite loud, although beautiful.

CHOICE 20

This multi tiered fountain could be a little bigger due to the large inner circle created by the driveway.  All of the color and material selections in this home tie it together nicely.

CHOICE 21

I don't know..too much?? 

Of course it is but I bet it's fun to watch.

Which fountain would you like to see in front of your home???

We hope these images help inspire you to install a water feature at your home.  They sound great, attract numerous birds, and help to calm you down after a long hard day.

Until next time.....

-Tonya and Rob

Brick and Cobblestone Paver Driveways vs. Crushed Stone Driveways: Which is your Favorite?

Greetings!  Hope everyone is having a fantastic week.

We walk, park, and play on them everyday.  They come in all sizes, shapes, and colors.  They are our driveways and sidewalks.

In our area asphalt and concrete are by far the most frequently used materials when it comes to creating  a driveway or sidewalk.  They both are perfectly fine choices, but I feel they both lack the character seen in a brick paver driveway or crushed stone driveway.  Sure there is stamped concrete and stamped asphalt which do improve their appearance, but it's still not the same as seeing a beautiful authentic brick cobblestone or crushed stone driveway.

We have selected, but have not met with, the company that will be installing our driveway.  While there are sure to be more samples coming down the road, we thought we would go ahead and share some of the inspirational photographs we are taking with us to help them identify our style.

When selecting your driveway material, keep in mind the color of stone and brick on your home.  Selecting a contrasting color or shade can draw too much attention to one or the other.  For example, I think a dark brick driveway becomes too heavy when placed up against a light colored brick home.

Several good pictures today, so hopefully you enjoy.  As a side note, we have had some of these for several years and are unaware of all sources.  If ever you see something we should credit please let us know!

This European style home has great curb appeal from the black security gate to the lush landscape. It has several other elements that I have discussed in prior posts; The black arched french door, boxwood boarders, etc. Of course I am focusing on the driveway today.  The color and pattern combinations look great with the stucco and stone home.  The only thing I would change about this driveway is I would change the boarder stone to one that is a different color or shape to add some variation.

We really like this brick and limestone edged driveway.  The driveway edging really defines the space and makes it stand out.  Would be happy to have this leading up to our house.

This is probably our favorite driveway in today's post.  It just has that old world rustic look.  The stones are not uniform in size, and they are not perfectly aligned.  It's topped off with a great stone wall and driveway security gate.  I also really like the black light fixtures on top of the columns.  We hope to do something similar leading to a circular drive.  The plan is to use gas lanterns to add more of that old world charm.

Our other candidate is a crushed or decomposed stone driveway.  As many of you know, this is very popular in Europe.  There are only three things that concern me, so maybe some of you can chime in and give me your opinion.  1) I am worried about kids playing on this type of surface and 2) I am worried about rocks making their way into the garage all of the time on car tires, or through the front door via the shoes of guests.  3) Are weeds a problem?  Anyone have any thoughts??

This paver driveway has great color variations that do not overwhelm the space.  Really like the stone pattern and shape of edging.

Two more driveway paver patterns and colors we are considering.

We want to show this picture to say how important we feel it is to carry the pavers from the drive all the way up to the front door.  I was at a house last month that had asphalt coming up the drive, concrete leaving the garage, and stamped concrete for a sidewalk.  They all met at one point, and did not look good.  I say pick a material and carry it through everywhere.

This paver pattern is similar to some of the others from above, but I feel it lacks the "old world" look.  These stones are newer and more uniform in their sizing.  As you can see, this homeowner carried the same material from the front door out through the gate and into the driveway. 

Because we have been undecided on paver stones vs. crushed stone; we have considered this split design.  The entire drive is edged with pavers, which carries through to the other side.  The space in the middle is filled with decomposed granite.  I really like the variation of driveway textures.

Another good example of pavers with an old world feel.  The edging pavers are a different size and vary slightly in color to give just enough contrast.  Also like the little bridge and lions!

This herringbone paver driveway has some great color variations.  The driveway security gate and light fixtures also look great!

Well those are some of the driveway materials we are reviewing.  Again, there will be photographs of actual material options when we get to that point.  Some of our favorite stones, and a few of today's photographs, can also be found at oldworldbricks.com .

House Update:  We are meeting with the builder next week to go over final plan revisions. We are slowly getting closer!

Wishing everyone a great day!

- Rob and Tonya

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)