Carpenter Architects

Two hundred years ago there were few architects to direct carpenters in the way to build a proper home. That was just fine. Homes in general were simple and carpenter architects paid a lot of attention to detail and proportion.There were books written by architects, that provided guidelines and formulas for the creation of homes, but those were a point of departure and did not anticipate every condition that the carpenter would encounter. Those early builders were trained well and took pride [...]

By |2010-06-03T13:44:19-04:00August 16th, 2009|Categories: Design|Tags: , , , , , |1 Comment

Modern Farmhouse Design

There is no absolute prototype for a farmhouse, but most of us can recognize one when we see it. By definition the originals were located on farms and were integral to the life and work of those farm families who lived there. Depending on when and where those homes were built, they could be made of stone, brick, shingles or clapboard. Most farmhouses had porches since there was no air conditioning and many farm and family chores were undertaken there. [...]

By |2010-06-03T13:55:12-04:00March 30th, 2009|Categories: Additions, Design, New Homes|Tags: , , |5 Comments

A Hays Town

Photo by Philip Gould The master architect, A Hays Town, was a friend of mine. He passed away a few years ago at the age of 101. Although in recent years, he was not as well known nationally as he deserved, he was the master of Southern(especially Louisiana) vernacular architecture. At a time when traditional architecture was frowned upon by the architectural elite, he was its greatest proponent. In the 1930s, Mr. Town was on the cutting edge [...]