Art of Architecture

A famous quote from John Keats states that, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases: it will never pass into nothingness….” and I think that is true especially regarding architecture.
A quick survey through history and we see the Parthenon with all her refined classic architecture still standing for Athena in ancient Greece. As we move to Rome, we see the Pantheon with its huge dome interior and breathtaking beauty, it was built to honor all gods of its day, and it is well preserved and still standing. We find more beauty in the cathedral Chartres in France, a shining example of Gothic architecture and finally there is Versailles with her mirrors and gilding she is an ever-enduring thing of beauty. I thought about the art that is architecture and how it does stand the test of time, but we can’t build columns from the Parthenon in our living rooms….so then, how do we interpret the art of architecture in a modern world? Let’s peek into a room of a Grandview model that found its purpose through the art of architecture somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

  •  The homeowners dream
The homeowners are avid readers with an extensive book collection. They wanted to create a large library room, but they wanted to use it for other activities. The two other activities in the space are TV watching and mahjong playing. The homeowners loved embellishment, and they wanted lots of bookshelves so they could see all of their books. In all things the space needed to stay light and bright to enhance the view of the lake just beyond the sliding glass doors.

  •  Create a fabulous entrance
As you walk through the double door entrance of this home you look straight out through this room onto a view of the lake. The entrance to the room needed something to catch your eye and delineate the room as something special. The opening to the room is just drywall and the drywall was wrapped in wood to create columns. The columns support the top of the room opening which was also wrapped in wood to create a beautiful header that begins the space. All the wood is painted white so that the space will stay bright.

  •  Bookshelves
The entire room was wrapped in bookshelves all the way around. The bookshelves were taken all the way to the ceiling on the left side of the room, and they were taken almost to the ceiling on the right side of the room. The homeowners wanted arches on the shelves, and they wanted a ladder. The ladder is a working ladder that will allow you to access the books on the high shelves. The bookshelves gave them room for their entire book collection, and they had room for some display pieces from their travels around the world.

  •  Where is the TV
The homeowners wanted a TV in the room, but they did not want to see it all the time. The TV is hidden in the box below the picture. At the touch of a button the TV will rise out of its hidey place, and it can be watched. When the show is over, once again with the touch of a button, the TV will go back into its hidey place.

  •  White bookshelves
It was very important that the bookshelves were white. The reason for white is that they needed to be the lightest color possible to balance out the light from the slider. When the human eye is looking toward a source of light, like the sliding glass doors, the human eye will darken anything that is in front of the light or on the sides of the light. You can only imagine if the cabinetry were dark how dark this room could have been. This room needed to stay light to enhance the view, rather than darken the view. The white cabinetry is as bright as the light coming toward the human eye and therefore the room will remain bright.

  •  Tall bookshelves
Tall bookshelves all the way to the ceiling draw the eye upward and make the room appear larger. This is an optical illusion, but it always works. The natural inclination of most people is to restrain and do less but thankfully this homeowner wanted to go big or go home. The tall bookcases look amazing, and the space looks so big and grand. The bookshelves on the right-hand side of the room don’t go all the way to the ceiling but they look like they do. The finish carpenter added a wall treatment to the small wall area that was above the bookshelves and the wall was painted the same white color as the cabinetry. When standing in the space it looks like the bookcases are the same height.

  •  Fifth wall
The ceiling, otherwise known as the fifth wall, received a coffered treatment. The coffered treatment is layered, decadent and the entire thing is painted white. The ceiling was not a complete square so installing a treatment of squares was a challenge for the finish carpenters but they made it look beautiful. If you are considering a ceiling treatment, there are many versions of coffered treatments that could work for you. In many of the models in The Villages it looks great to highlight the area above the island.

  •  Sliding glass door
The sliding glass door was framed out so that the transom window looks connected to the sliding glass door below. This is the only area that the tan wall can be seen, and it looks nice to have that touch of color. Hidden under the molding is a honeycomb blind that is electric. This blind can descend at the touch of a button to provide privacy or protection from the sun whenever needed.

  •  Gaming table
There was just enough room for a gaming table near the bookcase. The homeowners like to play Mahjong, and this is a perfect spot to play and enjoy the view. Finally, they have two comfy light grey chairs they can settle into to read their favorite book, which is why this whole thing started.
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Before and After Pics Below