Most Americans know their ancestral heritage and honour it in some small way: old-world antiques, for example, or crafts from the family's homeland. Likewise, most good houses reveal something of their own ancestry. Here's a case in point, a suburban home with hints of France and traces of tropical Atlantic isles.








"This was a house just cried for French doors", says the homeowner. "That was the starting point." Since then, custom French doors have replaced almost every window. The grand plan, however, reached much further. It would extend both wings on the front of the house, add rooms and a guest annex in back, eliminate an upstairs bedroom to allow a two-story living room, and enclose a gravel courtyard with a broad front wall.

The whole feeling that was wanted with this house was that of an old outbuilding on a large estate in Provence. "It could have been a caretaker's home or a stable converted into a home. That is one of the reasons for the lanterns along the top of the walls and the tiled floor. That is what we wanted to capture, the sort of rustic elegance of the French-country style." explains the homeowner.

Additions were built largely for entertaining, which the house does with European grace.

A key to the plan's success is the sunny sitting room that covers an old patio and provides a convenient path to the new family room, so traffic isn't routed through the dining area. More than a hallway, the sitting room offers a cheery spot for breakfast, open to the living room, dining room, and family room.

Furnishings mix a variety of antiques gathered on travels in France. They range from primitive to refined, which gives the interior a sense of breadth and timelessness.

The loft in this living room and lanterns create a visual break, an impression reinforced by mouldings between the smooth ceiling and the heavily textured walls. They suggest a comfortable ceiling height, but they also allow the airiness of a grand space.

Shutters were made to frame the windows around the top of the living room. These windows — they once served the upstairs bedroom — now pour sunlight into the living room. The light plays on the deeply textured walls, created with a heavily trowelled mixture of cement and plaster over drywall. The effect resembles old-world plaster or stucco.
 

Textures, patterns, and glazes give the walls their French accent and add a look and feel of antiquity. The living and dining rooms have identical wall surfaces, but differences in the glazing make the dining area appear more textured. The living room has a subtle palette, from beige to ivory, and the dining room ranges from sienna to umber. Woodwork and walls in the sitting room have a crackle finish to simulate age.