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Southern Home Designs
Front Porches on a Grand Scale
Southern home designs are typically characterized by large wrap around front porches.
Often times, the home will even have a large porch on each floor.
The large porch serves to capture the shade to help cool the home and also becomes a favorite spot for entertaining and relaxing.
To compensate for the southern climate, southern homes are large with tall ceilings with pitched or gabled roofs. Dormers are common.
Southern Beauties
A grand southern front porch, Beaufort, SC
The southern style house has an outward appearance that has soft colors and is beautifully crafted as you would a fine piece of furniture.
Southern colonial homes, like the ones you see in historical movies, have large southern porches supported by colonnades (or large columns) in a row.
Majestic and welcoming
Typical southern porch ceiling detailing
Haint blue porch ceiling - a favorite characteristic of southern homes
Do you know why haint blue?
The southern cottage is also a favorite and can be large or small. Characteristics of southern cottages have
ornamental brackets and gable trim, gardens, and flower boxes.
Note the brackets on the porch columns; not often seen on southern porches
The porch steps go to the side - lovely point of interest
Foliage on the porch steps is often seen on southern porches
Southern homes are usually two stories with shuttered windows. The pitched roofs create a wide, shady area.
Beautiful two-story porch
Large wrap around porches - designed to capture the breeze on either side of the home
Which porch would you enjoy most - top or bottom?
Large colonnades are typical on southern front porches
Huge colonnaded porch - true southern style
Famous Charleston side porch
Variation on the side porch
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Design Considerations for Southern Home Designs
Here are a few general considerations you should include in your own southern home design.
Front Porches: Wide and preferably wrap-around.
Southern cottages have gingerbread between columns but not as elaborate or ornate like Victorian porches.
If you are considering adding a side porch be sure to see our side porch photo gallery.
Railings: Porch Railing styles vary but most are fairly traditional in nature rather than ornate.
Columns: Depending on your whether you want a southern cottage look or traditional southern home design, columns are usually large and
tapered. Most have ornate capitals (moldings at the top of the columns).
Balconies: Usually a mainstay of southern homes.
Palladian Windows: palladia windows are windows with a large window that is divided into three parts. The center section is
larger than the two side sections and is usually arched.
Elaborate Friezes: A frieze is a horizontal band that runs above doorways and windows.
Pediments: triangular sections above doorways.
Gas Lighting: Integrate gas lighting along the drives and walk ways.
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