Showing posts with label Fort Worth Italian Renaissance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fort Worth Italian Renaissance. Show all posts

Homes We've Built in Fort Worth -- Part II The Interiors

As promised in my previous post, below are a few pictures of the interiors of some of our work over the past few years.  I hope you enjoy.

The above picture is the entry hall of an Italian Renaissance house.  We built the custom made doors that lead to the powder bath and coat closet to fit the antique Verre eglomise which, according to Betty Lou Phillips, is a reverse painting on glass.  The limestone slab floor is from Ann Sacks.  A local artisan hand painted the metallic gold banding and then glazed over the gold bands and silver walls.


This bathroom for our client's daughter consists of 1920's era tile floor and a reproduction vanity that is based on an antique commode our clients had found.

This loggia is my favorite we have done.  The brick flooring was salvaged from one of Fort Worth's oldest streets and encompasses the entire front porch and side loggia.

This powder bath is much more than just a powder bath.  The antique fountain, turned into a pedestal sink, was a chore to make work with the water flowing out of the mouth of the sun face, but the outcome is spectacular.  The venetian walls were done by the same local artisan mentioned above (as were many rooms in the house) and the window surround is limestone.

The other daughter's bathroom is my favorite.  With white Thassos tile, a 1920's era pedestal sink (although it is new) and soft green walls make it a true 1920's style bathroom.

All of the above pictures are from an Italian Renaissance style house in Fort Worth we built and the pictures are out of Betty Lou Phillips beautiful book, Inspirations from France & Italy.  If you don't have a copy of this book you need to add it to your library.  Betty Lou has an incredible eye for beautiful homes.


These two pictures come out of a French eclectic house we did last year.  The client, who is a very talented interior designer, was very specific in her selections and searched long and hard for the furnishings and pieces to be built in.  From the 3" limestone floors filling much of the downstairs, the antique columns, the antique mantels, the antique chandeliers and sconces, the antique iron entry doors and the Gracie wallpaper in the dining room, this house is a true showplace.

The Italian Renaissance House

Italian Renaissance style architecture is found throughout the United States in early 20th century houses.  To me, the Italian Renaissance house, with it's low-pitched roof (usually covered in ceramic tile), arched windows and doorways, porches and intricate details like cut stone, decorative brackets and broad eaves is one of the most beautiful.  Most of these houses were architect-designed landmarks in major metropolitan areas.

The house above was built in the Indian Village area of Detroit, probably for a prominent auto-industry executive.  Notice the symmetry, the large eave, the limestone door surround.  This is a beautiful example.

This house is one of my favorites.  Not only because my company built it, but also because every aspect of this house was built and designed to match how it would have been done in the 1920s or 30s.  The original house was a simple one story house built in 1915.  Prior owners had found plans dated 1929 inside the walls of the house by local architect Joseph Pelich.  The story goes that the owners had plans to do the work in 1930, but two months later the stock market crashed followed by the Depression put the plans on hold and they never did the work.  The current owners hired us to do carry out the plans (the new plans incorporated most of the details of the 1929 plans, but updated for today's living).

The entire second story was added, most of the first level was completely gutted and the location of the front door was altered to face the street.  This was one of the most challenging jobs we have faced and the outcome is beautiful.  It was a fun job, as the architectural plans were very precise, the details immaculate and we had great clients to work with.  It is now a landmark house in a beautiful area of Fort Worth.  You can find more examples in Betty Lou Phillps book, Inspirations from France & Italy.


 Here's another perfect example in Indian Village, Detroit.


The above pictures are other great examples of Italian Renaissance style.  The top picture is the famous Vizcaya in Palm Beach.  The next is a David Adler designed house in Chicago.  The bottom two are of a house in Atlanta designed by Philip Shutze.