For God, Family and Republic

Classical Southern Architecture!
As I might have mentioned I took to architectural drawing from a young age... I even did freelance work for building contractors of various structures, from a starter home to an apartment which were built, and other plans for other houses and remodeling jobs. From an early age, I originally aspired to be an architect and interned with an engineering firm. But of course, my dreams and interests shifted. However, my love and appreciation for good architecture has not declined.

In my high school years I drew a sizable southern colonial home based on the Briars in Natchez, Mississippi, which was the site of the marriage of Jefferson Davis to Varina Howell, the daughter of that majestic manoral house on February 26, 1845. I matched those trademark dormer windows on the second floor, which adds to the appeal. I flipped from CAD to actual drawings in the course of this design. The square footage was absurdly proportioned, almost 7,500 square feet which is absurdly untenable in terms of costs. I should have kept it under 3,800 and at a feasibly affordable half-a-million dollars.

William Poole - One of my favorite architects
One of my favorite architects is not the acclaimed Frank Lloyd Wright, but rather one William E. Poole of Wilmington, North Carolina. William Poole is a southern original. He has great taste in architecture, a good eye for design, and appreciates America's classical architecture.

William Poole can put together a majestic southern colonial with great styling. His works are aesthetic masterpieces. I visited several residential developments throughout the Carolinas, that carry his hallmark designs from Buck Island, a beachfront community, in Corolla, NC to those in the vicinity of Raleigh, Wilmington, Wrightsville, and Figure Eight Island. I even visited Poole's office at a young age, which was in Cary, NC at the time, and was awed to gaze threw the various blueprints for hours.

I have an eye for architecture. I take no pleasure in surmising that many architects are abysmmal in their taste for architecture and have no sense of aesthetic appeal. Sure they can design a structure, but have no mindset for envisioning prudent styling, design, or an appealing exterior. Frankly, I get tired of all these post-modern eyesores that blight the urban landscape of our time. One could get nauseated looking at the coveted designs heralded by the wine-and-cheese set that reads Architectural Digest.

In this malaise, William Poole is a notable exception. He is a rare breed. He is true architectural genius. He had humble roots in the housing projects of Raleigh, NC and became one of the south's most renowned architects. It's a rather humble and moving story. Perhaps, it's better that the northern states not discover his genius, as the south can keep something special to itself—namely his beautifully-designed homes. William has contracted with Southern Living magazine to do a series of designs and he has produced truly extraordinary works of art.

My ideal homeplace: The Natchez
If providence blesses me with the financial means, I would love to one day build this home - the Natchez (first floor blueprint; second floor blueprint; rear-view; hi-res photo). Frankly, it's about as close to that dream home I drew for myself as one can get. If I don't catch a break professionally, I'll have to settle for using my inheritance to get it when I'm an old man. In any case, the Natchez is a distinctive low-country southern colonial with French influence, which was based again on a plantation home in Mississippi, the Briars. There are some variations of it, such as the La Petite Natchez, which is a smaller version in terms of square footage, with the same basic plan. One of his other designs that I particularly like as well is the Edisto River Cottage, which is a low-country colonial based on styling characteristic of plantation homes surrounding Charleston, South Carolina. The tin roof adds to its charm.

Where to Build?
While I could be happy feasibly in my hometown or native commonwealth of Virginia, I have contemplated a number of ideal southern communities. The outskirts of Lexington, Virginia and neighboring Bath County in the Shenandoah Valley are a nice place to build. The Smith Mountain Lake area at the epicenter of the Danville-Lynchburg-Roanoke triad is appealing as well. Granted, a lowcountry colonial might be better situated in the Piedmont or Tidewater regions of the Old South. So, if I considered a seaside community which is attractive, suburban Charleston, South Carolina or Wilmington, North Carolina are good choices. Other considerations? Perhaps the outskirts of Charlotte, North Carolina near Lake Norman. Speaking of lakes, Lake Murray in South Carolina is nice. Maybe, the suburbs of Huntsville or Mobile, Alabama.

Home and Hearth
In any case, I would count myself truly blessed to own one of these magnificent homeplaces I have profiled, and I could be truly contented as well. Who needs a 6,000 square foot house anyway?

Yes, I am just about like some damsel who sits around envisioning the white picket fence, the rocking chairs on the porch, the green grass, the kids running around in the yard, and the dream home.

"A human life, I think, should be well rooted in some spot of a native land, where it may get the love of tender kinship for the face of the earth, for the labors men go forth to, for the sounds and accents that haunt it, for whatever will give that early home a familiar and unmistakable difference amidst the future widening of knowledge. The best introduction to astronomy, is to think of the nightly heavens as a little lot of stars belonging to one's own homestead."
—George Eliot