USING COLUMNS AS ROOM SEPARATORS

Open floor plans create a spacious, airy feeling that appeals to many of today’s homeowners.  However, without traditional borders, the living rooms, kitchens, and dining rooms often bleed into one another, resulting in an undefined sprawl.  A beautiful and effective solution to this problem is the incorporation of well-placed architectural columns.  Correctly used, columns delineate the rooms without disrupting the original architectural intentions.

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In this home, fluted columns with Greek Erectheum capitals have been used to separate the living room (unseen), a center hall, and the dining room, providing a more contemporary living arrangement in a traditional setting.

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On this Martha Stewart project, a wall was removed, and fluted columns with denticulated Roman Doric capitals and Attic (Ionic) bases were added to expand the space.

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Here, two sets of Tuscan columns separate the casual living room, a stair landing, and the kitchen, providing visual access to all spaces while still creating a sense of borders.

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438_Reduced.jpgFaux-finished wood columns and pilasters with custom plinths, Attic bases, and Empire with Necking capitals delineate the grand entrance from the formal living area.

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Octagonal columns and pilasters with Attic bases and denticulated Roman Doric capitals create an open hallway between living areas.

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Fluted denticulated Roman Doric columns on custom pedestals demarcate the entrance into different rooms.

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Columns and pilasters with Attic bases and denticulated Roman Doric capitals provide a perfect, subtle delineation between an entrance hall and the (unseen) living room.

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Greek Doric columns, with Doric flutes separate the stairway and the foyer.

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What is a Balustrade?

WHAT IS A BALUSTRADE?

Text Courtesy of:  Architectural Digest

Text by Stefanie Waldek

August 20, 2015
Patio from the Castle of Vélez Blanco, 1506–15. Photo: Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Patio from the Castle of Vélez Blanco, 1506–15. Photo: Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Though you might not know exactly what a balustrade is, you probably encounter one more often than you’d expect. Found lining many staircases and terraces, a balustrade is a row of small columns topped by a rail. The term is derived from the form’s constituent posts, called balusters, a name coined in 17th-century Italy for the bulbous item’s resemblance to blossoming pomegranate flowers (balaustra in Italian).

“The balustrade’s functions are multiple, from reducing the possibility of a person falling off a stairway to cordoning off an area for the purposes of privacy, such as the gilded balustrade that separates the bed in the king’s chamber at Versailles from the rest of the room,” says Mitchell Owens, Architectural Digest’s decorative arts and antiques editor.

A decorative balustrade lines the roof of this Palm Beach, Florida, residence designed in a combination of the Beaux Arts and Mediterranean Revival traditions. Photo: Roger Davies

A decorative balustrade lines the roof of this Palm Beach, Florida, residence designed in a combination of the Beaux Arts and Mediterranean Revival traditions.
Photo: Roger Davies

The earliest examples of balustrades comes from ancient bas-reliefs, or sculptural murals, dating from sometime between the 13th and 7th centuries b.c. In depictions of Assyrian palaces, balustrades can be seen lining the windows. Interestingly, they don’t appear during the architecturally innovative Greek and Roman eras (there are, at least, no ruins to prove their existence), but they resurface in the late 15th century, when they were used in Italian palaces.
At a Water Mill, New York, home, a wrought-iron balustrade wraps the serpentine staircase in the entrance hall. Photo: Scott Frances

At a Water Mill, New York, home, a wrought-iron balustrade wraps the serpentine staircase in the entrance hall.
Photo: Scott Frances

A notable example of the architectural element once graced the Castle of Vélez Blanco, a 16th-century Spanish structure designed in the Italian Renaissance style. The intricate marble balustrade lined a second-floor walkway overlooking a courtyard. The ornamentation around the terrace was disassembled in 1904 and eventually sold to banker George Blumenthal, who installed it in his Manhattan townhouse. The patio has since been reconstructed in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Balustrades continue to be used today in a vast variety of shapes and materials, from simple wood posts to elaborate wrought-iron spindles, for both decorative and practical purposes.


Browse Chadsworth’s Balustrade Options
Read more on Architectural Digest online at:  www.architecturaldigest.com
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Wayne County Veteran’s Memorial Features Chadsworth’s Columns

Wayne County Veteran’s Memorial Features Chadsworth’s Classic Stone Columns

Text:  Courtesy of the Wayne County Veteran’s Memorial website:

www.wayneveteransmemorial.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the Wayne County Memorial Building burned in 2004, the Trustees met regularly and consulted with veterans and interested citizens to determine future plans for the property. The land and 1925 building had been made possible by generous gifts from throughout the county, and the sole purpose had been to build a living memorial which would honor and forever remember those from here who had lost their lives in war. At a public meeting held in January, 2009, many veterans and other citizens expressed the opinion that this “hallowed ground” should continue being a memorial as it was originally intended. Later that year, after lengthy thought and study, the Trustees launched the Wayne County Veterans Memorial project in Goldsboro, NC.

Insurance proceeds from the destruction of the Community Building were used to bring this new project into reality without involving any tax funds. Early on, the Trustees engaged the services of Landscape Architect Jim Davis, originally from Eureka, NC, to work with them in formulating the vision and creating the design. The general contractor, D. S. Simmons Co., agreed with our desire to use local sub-contractors, and Landscape Design of Goldsboro, North Carolina is responsible for the landscape installation. Many extra hours and material were contributed by all involved in the project.

The emphasis on the design is formal enough to honor those who died to protect the liberties we enjoy, yet inviting enough to welcome visitors. Here all can find a place for rest, reflection, and solace. Our intent is that this space be actively used for veterans’ activities, community events, concerts, and visits by Scouts, schools, and other civic groups, thus continuing its role as a living memorial.

It is our hope that the Memorial honor those who have died, but also instill an understanding and respect for the sacrifices made on our behalf by past generations.

Completed Memorial Using Chadsworth's Columns

Completed Memorial Using Chadsworth’s Columns

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View the HISTORY of the Wayne County Veteran’s Memorial.

Also make your RESERVATIONS to tour the memorial.


PROJECT INFO:

COLUMN DESIGN NUMBERClassic Stone Custom

COLUMN DESIGN:  Classic Stone (Textured) FRP columns. Scamozzi capitals and Ionic (Attic) base moldings / plinths.

COLUMN MATERIAL:  Classic Stone (Pre-Finished Textured)

COLUMN SIZE:  14″ x 12′

PROJECT LOCATION:  Goldsboro, North Carolina

PROJECT COMMENTS:  The Wayne County Veteran’s Memorial in Goldsboro, North Carolina features (20) of Chadsworth’s pre-finished, textured Classic Stone columns. The columns are round, plain and tapered with Scamozzi capitals and Attic bases.


 

Visit more of Chadsworth’s projects at:
Visit our online store at:

 

How to Install a Ceiling Medallion

INSTALLATION VIDEO:  Ceiling Medallions

A video guide from HGTV

CHADSWORTH’S URETHANE CEILING MEDALLIONS

VIEW ALL OF OUR MEDALLION DESIGNS

To view more of Chadsworth Incorporated’s products, please visit:

www.COLUMNS.com

Also visit HGTV’s web site for more “How To’s”

www.HGTV.com

How to Install a Wall Niche

INSTALLATION VIDEO:  Decorative Wall Niches

A video guide from This Old House

CHADSWORTH’S DECORATIVE WALL NICHES

VIEW ALL OF OUR NICHE DESIGNS

To view more of Chadsworth Incorporated’s products, please visit:

www.COLUMNS.com

Also visit This Old House

www.thisoldhouse.com