Details give newly built home patina of age

It's not easy to make an old house with a traditional design work well for a 21st-century lifestyle. One of the hardest parts, actually, is finding an affordable old house that doesn't need a total makeover.

That's why so many Americans build what architect Russell Versaci describes as "a new old house." He offers several examples of this type of home in his book, "Creating a New Old House," published by The Taunton Press. Whether it's a French Creole cottage or an antebellum plantation, Versaci shows how newly constructed homes are made to look timeless by following his eight pillars of design.

And looks alone, of course, aren't all that matters. In addition to the nostalgia they evoke, these homes include all the contemporary comforts to which we've grown so strongly attached.

Q: We've just built a home in a traditional American architectural style. Its entrance foyer is 10 feet wide and 12 feet deep with a hallway leading off each of the longer walls.

This configuration calls attention to the 10-foot wall across from the entrance door. How should it be treated? Can its color be different from what we use in other parts of the foyer? Would the wall look OK with a mirror on it and with a console in front of it?

Our aim, of course, is to create a welcoming space.

A: I'm not sure what you mean by traditional American architectural style. Because that's such a general term, it's difficult to picture the look of your house -- which in turn would influence the design of the foyer.

In general, I would not hang a mirror directly across from an entrance door. Your guests and the outdoors, as well as your own back, will instantly be reflected, and that's not an appropriate visual greeting.

A mirror and a console are useful items in a foyer, however, so they could be placed on one of the side walls. And because your space is so generous in size, situating a console in it should pose no problem.

Some of my other suggestions for designing a traditional foyer are illustrated in the accompanying photo, which is taken from Versaci's book.

The walls in this French Colonial house in Mississippi were fitted with vertical wooden boards and moldings. Whether you choose to panel the walls of your own foyer or simply paint or paper them, do consider adding moldings. They will help give a large space a unified look while also acting as a frame for any wallcovering or arrangement of pictures. Notice how the moldings in this model serve to accentuate the botanical prints.

Detailing of this sort is one of the simpler ways to make the design of an interior conform to a home's traditional architecture.

As for the welcoming touch you desire, it can be achieved in part by adding a small settee with soft and inviting pillows.

Have fun!

Rita St. Clair is a syndicated columnist with Tribune Media Services Inc. E-mail general interior design questions to her at rsca@ritastclair.com.