Publication Date:
Wed, 2000-01-05 18:00
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Their conditions range from well-preserved or restored mansions to decaying, abandoned and forgotten cottages left unattended to be devoured by twisting entanglements of kudzu vines. From a grand plantation mansion in the antebellum district of Natchez, Miss., to an abandoned one-room log cabin in the mountains of eastern Tennessee, traditional Southern homes exert a powerful, almost magnetic attraction that is difficult to explain to outsiders.
Aside from the natural curiosity I have about these relics, I am also interested in borrowing architectural ideas to incorporate into our modern-day designs. Interestingly, we have discovered that home buyers from all parts of the country seem to be drawn to this down-home style of architecture. Designers often wonder just why this design style, expressed humbly or extravagantly, attracts such a following.
Southern-style homes of the past testified to the axiom, "form follows function." Their functional elements may be a reason the Southern style is so universally appealing. Raised foundations to escape flooding in the lowland swamps, top-hinged louvered shutters designed to keep rain out but let breezes in, high ceilings to make the home a little cooler, the subtle details crudely carved with a drawknife--is it a single item or a combination of all that creates the mass appeal?
One of the first homes to be built in the Southern frontier was a simple two-room log cabin known as the "dog trot" home. The name came from the central breezeway that divided the two rooms of the house, creating an area that a dog could run through. There is a striking similarity in the floor plans of much more opulent antebellum homes. These mansions were organized in the same simple manner, but with mirrored back-to-back multiples and stacked in the case of two-story designs. The breezeway was enclosed to form a great central hallway. Perhaps it is this common thread in the evolution of the Southern home that beckons modern-day home buyers to duplicate its style.
For those of us who grew up in the Deep South, the experience of traditional homes is inextricably linked to the ever-present, peaceful, inviting front porch. While other regional styles have them, porches dominate Southern home design, especially in homes built before the introduction of electricity. Electricity did not come to the rural South until as late as the 1950s. The front porch was a practical solution to combat the South's long, humid summers before air conditioning was introduced. Most porches stretched the full length of the home and were as much a part of the living space as the parlor or the dining room. Their uses ranged from quiet gathering places for the family after supper to romantic spots for young courting couplesÑand for the wedding that occasionally followed. Anyone who ever watched "The Waltons" knows that the old front porch witnessed almost all of the affairs of the home's inhabitants.
After the introduction of electricity, the popularity of the large front-porch design dwindled in favor of more contemporary, low-profile ranch styles. After all, with air conditioning, who needed to sit outside? It is noteworthy that home buyers today seem to be returning or clinging to the idea of a large front porchÑin fact, it is one of the most-demanded design features. Yet I seldom, if ever, see anyone using them when I walk through my contemporary neighborhood, which is filled to capacity with period reproductions boasting large porches. That's surprising, since a detailed front porch often costs more per square foot to build than interior space. They're expensive and underused, but we want them anyway. Perhaps they just make us feel good. Like the outspread arms of a loving and gentle gray-haired mother, the front porch beckons us to shed our burdens and find shelter from a hectic world. Who knowsÑmaybe one day we will shut off the air conditioning, unplug the TV and rediscover the magical lure of the Southern style home as we slowly rock the time away on the front porch swing.
Edsel Breland, FAIBD, is owner and president of Breland & Farmer Designers, Inc., which he founded in 1973 in Jackson, Mississippi. He helped to organize and charter the Mississippi Society of the American Institute of Building Design, and served as its first president for two years. After that he served as the Eastern director, treasurer and vice president for the National AIBD Executive Committee. He has also held various positions with the Home Builders Association.
Photography by Mark Englund/HomeStyles
