Traditional Style, c. 1850
I was driving to my sister’s house in a rural part of Michigan, when I spotted this Greek Revival door surround on the front of this abandoned farmhouse.
I’ve seen this house before, but today is the day I finally stopped to take a picture. And rather than wait to get home to write a post about it, I’m writing it right here on the side of the road using my iPad. This is a first for me.
There is something extra magical about this historic home today. It must be the light. Low, gray clouds cast a hazy pall over the countryside, like a shabby chic Instagram filter, complete with fashionable distressed finish.
I passed many subdivisions on my way out here, subdivisions crammed with new, traditional style homes worth half a million dollars and up, and not one of them has a striking front door surround like this. Not one. They are all forgetable.
Yet this humble farmhouse, with it’s proper pilasters, entablature, frieze and cornice, catches the eye in the same way a cardinal does as it flys through your yard. Flash! That’s something special!
And while I’m sitting here on the side of the road, just outside of the historic town of Almont, (Google Map) I’ve made the decision to start including exterior moldings in The Joy of Moldings Pattern Book. I’ve avoided them up until now because I’ve never installed extrior moldings, and that made me feel unqualified to write about them.
But I’ve recieved enough interest over the years from readers emailing me and asking questions about exterior moldings, that I think it’s time to include them. I won’t be writing installation tutorials for them — I’ll let my readers submit their projects — but I’ll certainly start offering up some photos to help inspire you.
