FRENCH CLASSICISM

Location: Corpus Christi, Texas

Owner: Private

Born and reared in New Orleans’ Garden District, this client grew up with all things French.  Together with her husband, she had both a natural comfort with and fascination for the traditions of French provincial architecture, furniture, and art.  This project was to design a residence of about 5,000 square feet in an older, established Corpus Christi neighborhood built up over more than 50 years in a diverse variety of design styles.  The design pursued a rigorously proper classicism – to honor the rigors of Beaux Arts traditions of order, proportion, detail, and craftsmanship and to avoid the trappings of catalog ornamentation or superficial adaptations.  Materials include yellow, solid handmade brick; cream limestone columns, cornices, parapets and flooring; copper standing seam roof; natural finished pecan wood casework and trim; handmade and antique French ceramic tile.