BUILDING A NARRATIVE

Every home has a story to tell, and you can use these tips to help yours find its voice.

Every home has a

story to tell.

History is important. Knowing where you came from gives you roots, a foundation. Houses aren’t much different from people in that respect. Each house—whether a new build or renovation—comes with its own story to tell. Incorporating details specific to the history of your home not only imbues it with new life but grounds it in the past, providing support for the memories to be made within its walls.

VISION

Andrew Cogar, co-author of Visions of Home: Timeless Design, Modern Sensibility, knows the power of a story. As president of Historical Concepts, a leading architecture firm, Cogar has made it his mission to center his builds around the people who will be living inside them. “The architect has many tasks to consider when designing a home,” writes Cogar. “But none is as important as creating a place that will encourage the making, and keeping, of memories.”

One particular home Cogar includes in his book was a custom home in the Wood River Valley of Idaho. Cogar determined that narrative would be the driving force behind this build. Cogar writes, “We proposed a residence driven by a narrative of multigenerational evolution, a story embracing stone, clapboard and board-and-batten, porches and breezeways—a house the very cohesion of which arose from its diversity.”

The Dutch gables and standing-seam metal cladding of Ashbourne Farms were carefully preserved in this farmstead revival, serving as reminders of the role this farm played in breeding sleek thoroughbred horses. (opposite) Incorporating brickwork into this South Carolina Lowcountry residence patio reconnected the house with its surroundings, providing a space that naturally invites visitors to appreciate the grandeur of Mother Nature.

Mixing materials, like a chalky brick wall and flashy copper pendant lamps, adds depth and variation to any space. These particular elements lend themselves to “aging” the new home. This method is somewhat similar to the process of aging a bottle of fine wine—the older, the better.

In keeping with his narrative-based approach, Cogar dubbed this the “storytelling room.” Warm and comfortable seating invites residents to curl up and connect with their loved ones, basking in the sunlight that streams through the floor-to-ceiling windows.