tweaks to the verandah

To make sure we avoided making any clanging mistakes, I asked Eric for his thoughts about the verandah design. He liked it except was a bit wary of the raised up bit over the front door and suggested a revision:

"I think that the verandah gable might clash with the house gable. How about adding some extra detail to highlight the entry, but locating in under the verandah and at a smaller scale. One idea to consider is the location of the viewer and where their eye will be filled with the view. In the sketch below, from a distance the dominant form would be the house gable. From closer, the house gable would disappear outside of the "cone of vision" of the eye, and the detail right around the entry would take over. You see this in a lot of classical architecture. St Paul's cathedral, for example. The dome, the main gable, and the detail around the door all dominate the view depending on where you are. A long way from St Paul's to Amherst, but the principle remains. Well, there is another idea to ponder. Let me know what you decide."



We talked about it quite a lot with Dad, as he really liked the idea of the gable. But both Dave and I can see Eric's point. So, we've decided to go back to the original with no gable. Wait and see if the lack of light is actually a problem before we bother with solutions for it! Now we've got rid of the verandah at the back end of the house & there's just a small canopy over the door, a lot more light will come through from that end than when there was a full verandah, so there's a good chance it'll be OK.