First and Second floor are nearing completion

I have been working VERY hard on this project over the last 2 weeks.  In fact, at times it has completely consumed me.  I thank each and every one of you who have expressed interest in this project over the last year, as the interest has provided an inspiration for me to continue.

I wanted to share with you an image of, again, the southwest facade.  I have made numerous changes to the west wing, which I think work much better.  I have continued work on the Mansard roof, which has taken an incredible amount of time to design, but suits the mansion aesthetically, and provides a great deal of function in terms of allowing the addition of the third floor.

I love the way this project is coming together, and am truly proud of how things have come along since April of 2010. 

As always, comments are more than welcome!  Maybe one day this house will see reality!  One can only dream!

Jonathan

Mansion Project - Formal Dining Room

Hi everyone.  It's been a while since my last post, but I have continued to work on the mansion.  I have just finished some initial renderings of the formal dining room.  The formal dining room is situated centrally in the home, near the grand staircase and reception hall.  The dining room itself has its own reception area, separated from the dining room by a pair of large columns.  The large central fireplace is the focal point of the room, flanked by a set of arches, one of which leads to the hall of china and family kitchen, and the other to the morning room.  I have used a warm wood floor in this room, which complements the wall colour. 

The dining room will be serviced as well by the catering kitchen located on the lower level, which is accessed by the nearby east staircase and service elevator. 

The ceiling detail is yet to be completed, so stay tuned for details.  Specifications to follow.  I have included the chair to give an appreciation of the scale. 

Your thoughts are most welcomed!  As always, click the image for a larger view.

Jonathan

My own "mini" Mansion

Hi everyone

While I continue to work on the "mega" mansion project, I thought I'd share with you my own "mini" mansion. It is small in comparison to the Mansion Project, but in reality it's not that "mini" at all.  It measures approximately 18,000 square feet on three floors.  It is a design that I hope to build for myself one day (hopefully sooner rather than later).

Your comments would be greatly appreciated.

Introducing the "Mini" Mansion Project

The Front Exterior Elevation (watercolor effect)

The front entry is adorned by Tuscan columns.  The garage is in a sideways configuration, which allows it to be concealed from this viewing angle.  Symmetry is largely maintained, with some minor variation.

 The Rear Exterior Elevation (watercolor effect)

The rear of the home exposes the third (lower) floor.  Twin staircases rise to the large entertaining area at the rear of the home.  The bottom floor contains the entertaining areas, including wet bar/billiards area, spa, indoor pool, exercise room, change rooms, wet and dry sauna, cigar lounge, wine cellar.

The Formal Dining Room

The formal dining room is immediately entered from the reception hall/main foyer.  The circular shape of the table is reflected in what I coin the "Las Vegas style" ceiling (as it is similar to the ceiling found in a local casino near my home).  The dining room has direct access to a butler's pantry/wet bar which leads into the kitchen.

The Formal Living/Music Room

As a musician myself, no mansion is complete without an adequate space for a beautiful grand piano.  Warm woods envelop the living room, and each of the pilasters is topped with a fleur de lys motif.

The Formal Living/Music Room (2)

Another surprise regarding the living room/music room is the spiral staircase which leads up to a viewing area, overlooking the piano, and a private office.  

The Family Kitchen/Breakfast Nook

This kitchen was meant to be a family gathering spot.  It features a breakfast nook/family dining area, and is directly open to the two storey family room.  A set of stairs leads up to the bedroom quarters.

Rear Exterior Rendering

Again, the exterior of the home demonstrating symmetry.

Thanks for all who have been supporting me on my endeavours so far.  Help this site grow by telling others to check it out!

Jonathan

Exterior Rendering - The two-storey Great Library

Here is more detail of the exterior.  This is a rendering of the exterior of the two storey great library.

I have made some modifications, including changing the overall colour of the exterior to a lighter colour.  I have also replaced the fluted pilasters with plain ones.  Let me know what you think of the changes! 

I was having "out of memory problems" with my old computer, and so purchased a new one to be able to continue with the project.  Talk about dedication!

As always, I am eager to hear your feedback.  More will be coming in the very near future so stay tuned to the "Mansion Project."

Exterior Facade - Additional renderings

I will update this post as new additional renderings of the exterior facade are created.

2. Southwest Corner (Conservatory)

Here's another rendering of the southwest corner of the mega-mansion.  In the centre is the conservatory, which is flanked by the central and west wings of the mansion.  It gives an impression of the scale, with the width of the central wing approximately equal to that of each of the two wings (east and west).  This would be the view as one approaches the west entrance of the mansion, en route to the grand ballroom.

Front Facade - Initial Rendering

Just wanted to update you about continued progress on the mega-mansion. 

Currently, the ground and second floor designs have been completed.  I am overall very happy with the layout and the use of space. For a change of gears, I have decided to start working on the exterior design elements, and have just completed the front facade. 

I want the entire feel of the home to be of "old world" character, and, as such, you won't find any modern elements on the exterior facade.  I love French Second Empire (Napoleon III style) architecture, and think this mansion is worthy of that styling.  As I may have mentioned before I love symmetry, and the home is largely symmetrical with the exception of minor deviations in the East and West wings. 
 

(Please click the image for a larger view)

The exterior is sheathed with limestone.  The front entry is flanked by twenty-four foot (24') high columns, which provide a grand first impression.  A large window sits atop the front entry which is capped with a rounded lintel.  The lintels are repeated on some of the second story windows.  The heavy balustrades provide a sense of strength to the overall exterior appearance.  Fluted pilasters finish off exterior corners, adding a delicate touch.  The roof is yet to be completed, but will feature a Mansard roof.

Your comments would be most appreciated!

(The image was created using Chief Architect, amazing software with virtually unlimited possibilities!  I would love to try out the new software, Chief Architect X3)

The Conservatory - Update

Well, I've been catching up on some lost time.  I decided to go ahead and render the conservatory again (twice in one day!).  The cathedral ceiling and dormers are still to come.  I did change the colour of the walls to a rich burgundy, which I think contrasts beautifully with the greenery of the room, as well as brings out the texture of the walls. 

I have added seating to demonstrate the scale of the room.  I really love the multiple tiers that the stairs provide. 

In my next rendering, I do plan to put a floor medallion around the fountain.

Just wanted to see what you guys think!

The Biltmore Inspired Conservatory

I thought I would share with you the "preliminary" rendering of the conservatory, inspired by Biltmore's Winter Garden.

The room has a modified octagonal design, as opposed to Biltmore's "full" octagon. A set of three arched doorways lead into the room from the Grand Ballroom. The entire room is sunken a few steps, to add a dramatic flair. The centre-piece of the room is a magnificent bronze fountain. The exterior walls are wrapped in windows and doors, providing a wealth of natural light.

Although not completed presently, I plan for the room to have a cathedral ceiling, and I plan to incorporate rounded dormers above each exterior wall to bring additional light into the room as well as to complement the rounded archways leading to the ballroom.

The room will contain lush greenery and seating areas, serving to function as a more "intimate" space for guests to converse, away from the main function in the ballroom. The room, despite being "intimate," is on a grand scale, measuring 26' (twenty-six-feet) at its widest point, and is approximately 38' (thirty-eight-feet) in length.

In future renderings I will incorporate a few pieces of furniture to give a better idea of the scale. You can get a reasonable idea from the large, red cabana bench in front of the large mirror in the ball room. Additionally, the central fountain measures approximately 6' (six-feet) wide and 6' (six-feet) tall.

Stay tuned...more to come.

The Mansion's Grand Ball Room

Presenting: The Grand Ball Room

Situated in the East Wing of the House, this massive entertaining space of some 45' (fourty-five-feet) by 28' (twenty-eight-feet) boasts two fireplaces (one at each end of the room).  A piano alcove is flanked by columns.  The doors to the left lead to the rear gallery (rear) and the guest lounge (front).  Between these doors sits a large mirror measuring some 10' (ten-feet) high.  The room is detailed with gilded trim.  The floor is polished limestone.  To the right of the ballroom lies the adjacent conservatory, inspired by Biltmore's Winter Garden.  Triple arched entries lead to this area. 

The ceiling detail is to be completed.  Ideally I would love to see a barrel vaulted ceiling for this room, and am working diligently to make this possible. 

As always, comments are welcome.  This is a preliminary rendering, to keep you guys entertained!

Family Kitchen - Rendering

Due to a technical "glitch," the project has been on hold for a short while. 

Things are back up and running smoothly, and I am in the process of rendering some views of the family kitchen.

I have taken into consideration many of the comments, and appreciate all of them!  Again, the family area (including family kitchen, breakfast (informal dining) area, and family room) is meant to be a space for the household family to convene.  It is not meant to be an area equipped to cater to a large group.  As such, I believe that the family kitchen is well equipped for this purpose.

Features include:

• a double range/oven
• double refrigerator
• 2 professional dishwashers (adjacent to the dish sink)
• large dish sink on eating island
• prep sink on centre island
• ice maker (adjacent to prep sink)
• trash compactor (adjacent to prep sink)
• wet bar
• built in microwave
• built in espresso machine
• warming drawers opposite the double range

The adjacent breakfast room (renderings to follow) also has a number of storage spaces/cabinets. 

These aforementioned features are more than enough to prepare most of the meals that I can create with my limited culinary skills!  However, for those more "adventurous" the catering kitchen (lower level) will feature many of the amenities that "Oakland homes" has suggested, so again these comments are very much appreciated and will be put to use.

For the ceiling, I have lowered the overall height from 12' to 11' to give the room a more intimate feel.  I have added ceiling detail as seen in the rendering.  I can envision circular track lighting housed within the recessed circular area in the ceiling.

Please let me know what you think.  I have also had fun over the last day or so (technical glitches aside) of designing the adjacent butler's pantry, with access to a staircase, dumbwaiter, and service elevator leading to the caterer's kitchen.

Stay tuned.

The Great Room

The Great Room is centrally located in the home.  Its dimensions are thirty-five feet by twenty-six feet (35' x 26'), plus piano alcove (with a total square footage of just under 1000 square feet).  The piano alcove is elevated six-inches (6") from the main floor to add definition to the space (perfect for a nine-foot Steinway concert grand piano). 

The ceiling is twenty-three feet (23') high, and the detail within the ceiling is meant to reflect the grandeur of the room.  Recessed lighting gives the impression of a "starry night."   The stars are reflected in the opposing ten-foot mirrors adorning two massive fireplaces on opposite ends of the room. 

The two round windows give the great room somewhat of a "nautical" feel, perfect for an ocean side landscape.  Beneath these, two sets of french doors provide access to exterior entertaining, and flank the piano alcove.

The room is lavishly appointed with strong trim accents (fluted pilasters), appropriate for the scale of the room.  The fireplaces are trimmed with luxurious black granite, and the floor is composed of a polished limestone.

Entry to the room is via three large doorways, leading from the central gallery.  Curved balconies of with wrought iron balusters allow a bird's-eye-view of the room from the second floor central gallery.