English brick house. Facade of a house in the English style: main directions and their features. Wine cellar with stained glass ceiling

You will find a historical excursion into the origins of a comfortable and so sweet-looking English home. Photos of houses and interiors are modern.

In the 16th-17th centuries, England became the center of world trade and a powerful colonial power. Country estates are becoming the defining type of English housing. During this period, the architecture, named after the ruling dynasty, was called “Tudor”. The estates have already lost their fortress character, residential buildings have increased in width, large and frequent windows and bay windows have replaced the slit-like openings of medieval castles.

At this time, many Flemish architects were working in England, fleeing the persecution of the Spanish Inquisition; they had a significant influence on the development of decorative motifs in the design of buildings. The requirements of reliability and defense capability gave way to concerns about the best lighting and ventilation of the room; now the housing had to be comfortable, have not only cozy living rooms, but also beautiful formal rooms, and the beauty of their decoration testified to the power and wealth of the owner.

As before, in the center of the house, as in medieval castles, there was a hall - a ceremonial hall, but now it was richly decorated along the walls with carved oak panels, and above them were hung hunting trophies, weapons and portraits of famous ancestors. The ceiling was covered with stucco or carved open rafters.

On one side of the hall there were living rooms, and on the other - utility rooms. This configuration of the house goes back to the ancient wooden dwelling of the Saxons, where utility and living quarters were located around a threshing floor, the ceiling of which was the open rafters of the roof. An indispensable attribute of the house was a huge fireplace that reached almost to the ceiling. And another characteristic detail is the wide staircase in the hall, decorated with sculptures and carved wooden railings. The owners of the estate were very proud of the beauty and size of the staircase.

The exterior of the building was clad in brick with white cut stone trim. These details were decorated with intertwining curls of carvings, masks, and figures of monsters. The contrasting combination of decorative white stone parts and brick surfaces is a characteristic feature of English architecture.

At the same time, half-timbered houses began to be built in large numbers in English villages (the influence of Flemish architects was felt). Their facades were covered with a dense network of wooden beams - half-timbered beams, which stood out brightly against the background of white plaster and picturesquely decorated the streets of villages and small towns.

Two centuries later, the residential buildings of Victorian England, common in both town and country, retained many of the architectural features of the manor houses of the past, but became more compact. The center of the building was still made up of the traditional hall and staircase, and the remaining rooms were grouped around them.

The utility rooms were moved to the ground floor. As before, the houses were brick with white stone trim, and in the center of the facade there was a door framed by white columns.

The cozy interiors of such houses were especially attractive. Their decor was based on antique motifs. Walls covered with carved oak panels, carved fireplaces and white staircases decorated with sculpture.

And in the rooms there is stylish furniture by Chippendale, a famous master of that time, as if “quilted” with many nails. The next generations of their inhabitants fell in love with the coziness and comfort of these houses, carefully preserving the interiors and supplementing them with objects from their eras. As a result, a completely original style was formed - a traditional English house.

Loyalty to traditions, as is known, is a distinctive feature of the British. The reason for this was the island isolation, the reserved character, and the measured way of life of the subjects of the kingdom. The well-known motto “My home is my fortress!” - this is a kind of philosophy of their life. And in our time, respectable Englishmen prefer antiquity to avant-garde, and authenticity to stylization, so if there is oak furniture in the house, then it is really made of solid oak, and not finished “to look like oak”. Everything in this house is installed firmly and for a long time and is passed on unchanged from generation to generation. For example, the Windsor hard chair made of wood, invented three hundred years ago and is just as popular today. And the wood species used to make furniture are the same as many centuries ago: oak, walnut, yew. But this furniture, on which many generations of ancestors sat, seems to be surrounded by a special aura and creates the indescribable charm of an English home.

Each new generation of its inhabitants, without changing anything inherited from their ancestors, brought something of their own to the environment. Thus, wicker rattan furniture for the terrace was brought from the colonies, and Arabic lamps, Japanese screens and engravings were brought from travels to the East. And, as a result of the gradual acquisition, pieces of furniture in the interior differ in tone and style, generally creating a kind of harmony.

Textiles occupy a large place in the decor of an English home: lampshades, covers on sofas and chairs, pillows and blankets on armchairs, curtains and canopies over the bed. The color scheme is usually light and calm. And the designs are varied from Scottish checks and printed chintz with small flowers in the kitchen, strict stripes on silk and colored cashmere in the living room to luxurious bouquets of “English” roses on the canopy, bedspreads and curtains in the bedroom.

A typically English design with lush bouquets of roses scattered on a light background has become popular not only in England. But he could have been born there: with such curtains and a canopy over the bed you can isolate yourself from the humid fog and drizzle outside the window, recalling centuries-old English lawns and luxurious flower beds. Plain, striped, with small floral patterns or covered with antique oak panels, the walls of the house are decorated with tapestries and paintings: watercolors, engravings, landscapes, oil paintings, of course, originals.

An indispensable attribute of a house in foggy and cool England is a fireplace. It can be different: simply decorated with bleached bricks with a dark wood mantel, lined with tiles or natural stone. But in any case, this is the center of the living room, around it there is upholstered furniture, low tables, woolen carpets with a dim pattern on a wooden floor. Such fireplaces look very stylish even in modern interiors:

The kitchen in an English house is a special room. Good quality furniture made of hard wood, carved and painted in light colors: a chest of drawers, a pile of dishes, open shelves with ceramics, most often blue and white. Plates with discreet patterns of all sizes, candlesticks, teapots. What was previously used today serves as a decoration for the kitchen. Modern household appliances are “hidden” in such a kitchen, but the decoration of the kitchen is the hearth-fireplace, which was previously used for warmth and cooking, but now creates a cozy atmosphere of an old house.

All the details of everyday life in such a house, be it trinkets and souvenirs on the mantelpiece, a carpet, a lamp, a painting or furniture on the terrace, correspond to the customs and habits of this particular family and are associated with family stories and legends. English interiors of the Victorian era are very individual and natural - this is their main distinguishing feature and this is also the special charm of the style of a traditional English house.

Unfortunately, now modern Englishmen of average income do not strive to follow centuries-old traditions, while Russian-speakers who have moved to Albion are happy and meticulous in recreating replicas of such spectacular Victorian interiors, beloved from books, skillfully incorporating British notes into the modern style with the help of designers:

A house in the English style would be quite appropriate to call it classic. Restraint and elegance are the main features that are inherent in these styles. The traditional English style still contains a certain aristocracy. In the modern world, it is quite difficult to adhere to one style in the design of your home, but in our article we will still try to figure out how to skillfully combine the basic elements of the English style with functionality, while maintaining harmony. And the 33 photos that accompany the material perfectly illustrate the depth of the presented style visually.

Correct facade of a house in English style

The construction of a private house involves preliminary planning of external and internal work, in which the finishing of the facade plays a very important role. The facade of a house in the English style is, first of all, austerity and conservatism; it has many of its own features that should not be neglected. The facades of English-style houses are noticeably distinguished by the originality of finishing materials and special decorative elements.

The most popular varieties of English style:

• Gregorian
• Victorian
• Tudor

Gregorian style

In the Gregorian style, the motifs of ancient architecture are quite noticeable. As a rule, houses in this style are two-story. The first floor of the house has a high base and wall coverings in the form of cornices and moldings. The doors are made of wood, sometimes with small windows at the top.

The walls are most often made of red brick; visually it looks like a classic brick house in the English style, reminiscent of a fairy-tale construction from the Middle Ages. The presence of artificial or wild stone in the facade of the house is also a clear characteristic of the style. Facade cladding is often found using foam or polyurethane. These materials are light in weight and quite versatile, they can be easily painted to match natural materials.

Victorian style

This style is characterized by symmetry with the entrance at the center. The ceilings in Victorian-style houses are low, so the windows on the second floor are also located quite low. The windows themselves are round in shape. The roof of the house is covered with slate and symmetrical pipes, cone-shaped towers and cylindrical buildings are used as decorations. The facade of the house in the English style has such striking differences as: stained glass windows, mosaic masonry and figured forging. Direct finishing of the house is done using brickwork. Cornices, doors and window transitions are made in contrasting colors.

Tudor style

As with the previous two, the Tudor-style facade uses brickwork. The masonry is done according to the castle type, and half-timbering is also used with the walls of the wooden frame filled with brick or stone material.

In houses made in the Tudor style, the presence of a porch is not accepted; instead, a small canopy is built, which is decorated with climbing vegetation.

English style house: design features of the roof and foundation

In such houses there is practically no foundation; the floor is laid almost on the ground layer of earth. It is not customary to display a garage, so it is built in the middle of the site. It is also unacceptable to build separate sheds for the garage and make it adjacent to the wall of a residential building. The facade of English-style houses has a high roof. The most popular materials for roof construction are slate, tiles and even straw.

Previously, a roof made of natural materials spoke of the deteriorating financial situation of the owners, but now such a roof is highly valued and is considered environmentally friendly. The striking features of English style roofs are their sharpness and height.

English-style house interior: key elements and style characteristics

Mahogany can easily be called an essential element of the interior of a house in the English style. Expensive and elegant material, perfect for furniture and interior decoration. Plain walls are traditionally decorated with paintings or tapestries. Windows play a special role; they are always covered with rich multi-layer curtains, decorated with veils, draperies and lacing.

The interior of the English-style house is traditionally decorated in brown, gray, olive and white. There are several elements that make an English-style house unmistakable.

Fireplace - what would an English house be without a fireplace? In cold and damp weather conditions, it performs not only an aesthetic function, but also a practical one. The best option would be a real fireplace, not an electric one, but it all depends on the capabilities of the living space. Most often, the fireplace becomes the center of the room, and a sofa, armchairs and other furniture will be placed around it.

Also, almost no English home is complete without a library. This could be a whole separate room, a shelving unit, or just a few shelves. A great addition to the library would be a few armchairs and a coffee table.

And the last obligatory element of the English style is the cage. This pattern is very often used in textiles. It is quite bright and stands out against the background of other interior elements.

Perhaps many will consider the interior of an English-style house too restrained and conservative, but not fans of the classics. If a book, a fireplace and a cup of tea are your ideal evening, then the English style is made for you.

English style house - classic, sophistication and beauty in 33 photos updated: September 14, 2017 by: Valeria Likhovaya

Great Britain is generally associated with fog, rain, porridge, well-established respectful social relations and, of course, its own unique style of architecture. What does a modern English-style house look like? This style is not just some kind of picture, it is a kind of visualization of the mentality of the British, which, despite any changes in the surrounding world, retains the features inherent in the British two hundred, three hundred, five hundred years ago...

In the modern sense, an English house is a mixture of two styles: Victorian and Georgian. The first thing that catches your eye is that the house, in true English style, is built exclusively from red brick. This material has a number of advantages. It is environmentally friendly, has a low production cost, its production can be established almost anywhere, red brick is quite strong and durable. An English house must have two floors, sometimes the house has an attic. It is customary to locate a small utility room under the roof, such as a room for drying clothes or a closet.

English house foundation

An English-style house is characterized by a low foundation. Thanks to this feature, the floors in the house are almost flush with the surface of the ground, bringing the resident of the house as close as possible to the ground. As for basements, the British, practical in many matters, prefer not to place garages or workshops in basements. The maximum that can be in a classic English house is a pantry or a shallow cellar.

Low foundations are a distinctive feature of an English-style house

Facade of houses in English style

The facade of an English house is quite strict and only in rare cases are small decorations allowed. The facade of an English house is not painted or covered with anything. Light plaster is also not traditional in English architectural style.

Windows for an English country house

In English houses, the windows of the first floor are very low, very close to the surface of the ground. Windows are usually large, double or triple hung. The shape of the windows is rectangular or square.

Roof for a house in English style

The roof of an English house is difficult to confuse with the roof of another architectural style. Moreover, the high and sharp roof, covered with red tiles, is a kind of calling card of an English-style house. Recently, the latest fashion has been the construction of roofs from water reeds and thatch. Once upon a time, in the 17th century, a thatched roof was a sure sign of financial problems for the owner of the house. Today, building a thatched roof is not a cheap pleasure, so a thatched roof has become a sign of prosperity and prosperity.

The roof for poor houses in the past and the roof for the houses of wealthy people today

Porch of English houses

This element is found quite rarely in English houses. It is built only if the site with the house has a slope. But in an English house, various canopies can be made over the entrance doors or windows. The ivy shoots that cover the canopy are considered especially chic.

English houses most often do not have a porch, but awnings are popular

Garage for an Englishman's house

A distinctive feature of English home ownership is the absence of a visible garage. It is not customary for the British to place it in the house, or in extensions to the house, or in separate structures next to the house. Most often, the garage is located somewhere in the depths of the site, away from prying eyes.

What does the yard of an English house look like?

A mandatory attribute of an English home is the presence of a lawn and flower beds. Every true Englishman considers it his duty to mow lawns, as a continuation of family traditions. Flowers occupy a special place among the British, and the absence of a flower garden is not just a sign of bad taste, but also a very likely hint of the owner’s financial problems. For many Englishmen, a garden, at least a miniature one, is a must in their household. A distinctive feature of the garden can be considered linear paths and hedges of tall grass.

The lawn is the result of many years of work
A small lawn, a small flower garden - this is an English courtyard! Did you like the article? Share on social networks!

The old designs of English houses are chronologically the oldest, in area they are much smaller than the Tudor houses that appeared at the end of the 15th century, and even more so the large country Georgian and Victorian cottages, and most closely echo the medieval style. Conventional ones are characterized by a steep pitched roof with cross gables, large stone or brick chimneys at the front of the house, and small double-hung window openings. Entrance areas were often gables with a tiled roof that was steep and straight on one side and carefully curved on the other. Doorways are arched or semicircular, richly decorated with fittings and external lighting.

Architectural features of ancient English projects

• The roof is steep and pitched with complex intersecting gables
• Roof covering made of natural clay tiles, preferably old ones - with lichen or moss
• Massive dominant chimney
• Details may include half-timbered and narrow windows with wooden shutters
• Finishing - natural or artificial stone, rough plaster and wood

Tudor style houses

Tudor style houses are considered the next step in English cottage architecture. Tudor houses are usually mixed - i.e. The first floor is designed from brick or stone, the second floor is of the attic type, usually made using half-timbered technology or with decorative overlays made of timber. Roofs in Tudor style houses steep, pitched, with finely flared curves on the eaves, the windows are high and narrow. Tudor houses, like Old English ones, have massive stove or fireplace chimneys, but they are no longer exposed to the foreground and are located to the side or behind the house. We invite you to familiarize yourself with ready-made projects of Tudor houses, or carry out individual design of country cottages, carefully planned and functional, in accordance with your wishes.

Georgian houses

The Georgian style of architecture originated in England at the beginning of the 18th century and developed between 1720 and 1840. English Georgian houses are very easy to distinguish from other English designs - they are characterized by precise proportions and balance.

Characteristics of Georgian architecture

• Usually have rectangular symmetrical shapes, windows and doors centered on the front facade.
• The most commonly used building materials are simple clay bricks in dark or light shades.
• Georgian houses are mostly two-storey, but you can also design a mansard or one-storey design.
• The roof is usually dark.
• The colors are discreet - various shades of red and burgundy, sometimes gray.
• Like any English house, a Georgian design must have a fireplace. Unlike the earlier ones, here you can do without a chimney attached to the side.

English designs in Victorian style

The Victorian style of architecture flourished for a century, from the 1810s to the early 1910s, but is still relevant today. Particularly common in rural areas and suburbs of large cities in the United States. Houses in this style have an asymmetrical facade, steep roof, bay windows and towers decorated with spindles or carvings, porches with pillars and spacious covered terraces or verandas - with decorative railings.

Pediments visually stand out on facades. The decoration of English cottages in the Victorian style is decorated with shingles or siding, and the roof is covered with patterned tiles. Traditionally, these houses are mostly two-story or with an attic.

English architecture is distinguished by an unusual combination of rigor and sophistication. Houses decorated in the English style have always been valued not only for their appearance, but also for their reliability and durability. Typically, a house of this style can be briefly described as a stone structure with a wide facade, decorated with plaster or brick. The design of such buildings looks luxurious and elegant.

In the photos of English-style houses you can see their main features.

Front side of the house in the English style, as a rule, is distinguished by the following elements:

• the walls are made of natural stone or brick
• no carvings or designs
• the exterior is asymmetrical
• there are columns
• the range of colors used is quite narrow
• the roof has a round slope
• there is vegetation near the house

Types of English houses

In this type of architecture, there are three main directions, applicable to suburban and urban buildings. Each of them has its own characteristics and distinctive features.

Tudor style house

This building looks like village house from a fairy tale, although it has a rather rough appearance. The main features of such houses:

Georgian type of architecture

In modern England, Georgian style is the most popular urban style. This style may look magnificently and solemnly, but at the same time it is quite simple. Features of the direction:

• symmetry and right angles
• windows of equal size, evenly spaced
• lack of decoration
• the presence of five windows on the main facade
• low entrance location
• paired pipes
• the roof with a low slope is located almost level with the walls
• on the side of the doors there are pilasters and semi-columns

Victorian type of architecture

Victorian style involves decorative cladding and contrasting color combinations in finishing. Style Features:

Features of English house projects

A house in true English style should be built of red brick. This material ensures a long service life. Another advantage is good sound insulation in interior spaces. In addition, brick buildings are resistant to temperature changes and humid environments.

The design of such a house involves presence of two floors, sometimes it may also have an attic. It is customary to place a utility room under the roof, for example, it could be a closet. Mainly creating a garden in the nearby area.

A typical English house design has an entrance in the middle of the building. The building, the facade of which is made in the traditional English style, looks massive.

Example of a house in English style photo:

An English-style building is characterized by a low foundation. The floor in it is almost level with the surface of the earth. There are usually no basements, but there may be a storage room or shallow cellar. The façade of an English house looks austere; decorations are allowed only in rare cases. His do not paint or veneer.

The windows on the first floor are low. The shape of windows is usually rectangular or square. The roof is high and sharp, covered with red tiles. Recently, you can often see roofs made of reeds or thatch.

A porch is rare in English houses. It is built only if the site with the house is on a slope. But there may be awnings over the entrance doors or windows. Ivy wrapped around a canopy will look luxurious.

Internal layout

The main room on the first floor is the living room. According to the rules, it should be combined with a dining room, corridor, and hall. The area should be bright - there should be a large number of windows. There may also be a work office on the ground floor.

The second floor is the sleeping area. There can be three bedrooms here, and one of them should have a bathroom and wardrobe. This English style house project is ideal.

Traditional interior

A comfortable and cozy environment is an important condition for creating an internal atmosphere characteristic of the interior of a house in the English style. The main room here is the living room. It creates all the conditions so that guests can stay comfortably. At the same time, already at the stage of drawing up the project, the design style is strictly maintained.

Used for finishing natural wood, the floor has parquet covering. It is preferable that the living room be large enough. However, by resorting to the help of designers, you can get a project of an impressively decorated house and a small size.

The design of the interior decoration of a house in the English style requires the presence of a fireplace, which is the center of the composition in the interior of the living room. Its cladding can be made of different materials (marble, wood, lime panel). On the mantelpiece, as a rule, a mantel clock, small bronze sculptures, porcelain figurines, vases with flowers, as well as snuff boxes and cigarette cases.

Conclusion

Choosing a project for an architectural structure in the English style will not only be a beautiful and elegant solution for a country house, but will also become a comfortable and cozy place to live in it. A small house in the English style, surrounded by greenery, will remind you of centuries-old English traditions, including a relaxing holiday away from civilization. The interior and exterior, unusual for our places, will delight its owner every day. Well, green spaces, as part of a house of English architecture, will allow the owners and guests to always be in a good mood.