The year was 1990 and I was building my very first room addition. It proved to be the first in a longer line than I expected at the time. Interestingly, it was the closest I ever came to including one of my most elusive design features…
The Interior Juliet Balcony
That first addition included a very high ceilinged new room that adjoined the house and deep-sixed the window for a bedroom. For safety reasons, bedrooms are required to have two ways out (called an “egress” requirement). My suggestion was a little balcony like the one above, but with French doors.
The owners didn’t catch my vision and at only 19 years old, I wasn’t as bold (read: opinionated and stubborn as a mule) as I would later become. So I missed the chance and the extra bedroom became storage. (another post could be written about the use of room names on building plans and the subsequent building code and permitting issues)
I never got the chance to build my little balcony and twenty years later still haven’t found the right opportunity. But I can still dream and look at pictures!
This is one of those pictures (above) that I could write an essay about. This post is about the balcony and hence the cool shape and cool railing, but don’t miss the hot sexy glass in the doors, the nicely crafted curved wood base for the railing, or the wonderful paneling downstairs.
Sooooo many houses have the opportunity for this without doing much more than knocking out a wall. Structurally, well, their really is no structure required for something like this. Not to speak of anyway. Just a good carpenter and a nice railing. It really opens things up. IMHO.
That job back in 1990 called for something like this, but interior. I’m a ginormous sucker for tiny sets of French Doors. I love love love a set of French doors less than 48″ wide. 36″ done in two pieces, like above, is fantabulous. Notice the way the stucco is brought in on an angle and how nicely that was handled in the upper corners. (not to be a stickler, but it’s not perfect… the opening on top is a little too high for the door so the stucco man angled the top more sharply than the sides… I would have asked that he brought the wall down flat and angled the tops and sides evenly. Maybe that’s a design element though and done purposefully.)
Does anyone else want one of these, or is it just my odd fascination with fascinating oddities?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Be still my panting heart! Me Loves a Balcony…especially one with character…preferably one holding a glass of wine…. franki
Count me in…. I am totally in love French Doors of any size. I am currently trying to convince my wife that we need to replace our two windows in our living room with two sets of French Doors, they would open right onto our front deck and open up our entertaining space by about 200 square feet! But love love Juliet Balconies where you can just place one chair and sit with a glass of wine and look out ahhhh !!! Just found your blog and love it!!!
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis & Sherrie