Style
Jeffersonian; common, 1772 – 1840 in the mid-Atlantic states; revived occasionally, nation-wide. (For more of the style, please see The Beautiful Home Treatise, #17C, The Rivanna.)
17A, The Blue Ridge, Plan & Elevation (variation 1).
Introduction
The Jeffersonian style is the creation of our third President, Thomas Jefferson, statesman, political philosopher, author, historian, scientist, planter, an architect who composed verse, an American genius. The Jeffersonian encompasses elements gathered from all of history, selected with taste, composed in reason.
You will find in the Jeffersonian, Roman precedent, Palladian organization, French Bourbon elegance, American eloquence. In precedent:
of the Roman, the Doric, Ionic, Corinthian; Temple of Gaius and Lucius Caesar (the Maison Carrée);
of Palladio, Villa Almerico Capra (La Rotonda), Villa Badoer (La Badoera), Villa Cornaro;
of French Bourbon, Hôtel de Salm;
of pattern-books, Palladio’s The Four Books of Architecture, Gibb’s Book of Architecture;
the Virginia State Capitol Building, ascended from the Maison Carrée;
Monticello, ascended from the Hôtel de Salm.
#17 Federal, Jeffersonian, 5 Design Variations.
Characteristics
A central pediment over a Doric portico, with fanlight.
Low pitched, gabled and hipped roofs.
Three-part temple – central pediment and wings – on a raised foundation.
An entablature of broad white bands.
The tall windows are shuttered.
The skin is red brick, the columns are limestone or treated to resemble limestone.
A distinguishing Jefferson dome, octagon.
Bi-laterally symmetrical.
Features
This modest Jeffersonian home features Roman Doric columns, a dome, and a two-story Great Room. The home’s fulcrum is the octagonal Dome Room, alike a Pantheon whose oculus is enjoyed from the Dining Hall through the second-floor Library – from here, storied door friezes lead to other ground-floor rooms. To the right, a spacious kitchen with pantry, powder room and laundry; to the left, the Master Suite with a large walk-in closet and his & her bathing rooms; ahead, the two-story Great Room that features a classically detailed fireplace and six sets of arced, double Jeffersonian doors. The great room is sufficiently large to contain conversation couches, chairs, tables, and sideboards. On the second floor there are two private yet spacious bedrooms, suites, really, each enjoying the interesting angles of a sloped roof. The Stair Hall is comfy and convenient, with a couch and two closets, grand, with a two-story, ascending stair.
Other house-plans of this series include:
#17B, 4,629 gsf
#17C, 5,495 gsf
#17D; 2,950 gsf
Other Jeffersonian style house-plans include:
#67, The Charlottesville; 2,676 gsf
#60, The Jefferson; 2,856 gsf
17 A, Jeffersonian, The Blue Ridge, Front Elevation, variation 2.
“The Jeffersonian, Rivanna A, is 3,400 gsf home with the potentiality for a sunroom or porch.”
A portfolio of images, “Material, Texture, Color” for all #17 Jeffersonian Homes, can be found at the bottom of the #17C, Rivanna page.
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Commission
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