The Rivendell Manor

The 2012 NW Natural Street of Dreams home show runs from July 28th to August 26th at the Vineyard, in West Linn, OR. This year, BC Custom Homes is constructing The Rivendell Manor - a magical storybook style home designed by Eric Schnell, of Alan Mascord Design Associates Inc. The Rivendell Manor represents the 30th home AMDA has designed for the Portland Street of Dreams show since first appearing in the show in 1987.

The storybook style is a whimsical nod toward Hollywood design technically called Provincial Revivalism, and embodies much of what we see in fairy-tale storybooks, stage plays and in our favorite dreams.

Common Features of Storybook Homes:

The exterior finish is predominately stucco, often rough troweled, and frequently with half-timbering. Exteriors also feature rubble stone, crazed brick, or clinker brick; all-stone, all-brick, and all-wood construction are sometimes used. Turrets with conical roofs are a common feature, as are faux dovecotes.
Walls can be sloped or curving, hand made or organic looking; wing walls are not uncommon.
Rooflines are usually curved in some way—swaybacked, sagged, concave, undulating or sharply pointed; gables are usually jerkinhead or very sharply pointed; eaves are often rolled; use of catslides is common. Roofs are commonly finished with wooden shingles, wooden shakes, or slate laid down in a seawave or other intentionally irregular pattern; though the original materials have frequently been replaced over time, the irregular pattern is sometimes imitated in the more modern material.
Round-topped or batten, often with a speakeasy - doors are frequently set in an arched frame lined with stone; when a turret is present, the building's front door typically opens into this. Windows are usually wood-framed with leaded or wavy glass installed; figural insets of stained glass are not uncommon. Wrought iron door hinges, handles, knockers, and locksets are common, as are other wrought iron embellishments.
Most storybook homes are fairly small and are based upon a fanciful interpretation of medieval European homes, or traditional English cottage style. Larger storybook homes are often constructed to appear as though built up gradually over time, one addition at a time, or built primarily out of stone with battlements and turrets to resemble a castle.
As befits their faux-rural heritage, many storybook homes are surrounded by trees and shrubbery. The greenery can conceal many homes from the casual observer, and reflect the 'cottage in the woods' setting of many homes in storybooks.