While columns are often responsible for playing a role in statement-making home entrances, imbuing both functional support and a stunning aesthetic, the impact of these literal pillars of classic architectural design extends far beyond the front door. 

“Openings that are embraced by columns create a wonderful human experience in design,” says Camens Architectural Group chief architect Marc Camens.

From framing incredible views to beautifully supporting covered outdoor living rooms and beyond, here are just a few of the ways that columns play an integral role in custom home design.

Showcasing Grand Views

Columns are an impactful way to capture grand views — from the inside and the outside. That’s one of the reasons they are so compelling in architecture that exists in magnificent natural surroundings.

Whereas walls can impede a view path to the ocean, columns enhance it. In the Royal Beach property, three large barreled ceilings, held up by columns, capture grand views through classic arches that create stunning frames to the water beyond.

The Beauty of Symmetry and Rhythm

The symmetry and structure that columns provide adds balance to classic, timeless design for a wonderful melding of styles in transitional homes. This can be achieved both in the building itself — and in the structures that lead up to the home.

Take the colonnade, in our Kiawah Island Clubhouse Property  for example; it’s one of the more compelling expressions for a covered walkway. “The rhythm of the repeated columns is almost like music notes,” says Marc. The open, repeated pattern also provides a grand sense of scale as you look at it and walk through it.

Connecting the Interior and Exterior

In many ways, columns used both on the inside and the outside of a home can bridge together the exterior elements of architectural design with the interior — and vice versa — to provide connection between the two. Much in the same way, these columns often flow into covered and uncovered outdoor living areas, too, further blurring the lines.

While ceilings are an important plane of the home to define space, columns can also play a role here. When used on the inside of a home, columns provide a beautiful way to separate large, open spaces — like a grand foyer that leads into a combined living room and dining room — or to define the transition between an indoor and outdoor living area.

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We invite you to explore more examples of how the classic beauty of columns make an impact in our portfolio of custom homes. Let’s chat about your homebuilding dreams and how we can support your journey to a grand home that has all the perfect pillars of design for you.­­