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Southern Style Balconies
Balconies are a common architectural feature of Southern Antebellum homes. Often tied to a specific home style, balconies adorn many types of Southern homes including Georgian, Italianate, and Classic Revival Styles. Balconies were typically supported by decorative corbels or brackets, or by columns that framed a lower covered porch or portico. The overall design of the home determined the specific look of the balcony, but usually classic details were favored. Railings were constructed of wood and typically contained turned balusters.
Most of the balconies on Southern homes served little functional use for members of the household. However, one practical aspect of the balcony may have been that it allowed for greater movement of air inside the upper story of a home, as the doors that append to it often were louvered. The sweltering heat of the summer months would have made this a welcome feature. Regardless, the primary purpose of a balcony on a Southern Antebellum home would have been for aesthetic appeal and showmanship.
Because balconies do not protrude out of a building, but are merely an extension of the upper floor of a home, they do expand a room's capabilities, and offer a respite from the confines of a home's interior. It's possible that on many warm evenings, Southerners escaped to balconies to cool off or to experience a change of scenery.
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