Green Was Easy with This Timber Frame

You know, I think we are all trying a little to hard to make “green building” work.  Today’s building technology, coupled with the age old craft of timber framing, makes being “green” easy.  Timber Frames just lend themselves to being green.

David and I had many of the elements of our timber frame home planned long before we broke ground.  We even designed our green home around some of the “stuff” we loved.

Saving two bath sinks, a great clawfoot bathtub, and an amazing farm sink from the landfill was a beginning.  Reclaiming the tin roof from a chicken house teardown was easy.

Doors…do they really wear out?  We don’t think so.  All the doors in our home, with the exception of one, had earlier lives in homes between 1850 and 1940.  Hinged doors easily became pocket doors and they are charming!

Wood, chestnut and oak, salvaged from teardowns on our property made beautiful cabinetry.  You don’t even have to distress them…it’s there.

Windows can be problematic.  You don’t want to sacrifice the energy efficiency of new windows by reusing old sash windows.  One made a great door for the vanity in the guest bedroom.

Timber frames lend themselves to mirrors with character.  We have old mirrors scattered throughout the house.

So, before you bust the budget and trash the landfill, think a little bit about what you love and how it could be incorporated into your new timber framed home.  We did and we are so pleased.

Timber Frames Welcome You Home

We had to be out of town recently and left our new timber frame home for several days for the first time.  As most of you, we are always glad to get back home…our own bed…our own kitchen…our own “stuff”, but I’m not sure any home ever seemed as welcoming as this one.

When we unloaded the car, turned up the heat, and turned on the lights, our home just wrapped us in comfort.  It may have been an illusion, but one that I’ll welcome again.

Timber frames, solid and warm, just seem to shelter you better than any other home.  There is a sense of strength that makes you feel protected.

I wish there were a better way to say it, but that pretty much sums it up.

Come see us, sit down,  and get that feeling for yourself.

Timber Frame Photo Gallery

Okay, so this timber framed home gets photographed a lot.  Since we waited so long to build a timber frame, it’s sort of like a grandchild.  That said, I’ve added a new gallery link to our blogroll.  Just click here or the link to the right to check out the photos.

I find myself watching for photo opportunities and then, when I look at the photo I just took realizing that I’d taken that photo several times.  Maybe the seasons will bring new photos…and the landscaping…and the new studio…etc.

Your timber frame should excite you the same way.  You should be involved from the beginning and look forward to taking sharing your new home.

All that said, I probably need to charge the batteries on the camera.  Have a great day!

Our Timber Frame’s First Snow

Snow settled into the mountains of Western North Carolina on Friday and on our new timber frame home.  Timber frames just seem to accept the snow as a given, still providing comfortable shelter and a serene presence.

While designing our timber frame, one of the items that was important was a Timber Frame View From the Officesmall home office, not isolated, but comfortable enough for me and my sidekick (also known as my laptop).  I wanted light…natural daylight.. and I didn’t want to feel closed off.  Well, it happened and this snowy day made me realize just how important it was.

We had about six inches of snow and with our heat set at 63, never felt a chill.  The double paned, argon gas, low e (and whatever else was included) in our Jeldwen Windows paid off.  The Thermocore insulated panels kept the heat in and the cold out.  That’s the way it’s supposed to work, right?

As the day closed, I sent David out into the snow to catch a couple of photos of the timber frame with snow on itTimber Frames First Snow (I grew up in far west Texas and snow wasn’t in our picture).  He’d already been to the barn and even driven me to town (where the grocery store was without power and closing for the day), so this wasn’t a big imposition.

So, our timber frame proved itself once more, sheltering and warm, we are pleased to live in a timber frame and to be a part of helping others do the same.

Goshen Timber Frames Christmas Celebration

It’s that time of year again and the Goshen team got together to celebrate this Season.  This was the 13th year for some of us and we gathered to share food and fellowship in our new timber frame home.

The food, a sampling of the great cooking of the Goshen Timber Frame family, was amazing and the time spent sharing music, drinks, and stories makes me wonder why we don’t do this more often.  Note to self…plan another gathering.

Timber Framers kick backAdam and Mary take a seat on the treads.The group ate, and then they ate, and then sat back to talk about the past year and the year to come.  Wri, Thomas, Don, and Ryan are resting before Ryan charmed us with his music.

Mary and Adam contributed an amazing trifle and a wonderful green bean casserole and after enjoying a meal with the rest of the group retreated to the stairs to enjoy the company.

The stairs offer a respite.Avril, Omara, and Renee take a seat and visit.  It’s sometimes too long between visits, isn’t it?

The new house handled the 22 of us (for a sit down dinner, at that) with grace.   The weather outside might have been frightful, but inside it was delightful. We won’t wait a year to do this again.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas in our Timber Frame !

Well, the snow on Saturday wasn’t much, but timber frames make everything festive, so that didn’t dampen our spirits as we hauled in and raised up the 12′ cedar tree from Arkansas.

This decorating is a work in progress.  We’ve hung stockings (from the back of dining chairs since there is no fireplace and we can’t “hang from the chimney with care” and wreaths, swagged the stair and sunroom.  Fun was had by all.

Timber frames offer lots of opportunities to decorate and this is quite an adventure.  More to come later.Christmas Tree

Holiday Decorating in Our Timber Frame

Well, ’tis the season, and we are finding out that timber frames are much more fun to decorate than ROH (regular ole houses).

The post and beams offer all sorts of opportunities to put greenery and tshatshkes.  I’m finding nooks and crannies  for all our ornaments.   Red and green really does look great with the timbers, too.  Well, timber frames are wood and wood is green and I guess that all makes sense.

The tree arrives from Arkansas tomorrow and that will be quite the adventure.  David’s folks are bringing it via “special delivery”…in the back of their pickup.

Since boxes of Christmas treasures are scattered all over the house, photos will have to wait.  I guess there is often chaos before order.

So, we continue to enjoy our new home and our holiday wish for everyone is that they will have their own timber frame soon.

May God bless and keep you all in this season of celebration.

The Sounds of a Timber Frame

A timber frame “speaks” to the owners.  With stick framed houses you often hear noises as the house settles, particularly at night as the air cools off.

In a timber frame, the timbers will sound off, often as the seasons change, and you are either heating (drying out the air) or cooling (adding moisture to the air).

While I’ve heard tales of pops that sound like a shotgun going off, our house seems to speak softly in the night.  These sounds aren’t loud and disruptive or scary, just a gentle mention that this timber frame is built with wood, a natural product that breathes even after it is cut from the earth.   Since timbers are left in much their natural state (well, squared off and joined, but not cut down to sticks), I like to think of these sounds as the sounds of the forest…brought to live indoors and domesticated.

So expect your home to speak and to when it does, smile and remember that you’ve connected with nature in a most wonderful way.

A Second Floor in our Timber Frame

Timber frames lend themselves to any type of home, single story, two story, or story and a half.  You’ll make the decision on which works for you as you consider your lifestyle and the style of home you want.

We are often questioned about the feasibility of having our bedroom upstairs in our new timber frame home.  This wasn’t a decision we made without much thought.  While we can easily go upstairs today, there may be a day when it isn’t so easy (however, I had two lovely little ladies in their nineties who didn’t hesitate to go upstairs).Stairs in Our Timber Frame

By locating our bedroom upstairs, we were able to maintain a small footprint and still make the first floor accessible to anyone in a wheelchair.  This was important to us.

The upstairs space in our small home offers space for a “reading nook” where we can sit quietly and enjoy a book without being isolated from everyone else.   Our loft will soon have bookcases, floor to ceiling, to house the books I’ve insisted we box up and move around with us over the years.  And our bedroom suite (well, maybe not quite grand enough to be a suite, but our version of one) is upstairs, offering a respite from a day’s work.

We also wanted a home that was more cottage and bungalow than a sprawling ranch.  Our home sits on the site of a home that was built in 1923.  The older home just didn’t survive the years well.  We hope that our home will sit here for centuries and will be enjoyed by many people, young and old.  We designed it to sit almost exactly on the existing footprint.  There was reason they built there in 1923.

So, stairs can be incorporated into today’s lifestyle and first floor living can be planned for later.

Just remember to “Build Boldly”.

Timber Frame Interiors

As you plan your new timber frame home, you need to plan the furniture, rugs, and decorative items that will make it a home.  You can start early or wait until your home is finished so you can walk through and “feel” the space.

We made the decision to definitely keep only three pieces of furniture that we had when we started building our new timber frame.  The sofa, chair, and ottoman were comfortable and well-built…and we liked them.  ’Nuf said?

The challenge for our decorator, Pam Pringle of Pringle and Associates , was to make our home inviting and charming while working with these pieces, a modest (a really modest) budget, a little quirky sense of style that David and I had, and two very different personalities (mine and David’s).Goshen-Timber-Frame

While I’m sure it was a struggle, she listened and watched.  She suggested (and sometimes insisted, thank goodness) and she brought it all together.

Timber frames can be daunting to decorate.  The vastness of the ceilings, the timbers that demand center stage, the window walls, the challenge to bring enough softness to counteract that heavy timber. However, Pam wasn’t intimidated by these mere challenges.  Her experience with other timber frame homes, along with her innate sense of what is “right” made our home just that…”our home”.

David and I are drawn to vintage and antique furniture.  Our hearts go out to a gently used dresser or table.  We’ve collected all sorts of “stuff” over the years, much of it that didn’t make the cut and won’t be in our new home.  We’ve never been enticed by a “matching suite” of bedroom furniture and to think that a television belongs in an entertainment center just doesn’t track with us when there is so much cool old furniture out there waiting to enclose a tv. So, Pam’s challenge was to find and compile furnishings and decorative items that weren’t to matchy-matchy for our liking.

The furniture and accent pieces were important, but the rugs that would soften the rooms were key.  Our wonderful distressed hardwood floors are too beautiful to cover completely.  Rugs are necessary, not only for the look but to soften the sound.  Pam chose carefully, with just enough rug to accent.

Furniture, art, accents…all will come together.  With a little help from Pam.  Today our home is warm and charming.  It will continue to evolve as Pam (and David and I) bring in pieces that have meaning and that will add to our home.

Stay tuned.


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