Here we have a rare combination of brick, stone, and log.
Brick was historically used as “nogging” here in the States to infill the spaces between timbers, which would create more mass and slow down air infiltration which helped to stabilize interior temperatures.
The bricks were seldom left exposed and were covered with siding on the exterior and plaster on the inside.
Exposed brick timber infill is much more common in European nations.
This is the only example I’ve ever seen of a log cabin with a brick addition… so look it over carefully to determine if you like the look, or not.

And here we have one classy brick house.
There are so many interesting details to be seen.

(I think the little bay window is my favorite).

And here we have an English roadside home… stone, timber-frame, and brick.

These materials can play well together, can’t they?

Originally posted 2015-09-09 15:04:23.

They don’t make group photos like this one anymore.
I gather these fine folks are proud of their sweet home… as well as… their pig, chickens, horses, and two dogs (that can sit on chairs).
What’s up with that? Is that normal to put your dogs on chairs when taking a group photo?

Originally posted 2015-09-08 20:11:02.

I built my first home for myself at the age of 20. I installed a “five V” metal roof on top of that home just like this wooded cabin has on it. It took me two days to install… with no help.

It’s not as fancy of a metal roof as a standing seam roof is… some folks regard it as more of a barn/shed type of material. But it sure made for an “easy install”, and it never leaked, it never needed any maintenance, and, it sounded wonderful when it rained. (it was also bargain priced).

Of course you can paint it if you want after it starts to rust up a bit… but sometimes that’s a tough call… do you think this house would look better, or worse, with a fresh coat of paint?

Here we have an attractive vintage cabin, that unfortunately has not been properly maintained to the standard of care that she deserves.

The roofing on this cabin is a corrugated metal roof, identical in price and in ease to install as Five-V roofing but so much cheaper looking in appearance.

It appears that the chimney on this cabin was removed (or fell down) years ago and a pipe was just stuck through the wall. Not very attractive is it? Nor is it safe.

I can’t fault the guy for the cinder block steps off the end of the porch though. I’ve done some temporary measures in my life that could have turned into long term results… but fortunately I married well, so I am ever so kindly nudged into making things right as time goes by.

Originally posted 2015-09-08 13:07:30.

I’m impressed with the way that these people handled the steps leading up to the porch. Rather than making them a formal, arduous, set of steps that one must deal with, they broke them up into winding stone landscaping steps and then wood steps coming off the porch. Clever. And attractive.

Originally posted 2015-09-07 16:20:34.

There are a lot of things that I admire about Hobbits… one of them is how nicely that they frame their homes. (I do wonder about the practicality of having a round door though).

And, I admire the way that a Hobbit’s home blends into the environment… the way that the landscaping comes all the way up to the front door and wraps all around the home. I like the variety of building materials too… wood, stucco, stone, and brick… each offering something of visual interest.  And, just look at how attractive the aged paint is on the front door… so many would be tempted to give it fresh coat of paint, but I suppose the wee Hobbit would rather smoke his pipe and tend his flowers. Such a fine life.

Originally posted 2015-09-07 14:42:07.

A family makes yarn in the front yard.

I have had the privilege of restoring, and working the materials from, a lot of very old houses over the years that I have been in this unique building trade. I can’t help but reflect on the craftsmanship and beauty of these old structures as I work on them, but I also make an effort to reflect on the lives that must have been lived in them as well. The stories these old homes could tell, if only they could talk.

I wonder… what this woman is thinking as she sits here on this threshold.

And, I wonder what momma has in that big pan on her lap?

Originally posted 2015-09-04 17:44:47.

Another colonial Williamsburg outbuilding…

This would be a great starter home, cute, well built, and any debt created would be easy to pay off, then save enough money to expand the home as one can afford it. Forget the banks!

Think small, think quality, think debt free!

I once had an architect point out to me that the tops of the windows should always be at the same height as the top of the doors. Hmmm… this house got away with breaking that rule don’t you think?

This is the boot and shoemaker shop at Colonial Williamsburg. Who wouldn’t want to report to work in such a nice building with a large window to keep an eye on what is going on outside?

Notice that it has one dormer window. Just one. This is not the only building in CW with a single dormer.

I struggled with this single dormer look for a while… I think we are somehow trained to view dormers as objects that come in sets… and not as “stand-alones”.

Originally posted 2015-09-01 13:29:52.

This is Hartwell Perrys kitchen in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.

You know, it’s a funny thing, but I can go into any subdivision and my eye immediately begins to focus on all the design errors made on modern cookie cutter homes.

And then, I go to a place like this and I am just stunned at the design perfection.

Why just look at those dormers!

And here is the kitchen that is out back of the James Anderson House.

Just look at that massive chimney!  Clearly there is a massive cooking fireplace to be found within.

I’m impressed not only with details found on this structure, and the overall attractiveness of the ktichen, but also how it is a totally different design from the kitchen found on the Hartwell Perry house kitchen. It seems that it mattered greatly then that everyone strove for beauty and uniqueness, even in their outbuildings.

How did we lose that?

From a builders perspective I can say it does not take that much more effort to build an attractive structure than an ugly one… it’s just a matter of how the lumber and masonry pieces are arranged when put together.

Originally posted 2015-08-31 13:45:08.

Here’s a photo of George Washington’s kitchen… not a lot of cabinet and counter-top space is there?

I bet there are over a hundred places in this country that claim that “George Washington slept here”.  The one place that we can be most certain is his home, Mt Vernon, and in his own bed there…

Originally posted 2015-08-31 12:54:50.

This is the Mary Stith House, located in Colonial Willamsburg, Virginia.

What a gorgeous building.

“Mary Stith lived to see independence and the establishment of the Republic. She wrote her will in 1813. Among its beneficiaries were her African American servants, to whom she left her shop. Her will shows her depth of feeling for them:

“All the coloured people in my family being born my slaves, but now liberated, I think it my duty not to leave them destitute nor to leave them unrecompensed for past services rendered to me. As in the cause of humanity I can do but little for so many, and that little my conscience requires me to do, therefore I subject the whole of my estate to the payment of my just debts, and to the provision which I herein make for them.”

With the exception of few small legacies to white friends, Stith left most of her considerable estate, including three buildings and the ground on which they stood, to her freedmen.”

Learn more about her at…

http://www.history.org/almanack/places/hb/hbstith.cfm

Originally posted 2015-08-29 15:12:19.