Here’s my recipe for building a fine entrance to a new home.

Start with a nice view that will be outside your door.

Build a porch outside that door, one that will pull you outside to enjoy that view.

Build your home out of an old timber-frame, one that will give you the feeling of warmth and security.

Make sure and install old heart pine flooring, which is not only a pleasure to look at but to walk on also.

Then add an old entrance door unit to let you know that you are at home. (Make sure and paint it with some nice colors).

And then finally, get a good dog, one that will meander in and out at his leisure.

Originally posted 2015-05-29 13:33:26.

We had salvaged another old house that was originally built in the very late 1800’s or perhaps early 1900’s for replacement materials to use on this new home.

The framing on that house had no value, but the flooring, and doors were perfect for this new home. You can see the front door unit from that older home, laying here on it’s side, awaiting installation on this new home.

Originally posted 2015-05-29 13:20:38.

Here’s a corner of the enlarged, upgraded, kitchen that adjoins the dining room within this “connector” area that is between the log cabin and the new/old timber framed addition.

We made the cabinets ourselves out of chestnut paneling that we salvaged from an old 1920’s vintage home. The countertop and farm sink is made of green slate.

Not too shabby huh? 🙂

Ok… that ought to keep everyone happy for a while that wants to see what this home looks like inside… now let me get back to construction photos and tell the story behind the building of the timber frame section of this home…

Originally posted 2015-05-27 21:37:05.

Here is the wainscoting that I used in the dining room, it was just laying there in that old dirty straw like a piece of discarded trash.

But, I could see from the backside that this was piece of fine woodwork, crafted from the best of materials, starting with an axe, then with adzes, and then on to hand planes, nearly two hundred years ago, by someone much more talented than I.

I didn’t need to roll it over to be impressed… I knew I was looking at a treasure. I was practically shaking with anticipation.

Originally posted 2015-05-27 21:16:32.

Here’s the finished dining room which is positioned in the connector area between the little log cabin (which is to the right in this image) and the new timber frame section (which you can barely peer into on the left).

Notice the bow window in the background… and the antique heart-pine wainscoting underneath it?… I’ll post a photo of it as it was salvaged next. You’ll get a kick out of the “before” photo.

Originally posted 2015-05-27 20:52:50.

The owners of this cabin had seen some of my timber framed homes that I built after putting their cabin up (you know, the ones I’ve shared here on FB where I had used the antique structures salvaged from vintage homes) and they decided that that is what they wanted for the addition to their cabin.

I gave great thought to what type of structure would look best connected to this cabin and what would best compliment this parcel of land and what I eventually came up with was to create something that would resemble a colonial era tavern.

Here in this photo you can see the beginning of that antique timber frame in the process of being assembled, but for now, I’d like to point out the “connector” part of the addition that stands between the log cabin and the timber frame.

The connector part of the house is framed out of all new wood and will provide the house with the square footage to…. enlarge the cabin’s kitchenette into a full size kitchen… and created a sweet dining room… and two more bathrooms which will service the two new bedrooms that will be within the timber-framed area.

Originally posted 2015-05-27 20:43:31.

One of the greatest homes that I’ve ever seen. To me it was hollowed ground. I quietly looked around, took a few photos, and then left, never to return.

I know… I need help. 🙂

Originally posted 2015-05-20 13:16:32.

And here is the second of three outbuildings that I’d like to share with you today.

I don’t know, maybe I’m the only one, but I find these three outbuildings fascinating. Each is unique in size, and design. And yet I can see that they belong together.

A matched set.

I’m sure that they were each built with a specific purpose in mind, but I don’t know what that was. Anybody want to fill me in?

I think each of them are attractive. Likely more attractive today than the day they were built.

How is it that a farmer could/would design and build three unique buildings like this on his property? Did he hire an architect for each? Was there a stock book of outdoor plans available? or did the people back then just have an ability to design that we have somehow lost today?

Originally posted 2015-05-18 12:03:44.

This old abandoned house has baffled me for years. There is no indication that the extension on this house, on both sides of the chimney, was later added on.  Both the foundation and siding indicate that this “bump out” from what I see as the main design of the house, was original.

Originally posted 2015-05-17 13:17:00.

One last photo of this cabin.

This image is the first page of an article done on my company by a local magazine on my company, Blue Mountain Builders. I won’t bore you with posting the whole article, but I did want you to see this one image.

The photo is of the view that is seen from the porch from this cabin.

I believe the image that I got in my mind from this client, after first meeting with him, was that his vision for his new home was… “I want a porch that I can sit on and enjoy this view from every day, and oh yeah, I want a log home behind it”

Originally posted 2015-05-13 12:52:34.