Originally posted 2015-02-24 16:55:43.

Western View… so, the question comes up… was it all worth the effort? from the searching for an old house, to the struggle of saving it from being destroyed… the hard work involved, the dirt, and the dangers that come from salvaging a historic structure, and then, putting it back together… not to mention the added expense from the extra labor and materials needed to build something that is not a cookie cutter home… and don’t forget there are the grumblings from the tradesmen who have to work in situations out of the norm… and the government officials from whom we need their approval to build our homes. At times it can be overwhelming. So, is it worth it?

Yes, yes it is. 🙂

Originally posted 2015-02-24 16:33:24.

There is no doubt about it… the old house known as “Western View” was… one… ugly… house.

She was sitting in the middle of corn field and had been abandoned and neglected for decades. Her doors, floors, and mantle pieces had long ago been stolen. The last tenant had left all their trash and unwanted furniture in the house and scattered around the yard. And, someone had had the great idea of wrapping the entire house in green roll roofing… a nice finishing touch.

When I had first met with my new clients, after I had given them a tour of some of my previous completed projects, they decided that they wanted their home to have an exposed vintage timber frame as the heart of their new home.

Originally posted 2015-02-23 14:19:52.

Three parting photos of the corn crib project. None are glamorous finish photos, but each has something I’d like to point out.

The first shows the exterior of the crib as she was finished, the old barn board siding blended in together over the next few years and looks amazing today. The owner decided she wanted to cap the exterior railing with red anodized aluminum, for flare. hmmm. That’s all I have to say about that.

The second photo shows the roofing crew that was sent out to install the cedar shingles. Ten men for such a small roof. They finished the roof that day. Amazing.

And finally, I show you a side of the house where you can touch the roof. If you want to know one of my secrets in building a house that satisfies the soul, this is one of them… never, ever, install an asphalt shingle roof, go with quality… metal, shingle, or slate… and design your home so that you can really be impacted by it’s roof visually, and if you can, so that you can actually reach up and touch it.

Originally posted 2015-02-22 16:06:00.

A corn crib kitchen. I doubt if there is another one out there like it. I wish my photos could do it justice.

Originally posted 2015-02-21 15:25:44.

It takes a bold leap of faith to move forward on something as ugly as an old, falling down, corn crib… that it can be turned into something spectacular. A diamond in the rough. A true Cinderella story.

I not only admire the craftsmen who I have worked with over the years, but also the homeowners who have said… “let’s do it!”

Originally posted 2015-02-21 14:55:38.

The corn-crib cottage was another unique project of mine. It’s not every day that I get a call asking if an early 1800’s corn crib can be converted into a guest cottage, but the offer was too intriguing to pass up.

This corn crib (once used to store animal feed corn) sat out back of a gorgeous Virginia farmhouse. It was in a very sad state of disrepair and my challenge was to not only restore the existing structure, but to enlarge it by using materials from an old barn. And, I had to make sure that this enlarged structure blended in with the farm… to look as if it had always been there.

Of course, I had to make it “pleasantly habitable”. Any one familiar with corn cribs knows that they are as far from being habitable as you can get, so this was going to be a challenge. I think I succeeded in making it comfy.

I have about a dozen images of this project that I’d like to share, but lets’ start with these three. I hope you enjoy them.

The first is of the finished kitchen. The second is of the corn crib taken a week after we started. And the third was taken about half way through the project.

Originally posted 2015-02-21 14:05:21.

Why is it that so often architects irritate builders?

No, it’s not the fact that they often charge clients much more than the builder does, but yet do much less. It’s not that they have soft hands, wear penny loafers, and drive Jaguars to muddy construction sites. And it’s not the fact that most would not know which end of a hammer to hold. Nor is it their drawings that are often riddled with errors, or that their creations are often downright odd in appearance.

It’s their attitude toward builders and the world in general. Here’s some quotes of an interview done with a young architect in our local magazine this month that I think illustrates my point…

“I love the thrill of establishing authorship through a deliberate effort.”

“The pleasure of layering an attitude of beauty and craft over the utility of a purely functional idea has never left me.”

“Architecture is a broad field, with the historical trajectory as long as human history. Thus, in most cases, studying and practicing architecture is the work of a generalist. This saved me from a meandering career path in which I did not want to commit to anything in particular for fear of setting aside everything else.”

“Questions can persist on, unanswered across projects, and even across a career. Answers are not so important. That’s a good thing and a fundamental lesson for life.”

“How tall is tall?”

“Intellectual generosity, which is a necessary percussor to true collaboration and growth. That and gorgeous proportions are what inspires me.”

“What is an appropriate contribution to existing fabric?”

“To this day, I believe the most beautiful object I have ever created was a 1969 bicycle I had modified to shoot bottle rockets from a carefully machined aperture in the steering column. The rockets were activated by discrete pushbuttons reached from the ends of tubular handlebars.”

That last quote is the one that stood out the most for me… now don’t get me wrong… that bike sounds mighty cool! But shouldn’t the most beautiful object that an architect has ever created be one of his houses????

Originally posted 2015-02-14 17:44:31.

Here’s a photo of me demonstrating to a client one of the steps necessary in the process of chinking a vintage log cabin.

(Years have passed since this photo was taken but I still expect to see the same version of myself in the mirror today, and I am often shocked with the old man who now stares back… oh my… it looks like I’m getting side-tracked here with my thoughts… having a pity party… let me get back on topic…)

I am thrilled when clients express an interest in how the building process evolves. Even more so, when they state that they’d like to help. And, I am downright giddy when they actually do pitch in and lend a hand. It is a rare event.

Originally posted 2015-02-14 16:54:22.

Here’s a view of the barn/home from the chimney side.

I’m really pleased with the colors that the client picked out. A homeowner with good tastes can really make a home “pop” (is that still a word people use?… lol). And a homeowner with poor tastes can ruin any home with the choices they make on the finish details (fortunately I’ve had very few who fit into this category).

Of all the features found on this profile of the house I think the stone arches are what really makes this home’s profile among my favorites.

Originally posted 2015-02-11 17:25:28.