Years ago I had a wonderful couple get in touch with me and they strongly wanted me to design and build their house. They had an incredible piece of land that was steeply pitched and offered amazing views. Their concept drawings were just awful, not appropriate with the lay of the land at all, and on top of that they told me that they didn’t want to use any salvaged antique materials… which is what I am known for… that’s my specialty.

I did my best to dissuade them, telling them that I was clearly not their builder, but they were persistent, and for that I am ever so thankful. It was a pleasurable experience serving these kind people. I take pride in the finished home, and they have remained dear friends all these years.

The thing I want to point out to all my online friends today in looking at this photo, and the photos to follow in the next few days, is that this is the back of the house, on most homes the backside is the ugliest side of the house.

Most homes designed and built today have one attractive face and the other three sides are given little thought. I do my best to make sure a home has three great profiles… if I get four, I am tickled.

In this photo we are still “working away” on her. The chimney is going up. The redwood siding is nearly finished. And the copper roof will be completed once the stonework is done.

Originally posted 2015-02-02 19:45:21.

Isn’t this the most incredible thing?

To me it is art in it’s purest form. (no, I’m not talking about my boots lol).

Here we have the very top of an eleven sided silo. This is what we found when we removed the metal roofing. I know… I’m a nut, but to me this is just amazing. Upon finding this I was suddenly transported back a hundred years when “farmer John”, who had been working hard to build this structure, found himself nearly 50 feet up in the air (one slip and there would be a funeral in the family that week). So here he is, way up in the air, fearing death, proud of his accomplishment, nearly finished, glancing occasionally at a view he’d never seen, and carving out this eleven sided cone with a handsaw and a hatchet.

I have no doubt a carpenter today, wearing a safety harness, given enough time, could make something like this out of plywood, but it would never equal this masterpiece.

Originally posted 2015-02-01 11:23:43.

One of the biggest differences between a new house and a house that has been on the land for many years is the existence of outbuildings. A new home often stands alone., but with time, outbuildings tend to pop up like mushrooms. They are extremely important, not only for their function of providing us a place to work or store our things, but to visually improve our properties and our lives. Give careful thought to the design and material selections. Build so that these structures accent your home, not clash. DO NOT give into the temptation of buying a pre-made outbuilding and have it dropped off in your yard. If your budget allows consider building one or two outbuildings while building your home… perhaps even before building the home.

Originally posted 2015-01-23 15:07:41.

The key elements of a good porch… exposed rafters, check… ipe flooring, check… rocking chair and hanging ferns, check… two great dogs… now you are talking!

There are a lot of variations that one can put into a porch and make it perfect. We’ve done our share of rough sawn oak for the flooring, it looks great outside of an old cabin, it’s very reasonably priced, and holds up amazingly well. In fact I can go back to cabins that I built twenty years ago and the flooring is still fine… aged… but still plenty strong and attractive. Be careful of tongue and groove flooring outside, they all seem to rot out quickly.

We’ve built plenty of porch ceilings that weren’t painted… and then on the other hand we’ve done some pretty fancy ceilings using bead board and painted sky blue for historic accuracy. It all comes down to keeping with the style of the home, that is if the home is rustic, or refined, or somewhere in between.

The key point I’d like to get across it that a porch is one of the greatest rooms you can have in house, don’t scrimp here… no concrete, no plastic… and make sure and make enough of it so that everyone can enjoy it. An eight foot porch is minimal, but be careful in making them larger… make sure that the porch looks good from an elevation perspective… think of a porch as the brim on baseball hat, too long of a brim will make the house look odd.

Originally posted 2015-01-13 14:20:02.

Some people think that bathtubs are old fashioned. A shower after all is quicker and easier. And a jacuzzi, with all it’s jets going, is more entertaining than a quiet bath. But I swear, nothing beats a good hot soaking when the snow is piling up outside.

When building a house a shower, or two, is essential.

But so many people when thinking of their dream home insist on having a jacuzzi in their master bath. Realtors view them as a necessities.  Maybe you are different, but from the vast majority of people I talk to, they rarely use them, they take up a lot of space, they make a good bit of noise, they are tough to clean, they are impracticable for bathing children, and quite honestly uncomfortable to recline in. Spoil yourself and put in a good comfortable tub… before buying one get in the one in the showroom and lean back… are you comfortable?

Originally posted 2015-01-12 18:09:39.

Our area offers many parcels of land with scenic views, either pastoral or mountain. I’ve been blessed over the years to spend my working days building houses in locations with views that many people take vacations in order to visit something similar. I have found though that there is something more important and satisfying than a view of distant mountains and that is one of private water access, it is also much harder to find. Our Moriah project has a spring, a strong year round stream, a quarter mile of frontage on the North Fork of the Rivanna River and a view of the Advance Mills waterfall from the front porch… and yes there are mountain views here too!

Originally posted 2014-12-15 19:21:37.

Here are a few photos showing some of the details of Moriah… the first is of the kitchen which is flooded with the morning light, the next one is of the porch off to the left of the main entry door (a very inviting space), then there is the top of the staircase where antique heart pine flooring comes into contact with one of the massive hemlock beams that were salvaged from an antique cotton mill, and then there is the dining room made from an early 1800’s log cabin complete with a fireplace.

Originally posted 2014-12-11 15:57:58.

Here at Handmade Houses we have now completed the creation of our new Log Cabin Academy! A twelve-hour long online course on how you can best achieve your dream log home! We take great pride in how well this course turned out, and are greatly pleased with the overwhelmingly positive response from all those who have joined in!

If you would like to learn more about this exiting new program please visit our LOG CABIN ACADEMY PAGE!

So, what’s next? Where do we go from here?

THE STONE HOUSE ACADEMY!!!  Regardless of whether you build a stone home, a log cabin, a timber-frame, a cottage, or a farmhouse… well-laid, attractive, stonework will exponentially improve the beauty and value of your home. Stonework is a craft that anyone can do… and perfect for the owner-builder! Nowhere else can you find training like you will here! Online classes begin September 15, 2017. Don’t miss out on the premier offering of this opportunity where you will gain lifetime online access!

Make sure that you are signed up to receive our weekly newsletter for updates, bonus content, and early registration discounts!

Designing, and building, one’s own home is unbelievably rewarding… in so many ways.

People have been building their own homes since time began…  some, still do! (we hope that you will be one of them!)

It’s only in the last generation or two that this wonderful life experience has become rare and completely handed over to architects and contractors. Houses have certainly grown larger and more complex during this time period (as have mortgages) but does anyone believe that the quality of home construction has improved?… or that the designs of most new homes are now more attractive?

But, can anyone really build a house?

Most professional contractors today acquired their home-building skills by simply “doing it”.  There is no “Bachelor of Building Degree” that can be obtained. All builders, at one time in their lives, built their first house, having never done it before. And, the fact is that very few architects have ever built… well… anything. So, if your next home will be your first building experience, then you are in good company, and certainly not the only one. We encourage you to be bold… you will succeed!

Obviously, this site is not about building junk houses… it’s about Handmade Houses… homes where, to some degree, future homeowners are involved in their home’s design and construction and true craftsmanship is the goal. We further define a handmade house through the guidelines found in the “The Twelve Keys” (make sure and check this video out).

One of the “Twelve Keys” to a Handmade House is that there should be some degree of homeowner involvement in order to achieve the perfect home… even if that involvement is limited to the “discovery” of one’s own dream home… by “discovery” we mean… the act of finding the design and the features that “fit” who you are. We can help you discover that special place… the home you so long to have, but be forewarned, we will also encourage you to reach for the stars. We have seen it time and time again that the more involved in the design and construction of a home a person is, the more that home becomes a lifelong treasure to it’s future owner, and, as a side benefit, the price tag of the home drops, sometimes… significantly.

Our focus here on this site, and with the courses we offer, is to help you achieve your dream Handmade House, a home that combines the best features of new construction, alternative construction, and historical construction. We know of no other source where one can go to find an experienced builder who has “tried it all, picked the best, and left the rest”. Someone who will provide you with the pros and cons of every option and support you in your selection.

We invite you to begin your Handmade House journey by first visiting “Start Here!” where you will learn all about this website and discover all the free resources we have to offer. (You may notice that there are no annoying pop-up ads to bother you… we want your visit here to be pleasurable).

From this starting point, you can learn more about this site’s founder by venturing on to “Who is Noah Bradley?”  Noah has been building handmade houses for several decades and he is now sharing his trade secrets, as well as his vast knowledge and expertise here on this site. His focused goal is to help you discover and achieve the handmade home of your dreams!

Of course, you have our permission to blaze your own path on this site and just leap into the 1,000+ image archives… many of these images have accompanying tips, secrets, and insights, all shared by Noah himself to help you discover your dream home!

We’d like you to stay a while, sip on your favorite beverage, enjoy the scenery, and start imaging that future home of yours! We hope that you’ll come back again, and again, in the future as we continually add more content! And please, don’t hesitate to comment or send us a note!

We’d also like to invite you to join our email membership group in order to keep you better informed on the latest happenings here at Handmade Houses, and so that we can help you gain greater inspiration and motivation as you travel down the path towards your own handmade home. Simply follow the red arrow on the right side of this page to become a member. And please, have no worries, we hate spam just as much as you do and we promise never to do that to one of our friends.

You might notice that there are some MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS going on here at Handmade Houses!

Our new weekly video series has begun!… Handmade House TV!  Make sure and check it out!

And, oh yeah!… Don’t forget the BEST free video that Noah has ever produced… “The Twelve Keys to Discovering Your Handmade House”… is now posted. You don’t want to miss this one!

Originally posted 2016-10-22 18:55:42.

McMansions

I don’t normally link to another site but I thought you all might enjoy this insightful article on McMansions… which also touches a lot on the sad situation of most current home construction with such great quotes as…

“when big building corporations such as Toll Brothers and Pulte Homes, consistently push the “More House for Your Money!” angle, it’s a safe bet that corners are being cut somewhere.”

and…

Originally posted 2016-10-21 16:54:22.