Now, this is how a bathroom should be.

The soapstone floors are heated with radiant heat so that they are always warm to the touch. Happy feet always make a person smile.

There is of course a shower (not seen) but no motorized, over-sized jacuzzi.

And, there is one fine, oh-so-comfortable, clawfoot bathtub. A clawfoot tub is more than a cleaning instrument… It is a destination… a meditation./relaxation device… an escape from reality.

Never buy a tub by looking at them… get in them! Try them on! Buy for comfort.

I sized the water heater in this house so that there would never be a shortage of hot water when a little more would be needed. One can spend the day in this room. Or not. But you should have the option, if that is your choice.

The wainscoting on the walls gives the bath a nice country feel… and the box under the window?… that is a laundry shoot that drops old clothes directly into a basket in the laundry room below.

This bath is a great example of understated luxury. I like that. I’m not impressed with baths that are the size of bedrooms, I’m not impressed with gold faucets, triple sinks, or showers designed for six people at a time. A bath, just like every other room should be a place that a homeowner wants to spend time in… it should be comfortable, not something to impress the neighbors.

Originally posted 2015-02-28 15:58:47.

It is important that women let men have their way at least once during the construction of a home.

I’d say that in half of the homes that I have built over the years that the woman of the house was in fully in charge. The man stood in the background to create the illusion of strength, but was quick to say “whatever you want honey”.

The other half of my projects the husband and wife presented themselves as a team and mutually decided on everything… but if there was a difference of opinion… guess who generally got their way?

Now, there was one rustic cabin that I built for a man, and no wife ever appeared to give her opinion. Of course there is to this day a bear head hanging in the hallway. And dog hairs are thick on the sofa.

Anyway, back to the point… this was a team project, the clients were the sweetest couple you could imagine, just terrific people, and the husband really wanted an atrium/sunroom/greenhouse. And, we all supported him.

I believe the main reason for this glass room was to provide some solar heat during the winter and to create a space filled with light… and it worked. The sun heats the stone chimney and floor and the windows are then opened and the heat flows into the rooms.

Originally posted 2015-02-26 16:32:51.

And so with an abundance of massive beams, siding, and old windows from the salvaging of the house in Franklin, we built a garage.

We designed the garage as a blend between the refinement of the house and the roughness one would expect in a farm building, and having a feel of a 1940’s roadside garage. We did place it a distance from the home, but connected it visually through the addition of a long stone retaining wall.

The clients have told me that one of their greatest challenges with this homestead is that when visitors arrive they want to see the garage and that after it is shown that they have a hard time pulling their guests away from the garage and into the home.

I consider that a compliment.

Originally posted 2015-02-26 14:29:18.

“Ninety percent of home buyers have made their decision on whether or not to buy a home by the time they reach the front door”… at least that is what my realtor told me.

I have no idea if that is a proven fact or not.
But, there is a lot of reason to think that that statement might be true.

The entrance to a home says a lot about the character and quality of a home. Also, by the time someone reaches the door, they have seen the neighborhood, the curb appeal of the home, and the landscaping.

A new homeowner can do a lot to adapt the interior to their tastes… new paint, fixtures, appliances and furnishings and the interior is reborn, but what is outside is pretty well set in place, without major disruption and expense.

The door and surrounding glass on Western View came from an old brick home that was falling down in Culpeper County. That home served as a hospital during the Civil War, one in which Walt Whitman spent several months recovering, and in which he did some of his writing.

Every time you enter this home you can’t help but think of who has walked across that threshold before you.

A door can be so much more than something you pick up at the lumber yard.

Originally posted 2015-02-25 14:57:51.

We needed a lot more material to finish up the new “Western View”. A lot more. The completed home tallied in at 4,000 square feet.

The old Western View house had provided the timber frame to create the front four rooms of this home, but there was “a lot of house ’round back”.

We framed all of this back section using new lumber and we finished the exterior with locally harvested poplar siding and trim.

But, we needed enough salvaged material to finish the interior of the kitchen, dining, laundry, mud, and baths, and the master bedroom suite upstairs. That meant I needed to round up an antique staircase, old doors, vintage flooring, trim, paneling, wainscoting… the list goes on and on.

My job title goes beyond designer and builder… I am also “seeker of old materials”… one of my favorite responsibilities. It takes me all over the state and beyond. I meet a lot of great people, and see a lot of old homes, and I save some of them from destruction.

Originally posted 2015-02-25 14:11:19.

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.