This home, as nice as it is, could have been so much better, at no additional cost, nor additional labor, with just a couple of minor design adjustments implemented.
Keep in mind that the combination of log and stone is one of the best mixes a homeowner can put together.
Here we have a nice vintage log cabin with a great original stone chimney… notice that the stones are laid flat and in a horizontal pattern, and that they have great texture and color.
Later on, the current homeowners have added this stone addition and used properly matching stone… which was a wise choice.
But, somehow the addition falls flat… it’s… “nice”, but not… “OMG!!!… that’s AMAZING!!!”
What happened?
Well, for one thing the newer stone work on this addition drifted away from being horizontally laid to more of a “random pattern”… as if it was laid with the aid of a giant shotgun.
But, the larger failing here is one of design (or lack thereof)… a lack of attention… to the roof pitch and an “eye-pleasing” use of windows.
The nearly flat roof that crowns this stone section gives this give it an “industrial… mobile home… modern” look.
And, with regard to windows… the simple addition of a little window on the chimney end, and larger one on the long side, would have dramatically improved the overall appearance.
So what’s the point in all my rambling here this morning?
Too much coffee you say? lol
It’s just that… If a person is going to build… if they are going to buy a nice piece of land… if they are going to use attractive materials… shouldn’t they arrange those materials in the most attractive way that they can?
And the secret to learning appealing design?
Simply look at every home, and every photo of a home, that you find attractive… study each home and try to figure out what it is about that particular home that makes it special (or not special).
Then do it again… and again… and again.
Or… hire someone who has done this process, over and over, for years, to design your home for you.
Certainly beauty is in the eye of the beholder… but I would be willing to wager that I could have spent 15 minutes with a pen and the back of an envelope and convinced this owner to make a few adjustments that would have blessed him for years to come.
Originally posted 2015-12-02 15:26:29.
Good morning Noah, I stumbled onto your site quite by accident during a search for “how to build a stone chimmney on the outside of a wooden house”
I have now signed up for your newsletters which seem rather interesting but very short and I am having trouble finding the following sections. For instance I was reading the one about the importance of quality tools. You end by asking the readers which tool they think is the most important one? It was dated 18 november 2015, but I cannot find the rest of those tool articles. I am not doing the seach archives right either because I had no success there either.
If you get a chance to read the last entry on my own blog you will see why we want to build a log house. Neither of us have building experience and would need a tremendous amount of guiding. If you think you could help please get in touch with me. Have you ever been to The Netherlands? A holiday might be just the thing you need…….
Bye for now, hope you have a good day,
Lindy van der Meulen
Lindy,
Yes! Congratulations on your goal to build a cabin! Determination, seeking out knowledge, and never quitting, will get you there. You will have a great time building your future home.
Don’t let the fact that you don’t know everything, or that you’ve never done it, discourage you. A house is not a nuclear submarine… houses are not that complicated, anyone can build one. It’s all about what I call “just in time skills” … you don’t need to know everything at the beginning, just enough to keep you busy the next week or two and a good vision of the finished project.
Sorry about not getting the the “tool” updates up there yet (likely coming this week). Between the two major holidays, a house full of guests, and this overwhelming project of putting together the Handmade House Academy… I’ve been overwhelmed.
You seriously ought to consider signing up with the Academy when it is released (sometime in the next 30 days or so) There I will share all my tips, methods, and secrets, over the course of ten weeks. I’ll send out all the details via member email as things get more defined.
I’ve not been to the Netherlands, but would love to do so one day (not in the Winter though lol)
Noah