Houses Archives - Page 2 of 5

Custom White Pine Timber Frame Home in New York by Woodhouse

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Jeff Easterling

Set against contrasting painted walls, the beams of this Eastern White Pine timber frame house in New York really shine. The 3600-square-foot home, which blends contemporary and rustic design styles, highlights the frame and other built-in white pine elements like shelving, doors, benches and cabinetry.

Pennsylvania-based builder Woodhouse got its start in 1979 focusing on passive solar design, using the path of the sun to naturally heat and cool a home, in response to the energy crisis of the time.

While the focus eventually shifted to timber frames, Woodhouse is still dedicated to environmentally responsible structures.

That makes Eastern White Pine a natural choice for many of the company’s homes, resorts and other buildings. Find out more about what makes this wood type so ideal in terms of strength, value, versatility and sustainability.

Made for Maine: Rustic Eastern White Pine Log Cabin

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Jeff Easterling

The natural beauty and character of Eastern White Pine logs is so striking, sometimes it just needs to take center stage. That’s certainly the case when it comes to log homes, which put all of the architectural focus on the simplicity and charm of raw wood, resulting in a home that feels like it’s a part of the forest.

One example is this 1700-square-foot residence on Brassua Lake in Maine, designed and built by Grandview Log & Timber Frames. Set at the water’s edge, surrounded by trees, the home seems like a natural fit in its environment, the logs giving it a sense of weight and timelessness.

Full-round log homes use thick, smoothed-down logs stacked together with notched ends. Careful shaping as well as the weight of the wood create solid, well-sealed walls that don’t require any sort of mortar.

The striking simplicity of these structures, best seen when they’re still under construction and consist of nothing but the log frame itself, has been prized for century after century. See more Eastern White Pine log homes at GrandviewTimbers.com.

Timber Frame Twist: Contemporary British Interpretation of Rustic Classic

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Jeff Easterling

What do you get when you cross American rustic pine timber frame architecture with traditional British sensibilities? The Wishanger Lodge, built on an old farming estate in Surrey, England, is the answer. When the mother and daughter owners purchased the property, it was little more than a collection of dilapidated sheds and stables. But they envisioned a barn-style home that took its inspiration from American timber frame structures with lots of exposed beams and warm pine siding.

The duo worked with Timberpeg Homes UK and Elspeth Beard Architects to create the rustic yet refined home of their dreams, with an open plan, airy interior full of vaulted ceilings and cathedral-like spaces. One of Timberpeg’s technical staff from America flew in to supervise the erection of the frame, which is made from sustainable Grade A eastern white pine.

The interior cladding has been left unpainted to show off the gorgeous post and beam frame. While most American timber frame homes are complemented with rustic-contemporary, lodge-style interiors, the owners of the Wishanger chose swirling metal staircases andcontrasting gray tile.

Explains Elspeth Beard Architects, “The design was very different from the usual house the Americans at Timberpeg had built before, especially the open gallery bathroom in the master bedroom. The timber frame was shipped directly from the USA to site and erected in just three days; within a month they had completed a weatherproof shell.”

Modern White Pine: Stacked Wood-Clad Boxes with a View

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Jeff Easterling

Wall surfaces clad in white pine inside and out give this modern residence a clean, streamlined yet cozy and welcoming atmosphere. The Weinfelden House is positioned to the south for optimal views of the mountains in Switzerland and Austrla, designed as a series of stacked boxes that enable upper-level terraces looking out over the valley.

Stacking these volumes so that some areas are cantilevered makes the home seem to float over the sloping landscape, and create a series of voids and open spaces that play with light and shadow. The rectilinear shape provides opportunities for not just one but two wrap-around indoor/outdoor spaces leading to the glass-walled living areas.

Locally grown and processed white pine gives the home an organic appearance despite its sharp angles. Applying the pale pine siding both to the exterior and interior walls provides a sense of continuity, a fresh and simple backdrop set off perfectly with crisp black and white.

Architectural Monographs: Colonel Robert Means House, New Hampshire

Posted on February 19, 2014October 21, 2021 by Jeff Easterling

One of the greatest pleasures of reading the historic White Pine Monograph series is looking at photographs of how historic buildings looked nearly a century ago, when most of these explorations of Colonial architecture were written. This issue from 1918 is no exception, taking a look at the ‘picturesque village’ of Amherst, New Hampshire. Today, this small town located 15 miles southwest of Manchester is still very much characterized by its historic New England flavor.

Amherst was an even smaller town when this edition was written – the influx of residents that have swelled the town’s population to a whopping 11,000 didn’t come until after World War II. The author of this monograph describes Amherst as ‘unspoiled,’ writing “There are electric lights and the general store and garage have gasoline for sale; but the woodbine twining around the electric light poles seems to give a symbolic suggestion of its real aloofness from the world.”

The home of Colonel Robert Means stars as one of Amherst’s most noteworthy historic structures, and it’s pictured throughout this issue. A single family inhabited the home for nearly 80 years leading to a minimum of change, and no dilapidation. In the early 1900s, the home still contained the furniture that it was filled with some twenty years after the Colonel’s death in 1846.

Mountain Style: Rustic Vacation Home Made of Eastern White Pine

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Jeff Easterling

When you think of a contemporary mountain log cabin, this is probably what comes to mind: large, rustic rough-hewn logs in amber tones, paired with stone masonry and a dark green roof. Mountain Construction Enterprises built this getaway in the Pisgah National Forest of Western North Carolina using massive Eastern White Pine timbers.

The logs for this home weighed a total of 760,000 pounds, requiring 19 tractor-trailer loads to bring it all in. There’s no doubt that Eastern White Pine is the focal point, making up the frame, the ceiling, the staircase, the deck railings and nearly all of the walls.

The diameter of these logs ranges from 12 to a whopping 28 inches, with particularly notable examples visible in the ceiling of the kitchen. The gleaming finish comes thanks to an environmentally friendly coating. All of the logs are hand-scribed with a modified saddle notch, with no chinking in the walls.

The highest quality craftsmanship is evident in every corner, paying homage to mountain traditions and the solidity of historic wooden architecture.