Eco Timber Frame Articles

A Billboard Home

A North Carolina couple builds a glorious timber frame to use as an office and a residence

Nicknamed "The Big Red Barn," the home of Tom and Susanne is no stranger to visitors. The couple built the 6,000-square-foot home as both a residence and an advertisement for their design business. The stained-glass windows that appear on the second level high-light the couple's office area.

Many business owners rely on roadside billboards to get their advertising message across to the public. They hope that drivers will be drawn to the colorful signs as a welcome break from the monotony of highway driving. Tom, a builder living in western North Carolina, believes in this concept but has a slightly different take on it. As the owner of a construction development and design firm specializing in timber framing, Tom decided that the best advertisement for his business would be to build his own timber-frame home in a visible location near a busy road.

"I said to myself, 'If we build this thing, they'll come down,'" says Tom. "We wanted to speak to the community and tell them what we do as a builder. The home is a comfortable advertisement that fits in with the mountain vernacular. People call or stop in all the time."

Nicknamed "The Big Red Barn," the home of Tom and Susanne is no stranger to visitors. The couple built the 6,000-square-foot home as both a residence and an advertisement for their design business. The stained-glass windows that appear on the second level high-light the couple's office area.

In addition to serving as a "billboard" and office, the large barnlike structure also is home for Tom and his partner, Susanne. Cabot's Barn Red paint gives the exterior a historic flavor and offers a hint of the warmth found inside. A dramatic Eastern white pine frame offers a sense of drama without taking away from the cozy ambiance.

The idea for the home began as a mere napkin sketch in Ohio. Tom came up with the idea of building a frame based on a Shaker design. He planned the home to have a monitor roof system that would promote conventional heating in a central core. The monitor is basically a cupola that stretches the entire length of the roof. The style is believed to have originated in church architecture in Europe and is often called the clerestory.

The living room offers expansive lake views and breathtaking volume. Tom created the unusual stained-glass designs using a Frank Lloyd Wright context piece. The Stickley rocking chair was built by Tom's grandfather. Tom pulled the striking Persian rug out of Iran before the country's revolution and subsequent ban on rug trading.

Interestingly, Tom's plans incorporated the frame of the home, but not its interior floor plan. "The shell really dictated the layout," he says. "We let the space inside flow from the shape. You have this large open space, and you can write whatever you want to write on it. Sometimes it's hard to envision the potentiality of three-dimensional plans on paper. We planned to build the shell and then determine how to fill the space, to decide as we went along."

Since Tom served as his own designer and general contractor for the project, he had the liberty to exercise this type of creative freedom. Yet acting as his own general contractor had a flip side. "It's kind of like being the shoemaker's son," explains Tom. "The work on your own project gets done last. You do everybody else's work first. Since Susanne and I were just kicking off our business, we had many other projects going on while we built our home. We did much of the work on our own place during nights and weekends."

Tom and Susanne's office feels more like a living room than a work area. Stained-glass designs created by Tom add a touch of character to the setting. Modern computer equipment blends harmoniously with the vintage-style furnishings in the room.

Tom and Susanne are grateful for the help they received from Mark Wray of Eco Timber Frames of Saluda, North Carolina. "I've known Mark for more than a decade," says Tom "He is by far the most talented framer I know. He does exactly what he says he'll do." Mill Creek provided design consultation and cut beamwork for the timber frame.

Tom's own experience added energy and creativity to the project. After working in commercial construction for 15 years, Tom switched over to custom home design. His new timber home is actually the fourth one that he has built. "Most people go bigger and bigger in terms of construction," says Tom. "I took the opposite route and went back to the true roots of the craft."

The galley-style kitchen is both efficient and attractive. The room illustrates just how well rustic details work with contemporary finishes. Modern Jenn-Air appliances and a Kohler sink are a nice contract to wood flooring and maple cabinets.

The resulting home encompasses nearly 6,000 square fee. The layout is a multi-level design that incorporates both a home and an office. The lower level features the entry area and a guest apartment. One flight up is the office for Tom and Susanne's construction business. The main living space is located two steps above the office. The master suite can be found on the top floor, offering expansive views of a crystal blue lake and nearby mountains.

The dining area in the kitchen feature striking cobalt-blue chairs with comfortable rattan seats. Tom and his sons made the table themselves using leftover scraps from a timber-frame project.

Tom and Susanne describe the decor of their home as "creative mountain eclectic." They say the home has everthing from an orighinal Stickley rocker built by Tom's grandfather to contemporary Jenn-Air appliances. "It's very whimsical," says Tom. "It sums up people's fantasy of what the mountains should look like. Visitors are often surprised by how well rustic style works with modern finishes. It's kind of a neoclassic eclectic."

The master bedroom is situated on the top floor of the home to take advantage of the lake view. Tom made the bed from post-and-beam scraps. The blanket chest at the foot of the bed is an 18th-century piece. The kitty napping on the bed is one of four household pets.

One of the owners' favorite rooms is the master bedroom. A 5-foot kneewall on either side allows the outside scenery to come right into the room. "It really wraps around you like a womb," says Tom. "I like to think of it as a womb with a view!"

The office is another special spot, mainly because Tom and Susanne spend about 90 percent of their time in this room Tom designed the striking stained-glass panels when he lived in New York; they add a touch of distinction to the setting. Thought the couple spends so much time here designing and working, their office setting feels much more like a cozy living room than a work area.

Wrought-iron furniture adds a sense of nostalgia to the guest bedroom The homeowners like to think of this room as "East meets West" or "Old meets New." Soft green walls contrast nicely with the timber elements.

The vistas outside promote the feeling of a dream retreat. Tom discovered the resort area years ago when he used to visit the area to go kayaking. The setting offers breathtaking views of a nearby lake and the mountains beyond. Tom and Susanne's home is located on a relatively steep lot that is about 0.8 of an acre. Because there was so much rock on the site, they had to use 600 sticks of dynamite to make the lot suitable for building. Their land features a small pond surrounded by the blasted rock and many native plants, including rhododendron and mountain laurel.

Not many people are lucky enough to work in a setting as idyllic as Tom and Susanne's "Big Red Barn." Yet despite his satisfaction with the project, Tom says he still plans to build many more timber homes in the future, some of which he and Susanne may even choose to live in. For a couple who managed to build a home and a business at the same time, anything is possible.

A cozy nook in the master bedroom is a great place to sit down and take a rest. The built-in seats lift up to offer extra storage. A 5-foot kneewall makes it feel as if the room wraps around you.

The guest bath on the main level features striking Mexican tile flooring and a wrought-iron mirror. The long countertop provides ample room for freshening up.