Award Winning Timber Frame Home - Cornerstone Awards 2006

The owners of this vacation/retirement house had

spent many summers in the mountains of North Carolina, but always wanted to build their own home there. They had purchased a small sloping site, but

had a very limited construction budget. Their architect kept the house compact, and carefully considered the cost of each and every component, in order to allow them to have their dream house.

A small porch with a shed roof protects the front door, which leads directly into the entry with a lavatory on

the left and straight run stairs beyond going to the second floor. A coat closet is on the right, and once past the second floor loft one enters the cathedral great room. The twenty foot by sixteen foot space is open to the roof twenty-three feet above, and is constructed with true mortise and tenon pine timber framing. The rear of the house has a window wall

with a sliding patio door leading out to a deck which overlooks the valley beyond and below. The zero clearance fireplace is on the left, with a very real looking cultured stone surround. On the right is a

small but efficient kitchen, along with a combination mudroom/laundry at the front of the house.

On the left side is the master bedroom, with a patio door leading out to the deck. There is a small private bathroom, as well as a walk-in closet tucked next to the back of the entry lavatory. Upstairs is a central loft, overlooking the great room, with two more bedrooms and a shared full bath. The upstairs rooms have five foot knee walls, so skylights were used to add light to the living spaces.

The unfinished walk-out basement will some day have a den and family room, as well as storage space. Built with a Superior Wall foundation, and featuring Hardiplank siding and Mira TEC trim, this house requires little maintenance. The dramatic cathedral central living space, along with its timber framing, transformed a small get-a-way into a cozy, but impressive vacation and future retirement home, which the family has named "The Gathering Place."