We get so darn excited for projects where we can get as many of our people involved as possible. For this high craft Carolina farmhouse, we were excited to assist with the design, provide a high-performance enclosure, and contribute several pieces of fine woodworking.

The idea for the home was inspired by Southern country living. The exterior of the home offers a collection of ample porch areas, expansive and symmetrical windows, A play of contrasts, the exterior is a cool palette with white siding, and black-trim windows, adorned with a rustic wrap-around porch including regal seating to view horses grazing and playing in the surrounding pastures. 

The interior of the living space is a collaboration of a warm hued timber work, large windows for golden light, and contemporary metal work all tied together through the beauty of wood.

The builder on the project, David Rowe says, “All the buildings in this particular housing complex are unique and the architect originally had some more contemporary design ideas that the planning board had rejected before we suggested that the homeowners go with a timber frame.”

The clients are animal lovers who own horses, donkeys, and dogs so their intention to build in Aiken, South Carolina sprung from the area’s rich equestrian culture and open spaces. With miles of trails and room to roam, the property’s natural surroundings and plentiful landscapes were the perfect location for their rural compound.

Once the client’s decided to move forward with the idea of a timber frame house on the property everything began to fall into place. Rowe says, “The homeowners were fans of that style, the whole aesthetic of the timbers and having the look of an open timber frame.”

The formative beginnings of this bespoke Oregon cabin were first outlined in our Beetle Blog, and we are happy to report the results of our collaboration. The timber frame for the custom backcountry cabin rebuild, now cut and raised, is a woodsman’s family dream fully realized, and we feel darn good about the results. 

On our client’s parcel of land in the lush backwoods of the Pacific Northwest their original small family cabin had fallen into a state of disrepair and the homeowner’s desired to erect a new hybrid timber frame in its place.

The timber sourced for the project was harvested right from the client’s property. Their long-standing attachment to the old cabin, and its natural surroundings were going to be expressed through the new structure. (You can read this part of the story, and the design impetus in Tucked In the Trees, Steps from the Shore) 

Our West Coast timber framer Seth Douglas was the lead on the project and recalls, “our client felled and milled the trees used in this project into rough-sawn timbers that we planed and joined in our McMinnville shop. The trees were selected from the family property in the Oregon Coastal Range where the cabin is located. The homeowner also cut and milled his own lumber for some portions of the frame that were stick-built by another contractor. This contribution made for a highly personal project where the client had a direct role in selecting material for the final product.” 

“Our team was excited to find that there were a few pieces of timber with striking old-growth grain patterns. The clients wanted these pieces highlighted, and we made sure to get those pieces front and center where possible. It's always rewarding to work with folks who are passionate about trees, lumber, and the land.” 

In classic literature and mythology, a red door symbolizes warmth, luck, and signals to weary travelers that behind that door they will receive a welcome and hospitality.

When our client came to us with a vision for a special set of barn doors on a Hudson Valley project we were deeply involved in, we knew it would be a tremendous addendum to an already special build.

Josh Savoir our NEWwoodworks designer and engineer, worked closely with the client. He explained, “they were either demo’ing or renovating a church, and the client took these red doors because he like them a lot and was inspired by them. He ended up getting rid of the doors because they were in a state of disrepair, but he rescued the hardware and was inspired to incorporate it in the design for the new doors.”

“The client likes the round top doors on other churches and older buildings. He has a penchant for this era; handmade fixtures, historic hardware, the traditional cathedral style. The addition of a wicket door in one of the barn doors was driven by his fondness for classic buildings.” (A wicket door is a smaller man door inside the larger door structure.)

This door set was a collaboration from the client, Savoir, who led the engineering of function, and fellow New Energy Works designer, Lauren DeVaney who helped bridge the two.

 “The client had this vision of big grand church doors and sent me some inspiration pictures,” shared DeVaney. “His directive was ‘big red doors and two black slider doors on the exterior of the red doors to cover them. It’s a real showstopping piece.’ Then he let me run with it.”

“The interior barn space is white with black timbers so it’s very stark and then the red doors are this ‘Wow’ showpiece at the far end of the barn,” continued DeVaney. “There’s a stage there and spotlights set up, so the focus is right on these doors.”