Planning a new timber frame home? You may have looked at magazines, been to home shows, perused the Internet and even visited timber frame companies. Timber frame plans are unique. They offer the opportunity to build a home in any style and the flexibility to define your space to fit your particular lifestyle.
Putting together a file, either electronic or paper, is a good start. As you go through the photos and plans, a pattern will emerge. You’ll find that you are drawn to a particular style and certain details in the floor plan. This process will allow you to focus on what appeals to you and works for you.
Don’t discount the styles of other homes in the vicinity. Having a beautiful home that doesn’t fit with the site or local vernacular has it’s drawbacks. Of course, timber frames can be designed in any style.
You’ll find thousands and thousands of home plans are available. As you review them, you’ll find that there are a limited number of styles and all plans are modifications of these styles. Most American homes are styles that have borrowed from earlier architecture and built on what works. Details have been added and revised and architectural styles have evolved.
Your home should feel right to you. When you drive up, you should feel comfortable and happy. You should design your home to this end.
So you have ideas and know how you want your new home to look. Now focus on the function of your new home plan. The key here is to remember that “form follows function”. Your lifestyle and how your home will work will determine the final style and size.
Whether you work with an architect or timber frame designer or choose a pre-designed timber frame plan, you can end up with a home to celebrate. A stock plan can usually be revised economically. The advantage they offer is that much thought has been put into these plans before you viewed them. The designer and other homeowners have worked together to develop the floor plans, homeowners with similar lifestyles and even challenges. With these plans, you aren’t reinventing the wheel, you’re just making that wheel work better for you.
We’ll get into the details of designing floor plans and refining the style of your home in future posts. In the meantime, just remember to Build Boldly.
Just give me a call at 828-524-8662 if you’d like to discuss your design. Bonnie Pickartz