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The garage,which has red vertical plank siding and a metal roof,
sits at a 45 degree angle to the main house. It was designed to appear as if it were an old barn built befoe the house.
Bob Parrish, an engineer, and
his wife, Wendy, wanted to simplify their lives. In 2003, Bob retired from Apple
Computer, and the couple moved to Vermont,
where they had previously purchased 11 acres of farmland to build a new home. Although
Bob had overseen renovations of his Massachusetts home, he had never done hands-on
construction work, and yearned to discover his inner builder. Now, the time was
right: For six months, Bob was on-site every day, cutting, hammering and fetching supplies “as one of the guys”
to help construct his timber home.
Beside the sidelight of the front entry is an umbrella stand with
a collection of walking sticks. Th couple designed the balusters of the stairs based on the lines of their Mission-style
furniture. On the far wall, the china cabinet displays a Faberge-style eggs made by Bob's mother.
“My biggest challenge was
that I am a perfectionist and when you work with natural materials like wood, things are always moving.” Says Bob, who
was used to the precision of digital electronics. “But it was great fun. The
high point
was the actual raising of the timber frame, which was a magical experience.”
The large arched window of the great room looks onto the ski slpes
of Mount Mansfield; a telescope allows an up-close view of skiers. The leaded-glass lamp on the far side of the red
leather, Mission-style couch is a family antique.
Bob approached each aspect of
the process with gusto. “I once saw Bob on the roof hammering nails,” says Pat Seaman, then a regional sales manager
with Woodhouse: The Timber Frame Company, which produced the Parrishes’ timber frame. “He was very into it.”
The bi-level island hides a microwave facing the Sup-Zero side-by-side
refrigerator. Oak Cabinets, by Plato Cabinets, are topped with muticolored granite. A smooth glass cooktop beside
the refrigerator is set flush with the surface of the granite.
In Search of Simplicity
The Parrishes
chose Woodhouse partly because the company was so responsive to their desire for a home that would complement their oak Mission-style
furniture and highlight their collections, which range from Depression-era pottery to Faberge-style eggs made by Bob’s
mom. “We were concerned that the timber frame houses featured in magazines usually include elaborate timber truss systems. I didn’t want such visual chaos, I wanted something simple,” Wendy says.
“Woodhouse said they could do a simple oak frame that would not fight with our vintage collections for attention.
Bob also was impressed with the
structural insulated panels (SIPs) that Woodhouse uses to enclose their frames. “I wanted SIPs for both the walls and
the roof, and I felt the quality of the Murus SIPs was higher than others I had seen,” Bob says. The panels are highly energy-efficient because they are true polyurethane, have denser and more consistent
foam, and utilize a cam-lock system, Pat notes.
The bumped-out kitchen window provides extra space for plants
and offers a view of the driveway and a grove of trees. The couple chose curtain rods handmade from wrought iron by
Vermont craftsman Hank Borst.
Bob and Wendy did the initial
floor plan for the 4,400-square-foot home and asked Woodhouse to conform it to timber frame construction. The home’s style is what Pat calls “a cross between traditional Vermont farmhouse and Arts
and Crafts.”
The home’s inviting entry
hall is where the upper and lower levels connect with a custom Mission-style staircase of quarter-sawn white oak. To the right is the master bedroom suite. Straight ahead is
the great room, which opens left onto the dining room and kitchen. Of the kitchen
is a connector to the garage that includes Wendy’s home office, a bathroom and a mud room.
The great room has floor-to-ceiling
windows with Arts and Crafts-style grilles, offering a post-card view of Mount Mansfield. It peaks at 24 feet with a pine ceiling and a simple rafter system of large red oak timbers. “the
red oak in their home is absolutely gorgeous,” Pat says. “The timbers are huge an the grain is very clear. It looks great.” The room, furnished with red leather, Mission-style seating
by Stickley Furniture, has quarter-sawn white oak floors.
Embracing Efficiency
For the great room, the couple decided against a fireplace,
in favor of a gas stove because of its greater efficiency and cleanliness, and to conserve space. “Having a fireplace
would have taken up a lot of space in the great room and in the lower level, and we felt that was not an efficient use of
space,” Bob says. “And the slate tiles behind the stove give the effect of a stone fireplace without the big expense.”
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A built-in window bench with a slate tope and storage underneath
offer a place for plants or setting serving platters. Built-in, lighted display
cabinets on either side of the window hold the Parrishes’ collection of pottery.
They did not build their deck along the great room,
but instead wrapped it around the garage connector on the southwest side of the house.
That placement maximized the natural light coming into the walkout lower level, which includes Bob’s office,
a bathroom, kitchenette, gamer room and exercise area. To support the timber
point-loads in the lower level, the Parrishes used pine timbers, rather than steel columns, a choice Pa t praises: “This
allowed them to provide support while also highlighting the beauty of the wood,” he says. “It gives a rustic ski
lodge look to the lower level.”
The basement has pine timbers creating a casual, “après-ski”
feel. Tucked within the timbers is a collection of photos of the Stowe, Vermont, area. The ledge above the beams provides another handy spot for plants and family photos.
This loft hallway above the great room leads to two bedrooms that
the Parrishes’ daughters use when they visit; the open door leads o the shared bathroom.
Finishing Touches
The Parrishes have older daughters, one still in college,
and the two second-floor bedrooms–connected by a loft hallway and a bathroom–are for their use
when they visit. The bedrooms, which get both morning and evening sun, are furnished
with a woodlands theme to make the girls feel as if they are on vacation.
The couple’s collections run throughout the
house. Their antique pottery is displayed in built-in cabinets in the dining
room. Framed early-1900s photos, including some by Charles Sawyer and Wallace
Nutting, adorn the walls. Most of the furniture is Mission style, echoing the clean lines of the timber
framing.
“Anything in the house that is used once, is
used again,” Wendy points our. Thus, the river stone in the kitchen backsplash
is also used for the bathroom shower floors, fabric for the kitchen window valance reappears in the dining room, and the slate
behind the gas stove also tops a dining room window bench.
Stickley Furniture crafted the cherry wood master bed with wood
inlay. The couple hung selections from their collection of early 1900s photos
on the bedroom wall. Wendy says, “This house speaks so much to use because
of our collections, the big windows and the outdoors.”
The second-floor bedrooms are identically laid out, and are separated
by a bathroom. A bed quilt, hand-made by Wendy’s mother, makes the wrought-iron
bed even more cozy.
Bob’s Big
Change
As the Parrishes’ construction came to an end,
so did Pat’s job as a Woodhouse sales manager. “I told Bob that I was taking on the job as President of Woodhouse,
and Bob immediately asked who was going to replace me,” Pat explains. “When I told him we didn’t know yet,
Bob said, ‘What about me?’”
“After going through the entire construction
process, I felt I could do the job,” Bob says. “I knew the quality of their work, and I was living in a home that
Woodhouse built.” Pat recognized the value of that fact, and was so impressed with Bob’s enthusiasm that he took
a chance on him. It’s worked out just fine: Bob has been Woodhouse’s
Regional Sales Manager for over two years.
Resources
Sisler Builders Inc., (802) 244-6986
Woodhouse: The Timber Frame Company,
(800) 227-4311, www.woodhouse-pb.com
The back of the house features a deck that curves around
the mudroom connector to the garage. The lower level walkout sits below the great
room bump-out. The home’s exterior is cedar clapboard and shingles.
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