• Build Smaller – A smaller home doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice luxury or space.  It means you get rid of the excess area that you don’t use, don’t want to heat and cool, and don’t want to maintain.
• Build Simpler - Corners cost.  This has been a construction truth for centuries. Looking back for centuries you’ll find simple, elegant structures that have few corners.  Complex roof lines increase the cost every step of the way.  Don’t give up style, work with textures (and timbers) to enhance your space inside and out. Change the ceiling heights to define space.  Don’t think you need lots of hips, valleys, and corners to build an amazing home.
• Build Hybrid - Hybrid timber frame homes can be the perfect trade-0ff.  Fully timber frame the more public living spaces (great rooms, porches,etc) and use heavy timber rafters and trusses on walls built with structural insulated panels in the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens.  You save not only in the cost of the timber frame, but the space can be built out without working around posts and braces.  

As you design your new home, be sure to discuss these options with your team.  Making use of one or all of these options can be the difference in living in your dream home or settling for a stick-built home.   Designing and building your new home should be an adventure … a journey.  Making smart choices as you start will help you to build the timber frame home of your dreams … within your budget.

The Pond and the Cottage are beautiful examples of timber frame homes.  They are both available for sale and for rent here in Franklin, North Carolina…just west of Asheville.

So today we’re sharing videos of these beautiful homes.  Walk through them and enjoy the beauty…it is certainly worth sharing.

Thank you for allowing us to share the beauty!

Your mission will be to develop a plan that will live well, serve you well, be efficient, and be beautiful.  That’s not a small task.  You’ll need all the help you can get to find just the right timber frame plan.  Some home plans will work in one way and others in another.

That’s where our latest plan book comes in.  The timber frame photos and timber frame home plans included will give you a place to start.  You can narrow down what you like and what doesn’t work for you.  Then you can begin to work toward the perfect home plan.  And the talented Goshen team is ready to work with you to design that perfect home.

Goshen’s CD has small home plans, large home plans, fully timber framed plans, and hybrid home plans.   You can peruse them at your leisure and print them to share with others.  (But remember they are all Goshen copyrighted plans, so don’t ask someone else to build them for you.)

Also included are three videos to show you how a timber frame comes together.  That’s an exciting day for most homeowners.

So drop us a note at plans@timberframemag.com and we’ll get a CD off to you.  Or, if you’d like, we’ll send you a download link to the files on the CD.

These plans are the perfect first step on your journey.

1. Your home needs to work with the local vernacular.  It shouldn’t be a cookie cutter replica. It should complement the other homes in the area, but definitely not be identical.  The contrasts should lend to it’s individuality.   Not only will this keep your neighbors happy, it will help maintain the value of your home.  No rambling brick rancher belongs in an area of lodge-style or craftsman-style homes.  The neighborhood should have character and a variety, but don’t go too far afield.
2. Choose a style that makes you happy.  An aesthetically pleasing home will make you smile each time you arrive home.
3. Your home should “live” exactly as you live (your rooms should fit your lifestyle).   If you enjoy the outdoors, be sure to incorporate porches and decks.  If you need quiet space, an away room, office, or a small nook that will let you sit quietly is important.  If you are a gourmet cook…or just enjoy cooking…you won’t be happy with a small basic kitchen.  Think about how and where you spend your time when you’re home.  Design for you…not for the Jones or a trend you’ve seen in a magazine.
4. Work with a designer or architect who will listen.  Even if you are revising a stock plan, at the end of the day, it should reflect your tastes.  Architects and designers have skills far beyond the average homeowner.  They know what works and what doesn’t, but they should help you to develop your plan to work for you.  Don’t get lost in the process.
5. Make a list of the most important elements you want to include.  Keep it short and specific.  This is a “choosing your battles” type of decision.   If these items are important, be willing to give on other components that make these key elements work for the design and the budget.  You may need to downsize to keep a complex roof line that you find charming.  Or you may need to have a smaller home so you can spend more money on your outdoor living spaces.  Try to keep the list short and be flexible on less important (to you) items.

So build, build boldly and design with your heart and your head.

Thank you for letting us share our tips with you, Bonnie Pickartz.

Whether the new space is built to bring aging parents closer or to give younger family members their own place to live, there are many options to expand.  A basement suite, garage conversion suite, detached cottage, or an addition to an existing home all offer the chance to grow your space.

If you’ve always wanted to build a timber frame, but love your location and your home, this is the opportunity to build an additional cottage or to add on to your home with a timber frame.  Timber frames provide the flexibility and, when enclosed in structural insulated panels (SIPs), energy efficiency.

With forethought and good planning, even local code officials and home owner associations can be approached to allow for these spaces. Better use of everything from water to sewer connections and…less lawn to soak up resources…offer compelling reasons to add that space to an existing built out lot.

So, think about a granny flat and when you build…build boldly.

Just think about it…Bonnie Pickartz