Jeff and Linda Lennox's timber home soaks up the view from its perch at the crest of a ridge that leads down to a wooded beaver pond.
Once planned as a vacation retreat, a Vermont home proves to be so irresistable that one family decides to set down permanent roots.
Published by: Timber Home Living; 2009 Annual Buyers Guide
Story by: Reed Karaim
Photography: Rich Frutchey
If you've ever had a dream about building that perfect timber frame home in New England ski country, here's a fair warning: You're going to have to deal with some envy as you read this story.
Jeff and Linda Lennox and their two teenage sons were living in Connecticut, but they regularly spent holidays in Vermont, where they had a second home. When the couple decided to build a larger timber frame home there, they thought it would be for vacations and eventual retirement. "We had always been interested in the timber frame structure," Jeff says, whose father built a timber frame home and introduced them to the concept. "We didn't want anything quite so rustic, but we loved the idea."
The couple found 27 acres of wooded land with a pond and a view that stretches 23 miles across verdant folds of forest to Stratton Mountain. Then, incorporating ideas they'd seen in various floor plans, Jeff sketched out a basic design. He brought it to Davis Frame Co. in Claremont, New Hampshire, after talking to a company representative at a home show.
The Lennox home was the largest project Davis Frame has done without using an architect; and the home turned out so well, Davis Frame created a model, the Forest View, based on the design.
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| To fill out the volume of the cathedral ceiling, the Lennoxs incorporated mid-level visual interest in the form of the ledge above the hearth mantel and gorgeous iron rails for the loft balcony. |
Wendy Johnson of Designs for Living in Manchester, Vermont, worked with the Lennox's on their cabinetry, including the custom-designed cherry vanity for the tub in the master bath. |
A massive stone hearth seperates the dining and great rooms, but each space has its own fireplace. The one in the dining room is gas-fired to avoid a mess. The Lennoxs like to entertain, and the Vermont-made cherry table can be expanded to seat 14 guests.
Simple Design, Grand Dimensions
The secret seems to be a design that captures the essential virtues of a timber frame home without seeming ostentatious. The home's soaring great room has a dramatic walk-around central fireplace, eaves more than 16 feet high, 10-by-12 inch Douglas fir beams with chamfered edges and a wall of windows to take advantage of the south-facing view. "I love being down in the great room or up in the loft with the sun streaming in through the windows," says Linda. "We often see beavers, river otters and all kinds of wildlife near the pond. I just love that."
The Lennox home also comes alive through the fine woodworking of their general contractor, Dan Rapphahn's company, Northland Builders, in Peru, Vermont. "I use a small crew, and we're all trim carpenters and cabinet makers," Dan says. Floors of red birch, hickory and ash give each room a distinct character. For the basement bar and home theater, pine harvested from the Lennox property adds warmth.
The house was intended as a vacation home, but while they were building, the couple's youngest son announced he wanted to attend the Stratton Ski School, a skiing academy, and their oldest boy, also an avid skier, said he'd enjoy seeing more of his Vermont friends. The decision was simple. "We decided to make the move," says Jeff. And now they live there year-round.
Yes you can give into envy now.
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| The eat-in kitchen features a table topped with Vermont soapstone, custom cherry cabinets and a hardwood floor of red birch. "It's middle-grade,"says Linda, "so you have to have a little more variation and character in the wood." |
The Lennoxs used wood harvested from their own 27 acres for the bookcases and cabinets in the sewing-room loft. The light colored cabinets beside the blue chair was made of maple harvested the year before. |
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| The master-bedroom windows swing out to let in the fresh air and Vermont countryside. |
With two teeenager boys and a busy lifestyle that includes entertaining guests of all ages, the Lennoxs chose comfortable, informal furnishings throughout the house. |
The garage wing is angled slightly in relation to the main house to shelter the front entrance from winter's north westerly winds. Guest quarters above the garage include two bedrooms and a shared sitting area. There is also a finished basement in the home with a game room for the family.
To see the floor plans for this home, please click here to visit the Forest View plans.
