For Ian Evans and his wife, Janet, the biggest challenge in constructing their timber frame home was getting the project off the ground. The Evanses, who work for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, had little problem finding a wooded lot on a quiet road in Lakeville, Massachusetts. They agreed to use Davis Frame Company in New Hampshire as their framer, and designed a 2,500-square-foot house they really liked with Davis representative Steve Petty.

But when Ian and Janet began looking for a builder to pull the project together, everything came to a halt. For nine long months the couple tried unsuccessfully to find the right building contractor.

"We came close to giving up on a timber frame because we couldn't find a contractor," Ian says. "We'd had the land for a year and felt the project wasn't going anywhere. We thought maybe we should build a stick frame or sell the land and buy a house that was already built."

Under Way

Steve finally found the right builder for the Evanses' job: Phil Miller of Miller Starbuck Construction in Mashpee, Massachusetts. Steve once worked with Phil in the timber frame industry, and had recently re-connected with him after many years.

Sometimes it is not easy to find a builder willing to take a timber frame job, Steve admits. "At first blush it is a challenge because very often builders will say, 'Well gee, I've never done that,' and they might not want to get involved.

"But I've also found that just sitting down with the builder - if he's a good builder used to doing custom work - he'll have no problem figuring out how to do a timber frame," Steve says. "In fact, most of them kind of enjoy doing it."

The Evanses' wait was worth it. Their three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath Arts and Crafts style home has warm Douglas fir timbers with matching interior trim, and an open floor plan with cathedral ceilings that, Ian says, "create the sensation of a space that is much larger than the square footage would suggest".

Stepping from the front porch into the wide, open foyer allows a skyward view of the house's roof timbers, as well as the second-floor hallway with double balconies. One balcony overlooks the foyer, while the other perches above the great room in the back of the house. Two bedrooms and a bath are off the second-floor hall.

On the first floor, one can walk three directions from the foyer: to the right and the guest bedroom, to the left and the breakfast nook, or straight ahead into the main hallway. The main hallway leads directly to the light-filled great room. The right side of the main hall also provides access to a walk-through closet to the master bedroom.

To the left of the foyer, the breakfast nook opens to the kitchen, which has a pink granite-countered island and snack bar area. The kitchen, in turn, opens to the great room along the home's rear, offering both a cozy seating space with a raised fireplace and a dining area.

Most of the first-floor rooms have access to a mahogany deck that wraps from the front porch to the back of the house. A separate large deck off the great room also can be reached via the master bedroom.

"The house flows very nicely because of the way they have the front hall foyer and the dining / great room and kitchen," notes Steve. "It forms a nice visible circle area."

Clean, Simple and On-Budget

The home's many French doors and Loewen windows give the first floor an open, airy feel. The windows include a Heritage grillwork that reinforces the Arts and Crafts styling, as do black iron light fixtures. "I wanted Arts and Crafts; it blends modern and traditional," Janet explains. "It has clean, simple lines using wood as opposed to glass, metals, or plastics."

"Our highest priority was to get the house we really wanted," Ian says. "I don't like to compromise." But the couple also had a strict budget. To keep items they considered important, such as their high-end, brushed stainless steel kitchen appliances, they delayed doing landscaping and installing the driveway. They also saved money by choosing a gas fireplace with cultured stone surround instead of a wood-burning fireplace with a stone chimney.

The couple also did some of their own finishing work. Their biggest project was staining 26 bundles of the cedar shingles needed to finish the gable ends of the house exterior. It took one full weekend, eight family members, and 32 gallons of stain to complete the project.

One feature the Evanses sought, but the house could not incorporate, was a hammer-beam truss. When they learned the beams would have to come below the height of the French doors, requiring a major redesign, they backed off their request. "We wanted to stay true to the house, and the integrity of the frame design," Ian says.

The Evanses ended up with a large king post truss in one section, a bump-out of the great room's seating area, that gives an open truss look. The design includes a large beam across the bottom of the second floor balcony, which over looks the great room. The beam, which has become one of the couple's favorite features, is inscribed with the latin phrase "Per ardua ad astra," which translates to "through toil to the stars."

"We interpret this to mean that hard work will take you wherever you want to go," Ian explains. "That is the motto that we live by, and is how we managed to build our beautiful home."