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Halcyon Days
A timber home built for rest and relaxation
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Story by Teresa Wolff
Photos by Rich Frutchey
Published in Timber Homes Illustrated, August 2007
A log home out west would be the perfect second residence, Connecticut homeowners Paul and Paula Marcus thought. "We often vacationed in Montana, and were impressed with the log homes we saw," Paul says.
Reality soon set in. "As much as we admired Montana, we intend to stay in the eastern United States and felt the travel to a vacation home out there would be prohibitive," Paul says. Then, when the couple found land in Massachusetts' Berkshire Mountains for their retreat, a log home just didn't seem to fit.
Plan B
Undeterred in their desire to have a home that featured the beauty of the wood, Paul and Paula conferred with Walter VanderVoort, owner of the Berkshire Second Home Construction Company. Walter advised them to build a home with an exterior that would better conform to regional style and do whatever they pleased on the inside.
What pleased them was a product they saw in an advertisement by Davis Frame Company. They toured several Davis Frame projects and came away impressed with the window walls, curved braces, chamfered edges and clear tung oil finish that are the signature features of a Davis Frame home. They also liked the traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery and wooden pegs used to hold the timbers in place.
After Paul and Paula roughed out their ideas for their home with Walter, Davis Frame Company finalized the designs submitted by the trio. The next step was for Walter to site the home to assure that the private lake in their development would be the focal point of the view from as many rooms as possible. He placed the home on the slope to create a substantial lawn area and preserve the open woods as a buffer to the lake.
"This home was constructed during one of the worst winters the Berkshires had ever experienced," Walter recalls. There often was snow inside the house, but the timber frame, with the help of timber framer Mark Hallock of K&M Construction in West Stockbridge, and Jeff Davis technical advisor, was put together in the first three days. Walter credits the quick assembly time to the pre-cut frame pieces. "It eliminated the need for time-consuming site adjustments," he says.
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The Marcuses' vacation home is situated on their lot to create two distinctive presentations: one from the road, the other from the lake. Cedar shingle siding blends in with the natural environment.
The walkout lower level is just steps away from the private lake. Outdoor living is more enjoyable thanks to a balcony off the master bedroom and a separate screened porch.
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Top to Bottom
Each of the three levels of the home provides almost 2,500 square feet of finished living space. The formal front entry into the home includes a powder room and closet and leads to the great room with the wood-burning fireplace that extends from the lower level to the second-story ceiling. To the left of the fireplace are the kitchen and dining room. Overnight guests are treated to their own quarters in a conventionally framed guest suite to the left of the garage. The master bedroom suite is located to the right of the great room.
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Paul and Paula were attracted to the way Davis Frame Company incorporates walls of windows into their designs.
The hammerbeam truss is complemented by the warm tones of the tongue-and-groove pine ceiling.
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Both bedrooms and the cozy television loft area above the entry on the second floor have a lakeside view. A large apartment, accessible through a small hallway, completes this level. The apartment, which is the bonus room over the three-car garage, is self contained, with a living room, bedroom and bath, and kitchen.
To create a full walkout for the lower level, Walter accentuated the slope of the property. This level was designed to accommodate the family's love of sports, with French doors allowing quick access to the private beach and canoe dock. The family room has a wood stove and sufficient wall space for the children's numerous team photos, trophies and sports memorabilia. A billiards table, complete with stained-glass lamp overhead, is the focus of the game room. A sizable exercise room with padded floors and walls is equipped with almost every kind of exercise equipment imaginable.
"At some point, the owners are hopeful that they might be able to conduct their respective businesses from this home," Walter explains. "So we included a large office space with a glass door facing the lake on the lower level."
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Cultured fieldstone forms the three-story fireplace, which ascends to the top of the cathedral ceiling in the great room.
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Artwork by local artists complements the eclectic style of decorating the couple employed. The greatest majority of furniture is overflow from their Connecticut home-log beds that they purchased in Montana.
Time at the Lake
"Paul and I work as a team," Paula says. "He picks out the appliances, and I cook." The GE profile oven with an internal thermostat that Paul selected helps Paula prepare her favorite natural foods with elaborate sauces.
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ABOVE: Cherry cabinets and granite counters blend perfectly with the golden tone of the Douglas fir timber frame. Paul and Paula found the custom-made table, fashioned from old barn siding, in Winston, Kentucky.
RIGHT: An open flow from the great room into the dining and kitchen areas was on the owners' must have list. Ash hardwood floors contribute to the elegant feel of the home.
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To heat the home, Walter installed a dual heating system with a state-of-the-art propane-fired boiler that provides hot-water heat delivered through a cast-iron baseboard system. Radiant in-floor heat provides warmth in the lower level and kitchen and baths, which are all finished with tile.
The owners engaged Rene Quenville to design the type of landscape that would meet Paula's desire for color all through the growing season. Rene added perennials and shrubs that would fit the bill but would not be of interest to the native deer that wreak havoc on the gardens in the area.
At the present time, Paula in an international chemical trader and can work anywhere she has internet access. Paul, on the other hand, is a food broker and travels extensively to call on his customers personally. When their schedules allow, usually for the three summer months and at holidays they journey to Massachusetts with their two children and two dogs. They might opt to spend the day on the lake kayaking or just lounging around enjoying the serenity of the locale.
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Walter VanderVoort crafted the magnificent staircases of fir slab treads and stringers. To further enhance its beauty and presentation, he inlaid fir and ash on the two landings.
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"We love this home so much we have put it into a residence trust for our children. The home is almost totally secluded and we can't see any of the other residences on the lake," Paul says.
"The days in our timber frame home on the lake just fly," Paula adds. "We built this home with an eye towards the day when we might sell our home in Greenwich, Connecticut, and move to Massachusetts permanently."
Until then the family is content to just be there for vacations and a welcome change of pace.
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LEFT: A king-post truss frames the space above the Adirondack log bed crafted of petrified pine. Paul and Paula often retreat to their private balcony to enjoy sights and sounds of nature.
RIGHT: Paula claims the master bath is her favorite room. Here she used natural colored tumbled marble for the tub surround, walls and floor.
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Resources
Berkshire Second Home Construction, (413) 822-2683
Davis Frame Company, (800) 636-0993, www.davisframe.com
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