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Sierra Heritage at Home
January 2004 |
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The Summer House Pavilion |
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The “Summer House Pavilion” by Timbercraft Homes is like the National Park Service
“Camp Style” shelters and lodges constructed during the early 20th century.
It combines skillfully crafted wood and stone in a design that is both graceful
and timeless.
Heavy Douglas-fir timbers, a cedar shake roof and antiqued
concrete floor impart a rustic quality to this elegantly appointed, sturdy,
timber frame shelter. Where walls enclose the bath and kitchen, windows with
divided lights contribute to the “Craftsman Cottage” quality of the building.
The shelter measures thirty feet wide and twenty-eight feet deep. The covered
entry is twelve feet wide and approximately seven feet deep. |
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Summer House Pavilion is a great success. It has proven to have even more uses
than its owners anticipated. Their Summer House extends the outdoor living season
into the fall and introduces it early in the spring because an overhead radiant
heating system keeps the mostly open structure comfortable on cold days. The shelter
is a perfect place for rainy day picnics and birthday parties for rowdy pirates and
it provides an “away place” near the main house where parents can relax at the end
of the day. No cell phones allowed!
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When an active family began to outgrow their average sized house they decided
that an extra room was what they needed. The design of their house was perfect,
just as it was, and they were reluctant to risk spoiling the house by adding another
room. A solution appeared when it occurred to them that an open space inside a grove
of cedar trees not far from the house, would be a perfect place for an “outdoor room”.
The space in the cedar grove was large enough for a good-sized shelter and they loved
the idea of creating their own urban campsite. |
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When the family contacted Timbercraft Homes to discuss their plan to design and build
a timber frame shelter, they already knew a lot about how they wanted their building
to look and how it should function. And, they had already named it the “Summer House.”
They imagined a pavilion that was both stylish and functional and a building plan that
was flexible enough to accommodate the separate activities of adults and children. The
outdoor room they had in mind included a sunken fire pit and seating area, a fully
equipped kitchen, a hot tub and a three quarter bath with a shower.
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EXTERIOR OF PAVILION HOME, SKYLIGHT ILLUMINATING KITCHEN'S INFORMAL BAR
They imagined a
beautifully crafted post and beam structure, a vaulted timber-framed roof system and
timber rafters that supported broad eaves.
They wanted to use natural stone for the
fire pit and seating area and to incorporate stone on the exterior where possible.
The
building would be mostly open but a closed area would be needed to create privacy for
the bathroom.
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