There is much to be appreciated about the simple beauty of a deck house; exposed timber framing, a cathedral deck ceiling, and large expanses of glass on the side walls. This house was no exception. The kitchen, dining, living room, and family room were in one open plan. The bedrooms were tucked down a hall that had a drop ceiling. The client's valued the beauty of their home, but they wanted to make some changes. The existing kitchen was at the lowest point in the roof slope, so it seemed small and cramped. There was also a small attached 3 season porch/mud room that they were not happy with. While the open plan was much enjoyed, they were outgrowing the actual square footage and wanted to extend that same feeling into more living space. They also wanted a 2 car garage with a mud room entry.

We had the opportunity to use timber frame construction for the exposed columns and beams, and SIPs (structurally insulated panels) for the roof so that we could keep the structural decking exposed in the interior, but meet the insulation requirements now required by code. We also spent a lot of time on the lighting plan and how to make it the most successful in the cathedral ceiling. We achieved Good Design by combining traditional building methods with new building science advances to get the client the look and feel they wanted.