Good Neighbors
(Page 2 of 4)
March/April 2008
By Amy Grisak
Both the north wall and the west wall, which is tucked into the hillside, are built with sturdy Polysteel insulating-concrete forms (ICFs)—hollow blocks made of polystyrene foam with steel ties that are stacked and then filled with reinforced concrete.
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The south and east walls are 2-by-6 wood-frame construction finished with local stone—in some areas on both sides of the walls. Outside, James stacked the stone loosely in the retaining walls so plants could grow amid them. "We wanted the appearance of an older ruins," Mary says. Inside, the rough stone walls become shelves for candles, photos and plants.
The house is energy-efficient—important in this mountainous region. During winter, in-floor radiant heating makes the home comfortable with the thermostat set at 60 degrees. Deep roof overhangs—designed to keep the sun from directly hitting windows—and well-placed fans keep the couple cool in the summer without air conditioning.
Bringing the outside in
The heart of the home is the main room, where the welcoming kitchen entices visitors and large windows offer views of the gardens. "It’s very open, and the acoustics are great," James says. The couple installed unbleached-cotton canvas ceilings as a more cost-effective alternative to sheetrock. "As a bonus," Mary says, "I can paint murals on it someday."
Mary and James also wanted to bring their sense of whimsy to the home. Mary carved owls, bats, robins and squirrels into the kitchen bar and cabinet tops to cleverly hide the scars caused by grapple hooks that maneuvered the logs. "It’s fun to watch other people spot the animals," she says.
A huge, arched, hewn-wood door leads into the bedroom suite. The 425-pound door was a group effort: Friends cut the large, wood slabs, a nephew cut the arch, and Mary sanded and finished it. James and Mary fabricated and rusted the steel hinges and rivets, then outfitted the door with rusted metal birds.
The couple designed a see-through fireplace so it can be enjoyed from the main room or the master suite. The flames are visible from their large bathtub, which sits in a stone deck surrounded by plants and flickering, stained-glass butterfly lights.
Never idle, James and Mary look to expand. "We plan on adding a turret—possibly built from straw bales—onto the garage to create space for a library and home office," Mary says. With eight grown children and "who knows how many future grandkids," they intend to build a guest house with a bedroom and game room. But Mary says their immediate goal with this house is just "to be home in it as much as possible."
The Good Stuff