At the foot of Grandfather Mountain in northwest North Carolina sits a home designed to mimic the landscape of the mountainous region. “It’s the land that dictates the design,” says homeowner and builder Brett Schwebke. “When you’re building in the mountains, you want your home to look like it belongs there.”
The home’s exterior follows the lines of the mountain range with its varied peaks. Brett installed rustic bark and cedar shingles to blend the home with the rugged site. Organic in appearance, the home features innovative and green methods. He used structural insulated panels (SIPs) in the roof for increased insulation, and filled the stud-framed walls with a soy-based spray foam. “It’s an Energy Star-rated home,” says Brett, owner of Tynecastle Builders in Banner Elk, North Carolina.
Brett’s resourcefulness reaches even deeper. He harvested lumber from the building site and turned it into usable materials throughout the house. “Whether it be the tongue-and-groove ceiling or the oak flooring or the mantels,” Brett says, “I try to bring some back in.” For instance, all of the oak flooring on the upper level came from the site, as did the spalted maple, cherry and buckeye wood that covers the ceilings.
For his home, Brett used High Country Timberframes in Boone, North Carolina, to integrate the actual timber frame into the architect’s design. Brett, who has worked with High Country owners Tom Owens and Peter Jankowski for more than a decade, relies on their framing expertise. “The tag I use for them is that their only limit is my imagination,” Brett says.
The 5,000-square-foot home features a Douglas fir timber frame. Each hand-hewn and distressed timber looks centuries old. To further this effect, the frame was exposed to the elements for 60 days. “I started the project and stopped for a while, and just let it rain on the frame until I got the look I wanted,” Brett says. Mortise-and-tenon joints fastened with oak pegs secure the frame.
A 3,500-pound tub carved from a boulder makes a statement in the master bathroom along with chiseled-edge boulder sinks. In the kitchen, he topped wormy chestnut-and-walnut cabinets with slate on the island and granite elsewhere. “I like to mix textures and colors,” Brett says, “and take the same material and make it look different.”
Home Details
Square footage: 5,000
Builder: Tyncastle Builders
Timber provider: High Country Timberframes
