Timber frame cabin designing is an art that’s here to stay. While contemporary ideals surrounding architecture mean shifts in modern design, the classic timber frame cabin stands the test of time. Timber frame cabins are warm, inviting, and they appear to grow naturally out of, and in symbiosis with, the landscape. They reflect our undeniable connection to nature, as well as the unique acuity of human design. Timber frame homes are a green solution, with an unbeatable aesthetic and incredible potential for design.
The Green Solution
Wood, like any plant material, thrives on carbon dioxide that permeates our atmosphere. As wood grows, it “traps” carbon that is within the atmosphere; meanwhile, oxygen is released. This process is beneficial for our atmosphere and it reduces the impact of global warming. Building with wood ensures that more carbon is removed from the atmosphere than produced. Producing other materials – namely, manmade materials – produces more airborne carbon than it arrests. Thus, timber frame cabin design is a far more green solution. Plus, unlike utilizing wood for fire (a nearly carbon-neutral process), building structures with wood is a carbon-positive process.
The Aesthetic
Timber frame homes are simply gorgeous. Each wood member is unique, featuring grain patterns, knots, and coloration that is distinct to that wood member in and of itself. Wood timbers give a home life and character. Timbers catch the light and reflect the beauty of natural, exposed wood.
Mixed Media
Thanks to the advent of industrial fasteners, a modern timber frame cabin can be built to meet more demanding designs. While old joining techniques, like dovetails and mortise-and-tenon joints, are perfectly apt building techniques, modern machined joints liberate the traditional timber frame home design. With a few scraps of steel, we can build with new height and greater openness, and we can build more quickly. While a single dovetail joint can take hours of planning and precision engineering (especially with a warped wood member), a steel joint can be bolted into place to reinforce your timber frame without a second thought. That means an increase in the potential for timber frame cabin designs.
The Potential
Technological advances like the steel joint free architects to design bigger timber frame cabins. We can have more expansive spaces, taller structures, and these structures can be built in a fraction of the time. In addition, structures can be build with more windows. Modern timber frame cabins can be constructed with bay windows that let in loads of light. Modern timber frame cabins can embrace the best of both contemporary and classic building techniques, and that leaves us with enlightened, liberated design.
At the end of the day, timber frame cabins work well and they look great. There may be no better design than a timber frame cabin. It is strong yet warm. Cozy and comfortable. Tried and true. If you’re looking to build your own timber frame cabin, we can aid you in creating a design. Here at Winterwoods Homes, we specialize in timber frame cabin design. Have us start from scratch with a custom design, or make our plans your own.