ENERGY STAR® Timber Home

The design development drawings of our Energy Star timber home in Old Lyme, Connecticut, is coming along nicely. Revisions were made to the floor plans to accommodate our clients’ busy family and entertaining lifestyle.


The basement will be the central activity area, including a recreation room with a ping pong table, small kitchen, and access to an outdoor patio. An exercise room will have a treadmill and Pilate’s area, and the media room includes a plasma TV and comfortable seating. The basement also includes a guest suite with oversized closet space and a mechanical room.

The entry to the timber home provides plenty of storage area for this busy family and a bench for sitting while taking off winter boots. The timber frame cathedral great room is designed for entertaining and includes two sitting areas, one with a hideaway plasma entertainment center dividing the two areas. The spacious U-shaped kitchen is both efficient and accommodating to guests, who can watch the chef in action from the raised counter.

The laundry room is designed for efficiency, with counter space, a sink, closet, and a built-in ironing board. The master bedroom has a large walk-in closet / changing area. The master bath includes a double shower, corner soaking tub, and vanity with plenty of storage space.

Two bedrooms share a large bathroom and the second floor loft area which overlooks the great room and provides a birds-eye view of the property. The cupola above the loft floods it with light and ventilation, creating a beautiful, quiet spot to read. A dormer provides additional headroom for the bathroom and reading area.

In addition to being a beautiful timber home is an energy efficient home by built to Energy Star standards, saving over 30% in energy costs. An independent Energy Star rater will inspect the home during the stages of construction and provide final Energy Star certification.

Timber Frame Design in Maine Utilizing Sacred Geometry

Check out this timber frame design for a timber house in Maine using sacred geometry. In this instance the Golden Section and Fibonacci Series which will become the basis of our client’s home design.

The Golden Section will be used to define the building proportions: scale of massing elements, room layout, height and width, even door layout and size. In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in proportion if the ratio between the sum of those quantities and the larger is the same as the ratio between the larger and the smaller. Examples of architecture utilizing the Golden Section are common throughout history, examples such as the Parthenon and the Great Pyramids are most notable. In Art, a great debate still exists as to whether or not Leonardo da Vinci proportioned his paintings according to the golden ratio while creating the Mona Lisa and De Divina Proportione.

Additionally, the Fibonacci Series will determine proportions of the building elements. The intersecting mirrored Fibonacci spiral design will become the anchor element seen throughout the home, as in the stair balusters, trim details, and floor patterns. The Golden Spiral below is created using tangential arcs within adjacent squares of the golden rectangle.

If you take one point, and then a second point one-quarter of a turn away from it, the second point is PHI times farther from the center than the first point. The spiral increases by a factor of PHI or 1.618.

With the completion of the preliminary design, we are beginning the design development phase of this 2100 square foot home. Western Cedar has been specified for the timber frame which will be hand crafted and assembled by a local timber framer.

Our client requested incorporating many sustainable energy systems into the home, such as an Insulated Concrete Foundation (ICF), evacuated tubes on the south facing portions of the home for domestic hot water and heating, Structural insulated panels for the walls and roof which will surround the timber frame, a greenhouse in which they will grow many organic vegetables, and a root cellar in a portion of the basement.

Floor plans will be posted soon. Keep your eye on our current green home designs and timber homes!

Timber Frame Addition to Post and Beam Home

The Design Development Phase continues for our clients putting a timber frame addition onto their existing post and beam home in southern New Hampshire (timber frame addition and remodelled areas in brown).

Changes to the preliminary kitchen design included: (see preliminary design left, revised plan, right)

• Change one window to two smaller windows, separated
  
• Eliminate the cabinets between the two kitchen windows
  
• Kitchen sink centered under the left window
  
• Refrigerator relocated to left wall, dishwasher located beside the refrigerator
  
• Gas cook top (with downdraft exhaust) moved to the center of the island
  
• Oven centered under the right kitchen window
  
• Beverage fridge / wine cooler located on right wall
  
• Prep sink near beverage refrigerator
  
• Kitchen island half granite, half hardwood, with a counter and stools.

Several items will be saved in the demolition, including the windows from the upper levels, the refrigerator, the soaking tub and one of the toilets, which will be put to use at our clients’ camp up north.

Interior finishes for the timber frame home, including floors, walls, ceilings, trim, as well as the kitchen and bathroom vanities and countertops are being selected.

CT Energy Star Timber Frame Home

The first schematic design for an Energy Star timber frame home in Connecticut is completed. The barn style theme fits in nicely with the theme of the surrounding area architecture.

The home will be designed for the ENERGY STAR® program, which will include ENERGY STAR approved insulation (SIP panels), duct system, mechanical ventilation system, windows, heating and cooling units, lighting, and appliances.






At 2500 square feet, this energy efficient home has views to the south and west. The first floor features a timber frame cathedral great room and a Tulikivi stove. The kitchen has views overlooking the property and is open to the dining, with easy access to the laundry room, and large master bedroom suite.



The second floor has two guest bedrooms, a full bath, and a spacious loft overlooking the great room.



In the next design stage, we will complete room dimensions add interior and exterior details.



Check out this and our other current green homes and timber houses on our website!

Timber Frame Design

Timber frame designs, including schematic drawings and renderings, help visualize what the inside of certain areas of a timber frame home will look like.

The one story home design below will have a timber frame roof system with SIP panel walls and roof, which wrap around the timber frame to create a high performance energy efficient thermal envelope and leave the beautiful timbers exposed to the interior.

Color renderings with foliage and landscaping bring the elevations to life and demonstrate the various approaches to the home.

Click for more details and a project description of these one story house plans. If you are interested in timber frame design, see our architectural services and fees.

Hybrid home: Timber Frame and SIP Panels

Hybrid homes combining timber framing and other building materials are very popular. There are many ways to combine construction methods. For instance, this 2745 square foot home design is an excellent example of a hybrid home.

• The center section is 1316 square feet of timber frame construction, 836 square feet for the first floor great room, kitchen and dining, and 480 square feet in the second floor loft;
  
• The entry will utilize a timber frame roof system with insulated panel walls and roof system;
  
• SIP panel walls and a conventional roof system will be used in the Master Bedroom connector;
  
• Timber frame rafters, SIP panel walls, roof, and panel dormers will be used in the Master Bedroom; and
  
• The 576 square foot garage consists of conventional 2x framing and batt insulation.

A hybrid home, combining timber framing, conventional framing, and SIP panels, might better fit your family’s needs – and budget.
If budget is a concern, consider combining building methods; i.e. use timber framing in public areas (great room, dining room, and kitchen) and use SIP panel construction or conventional material in other areas can reduce the overall square foot cost of the home.

Timber Frame Design, Lincoln, NH

Bonin Architects & Associates provides innovative, sustainable design solutions for residential and light commercial applications.

One of our green design projects is for a timber frame home to be built in South Peak Resort at Loon Mountain, Lincoln, NH surrounded by the White Mountains. Delivery of the timber frame is expected at the end of August.

The timber frame home will be a second home for Bob and Kelly Kozub, who plan to vacation there as often as possible during all four seasons. Structural Insulated Panels (also known as stress skin panels or SIPs) will keep the home warm in winter and cool in summer. Exterior timbers and cedar shakes and clapboards give the home a mountain look while earth-tone colors will compliment the natural landscape of the White Mountains.

The timber frame design includes a full finished basement and two-car garage. A bunkroom in the basement provides space for guests while the basement also includes a large recreation area with a fieldstone fireplace, two guest bedrooms, a bath with a walk-in shower, and its own laundry.

The main floor has three bedrooms which share a bathroom with a whirlpool tub. The mudroom entry includes the first-floor laundry and ample storage closets. The kitchen has a curved counter for seating overlooking the dining area, built-in bar, and great room. The dining room, great room with a large stone fireplace, and two bedrooms, all facing west, open to the mahogany decks on the west taking advantage of the views and mountain sunsets.

The timber frame main section of the home is a series of queen post bents. Wings to either side, one for the bedrooms and the other for the dining room and kitchen, utilize a Principal Purlin frame.

The second floor has a large loft and media room overlooking the dining and great room. The media room will have built-in cabinetry to hold a flat-screen TV, books, games and movies. The Master Bedroom suite includes its own fireplace and private balcony, as well as a walk-in closet and sitting and reading area.


Jackie Lampiasi, Marketing Director
Bonin Architects & Associates, PLLC