The Great Island Boat Yard Nears Completion

Our timber frame construction of the Great Island Boat Yard is almost complete. We finished the internal and external framework of the new timber frame building and have added the finishing touches to the siding. Nearing the completion of this project has been a bittersweet experience for all of us at Houses & Barns. We’ve greatly enjoyed working with the Boat Yard’s team and are feeling reluctant to pack up our tools.

More spring projects are coming our way so we will keep you posted on our new endeavors.

The Way to Mom’s Heart is Through a John Libby Kitchen

Home is where the heart is, so they say. But by looking a bit closer, you may in fact find your heart favors a certain area of the home, and for many, it’s the warmth and comfort of a kitchen.

We have designed a number of kitchens within the walls of our timber frame houses, and even though they are all different, we see a few common traits in every single one.

First, each one is designed with functionality in mind. We understand the importance of creating a space that is ideal for preparing food. We also consider the layout of a kitchen, and make sure it is open enough for entertaining. Location is also a key factor in the design, assuring that it is close to your deck, dining room, or anywhere you and your family or guests gather to eat.

A kitchen may be described as a place to prepare and cook food, but aesthetically, it means much more; a gathering place for family for daily meals and holiday feasts, the smell of mom’s apple pie, a hot cup of coffee in the morning, a cup of tea on a cold rainy day, cooking pizza on game night, or sharing a glass of wine with your closest friends. To say the very least, in our eyes, a kitchen embodies all the comforts of living in a custom timber home.

We owe much of this warmth and comfort to our parents, especially our mothers. We sometimes take these everyday things for granted, but on a special day each year, it’s important to reflect on these simple pleasures, and the very person that makes them all possible.

At the John Libby household, it’s our tradition to make special crab meat sandwiches for Mother’s Day. It’s a secret family recipe, but we always invite our neighbors and friends to join in our celebration.

Whatever your tradition may be, we hope you have a Happy Mother’s Day.

Shingling into Spring

Spring is definitely in the air here in Maine which means that Summer isn’t far off. Soon tourists (and snowbirds) will be back in Maine to enjoy the fresh air, great outdoors and charming villages. While the arts, food and friendly faces make our towns great places to live and visit, it’s the architecture that really gives them the charm. Traditional building methods – like post and beam that serve as the skeleton, while the trim and siding choices are the finishing touches that give a home, shop or barn real New England character.

The iconic look that one can find from the shores of Cape Cod to the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse can be mostly attributed to shingles – just like the kind we’re installing right now on the Great Island Boat Yard. Sometimes painted, but mostly left to weather to a natural gray color, shingles are one of the most commonly used materials on coastal and country homes in the Northeast.

We chose to use them because they have a long-life span and hold up to the elements here in Maine, not to mention their classic good looks on timber frames large and small. Plus, the neighbors would rather see shingles than the durable Typar paper that’s been protecting the structure as we work to complete it.

We’ll soon have updates on the interior work for the Great Island Boat Yard – including sprinkler systems. More on those features coming as we complete them in the coming days. When you’re in Maine this summer, take a look around the quaint little villages and seaside resorts and note what gives them their character – aside from the beautiful setting…it’s the shingles.