Carolina Architecture & Design ‘Pioneer Spirit’

Feature Article

Pioneer Spirit

For most people, the notion of a log home conjures up images of a rustic cabin in primitive surroundings. But under the skillful guidance of interior designer Susan Carson, the 3,900-square-foot log home she just completed near Winston-Salem, N.C., expresses its pioneer spirit in a decidedly sophisticated way. In the two years it took to complete the project, the home evolved into a masterwork that perfectly captures the owner’s personality and wide-ranging interests, blending the old with the new to celebrate the best of both.

“Every project I do is unique to the situation and the client’s lifestyle, interests and color preferences,” Carson explained. “I don’t believe in being a signature designer. I believe in letting the client’s dream be realized.”

In working with client Mark Kelly to realize his dreams for a new log home, Carson quickly discerned a level of sophistication that ruled out any of the design cliches normally associated with rusticity or masculinity. The 27-year-old bachelor is equally engaging, whether explaining how a stone tool he found by the Yadkin River was used to prepare a hide for tanning or how his computerized personal information manager can process his handwriting.

“Mark has an elevated sense of taste,” she noted. “So while I wanted to create a design that would be suitable for a bachelor’s home, and one that would reflect his love of the outdoors, I realized very early on that this was not going to be a typical log home.”

The home also reflects Kelly’s handiwork. He participated in virtually every aspect of construction, from design to digging the foundation to laying stone and brick to carpentry and landscaping. “I like to get dirty, and I like hands-on projects,” Kelly said. “I’m sure all that ‘sweat equity’ makes me feel more attached to the house.”

Kelly’s idea to build a log home evolved over time, beginning several years ago with a suggestion from his grandmother that it was time he put down some roots and built a home of his own. He already had the perfect setting—30 acres he’d inherited from his grandfather—located south of Winston-Salem only minutes from his office.

For the house itself, Kelly began by scouring the countryside to find an old tobacco barn. He purchased it and, after numbering the timbers, dissembled the structure and hauled it to the property, planning to reassemble it and adapt it as his home. But after further research, Kelly decided to build a new log home instead.

“As a kid, I liked Daniel Boone, and I liked playing along the river,” Kelly recalled, “so the idea of a log home appealed to me. At the same time, I wanted the advantages of a new home.”

Kelly and his father, Ed Kelly, researched log home building suppliers and chose StoneMill Log Homes of Knoxville, Tenn., to supply the home’s outer shell. Working with StoneMill, Kelly redesigned the plan to accommodate his needs and tastes. Winston-Salem architect Quinn N. Pillsworth, AIA, redesigned the home’s front porch, added a sunroom in the back and reconfigured a den and bathroom.

In keeping with traditional log home construction, StoneMill uses flat-sided logs with half-dovetail notch joinery, one of the oldest and sturdiest corner joinery styles. The home’s shell is made of 6” by 12” western hemlock grooved to hold a 3 by 5” piece of Styrofoam insulation. While a smooth surface finish is available from StoneMill, Kelly chose the irregular hand-hewn finish for his logs, achieved by using a foot adz.

Kelly’s desire to use concrete roofing shingles dictated structural modifications. “We supplied oversized rafters to support the weight of the roof,” said StoneMill President John Sterchi. Two overhead iron tie rods provide further reinforcement and prevent the rafters from spreading under the shingles’ weight.

To make the home air- and watertight—essential for energy efficiency and structural integrity—StoneMill supplied acrylic chinking material. “The pioneers used to stuff sticks and mud and horsehair to seal between the logs,” said Sterchi. “Of course, our modern materials do a much better job of sealing.”

With the structural plans completed and the new materials on the way, Kelly launched his search for “found” materials to use in the home. For the floors, he purchased heart pine flooring from an old school in Albany, Ga. Most of the woodwork, including doors, casings and baseboards, was re-milled from materials salvaged from an old tobacco warehouse.

Next, Kelly enlisted his mother to oversee interior design. Linda Kelly immediately called on Susan Carson, with whom she had worked on other projects for her own home.

Carson, whose background is in fine arts, began her work by creating a pencil sketch of each room. “I take a room and strip it to its essential composition, much as you begin a painting,” she explained. “Then I use color and texture and pattern to add the details.”

As the project progressed, many creative ideas also came from the Kelly family. “In our family, we all have ideas, and sometimes we all talk at once,” said Linda Kelly. “Susan would listen to each of us, and if we were at odds, she had a way of bringing us back to the ideas that really fit. She made us all feel involved.”

“Susan knows how to ask the right questions to help you figure out what you really want, as opposed to what you think you want,” said Mark Kelly. As an example, Kelly cites the cedar posts used to support the roof over the sunroom. Kelly personally cut cedar trees on the property, stripped off the bark and had the logs kiln dried.

“I had seen posts like that at a restaurant in Aspen,” he said. “Originally, the idea was to have no wood trim—just to have the glass fit into the logs. But that little idea created a million problems because logs are narrower at the top than at the bottom, so the glass would have to be cut at an angle.” Pillsworth’s sketches for the sunroom included window frames set within the timbers, and Carson suggested a simple wood trim to finish the frames unobtrusively while maintaining the sense of being outdoors.

Carson also suggested using one of the logs as a mantel. “We had all the logs laid out on the floor of the sunroom and noticed one would be perfect as a mantel,” she recalled.

As she planned interiors, Carson drew heavily on her contacts with local artisans. “We’re blessed in this area to have wonderful craftspeople—probably because of the furniture industry—and the home highlights the skills of several talented local people,” she said.

Among those craftspeople was stonemason Steve Carroll, who used a chocolate-gray native stone from nearby Sauratown Mountain to complement the natural wood tones of the logs. Using a dry stack technique, Carroll constructed tapered columns for the front porch and arched fireplaces, which he described as “a challenge of design and laying.”

Much of the interior woodworking was done by Terry Hunt, a builder who helped custom fit staircases, door and window casings and cabinetry. Hunt learned his craft from his father, who restored a number of buildings in historic Old Salem. He describes himself as “a purist” who has learned to achieve with a hand saw and block plane what most carpenters now use power tools to do. “I can do it if it’s wood,” Hunt said.

Greg Roberts created the home’s interior finishes, working with Carson to coordinate colors and textures throughout. In selecting stain for the mantels, Carson had Roberts match a subtle shade in the stone fireplace. Roberts matched a rich turquoise stain used on a custom-built kitchen table to the color of ceramic tiles. In the sunroom’s dining area, Roberts coordinated various crackled and milk glazed finishes for the chairs.

Carson and the Kellys chose The Kitchen Center of Winston-Salem to provide the custom cabinets used in the kitchen, bathrooms and study. Amy Ogburn, a designer at The Kitchen Center, said installing cabinets in log homes presents special challenges. “You have to float the cabinets on strips instead of mounting them directly on the walls because with time, the walls settle and move,” she explained. “We also had to custom-fit special trim pieces along any edges that butted up against log walls because the surface is irregular.”

Carson commissioned Sara Hotchkiss to hand-weave rugs incorporating the rich color palette used throughout the home. “I selected colors that wouldn’t die around brown—rich reds and warm yellows and blues,” Carson said. “I used warmer colors in the rooms facing north, and cooler colors in the rooms with southern exposure.”

As construction progressed, weekly meetings kept activities on track. At the same time, Carson was busy planning and purchasing furnishings for the home. “When you’re involved in the building process and the interior design, it’s like two projects in one,” she noted. “You have to be ready to go in and furnish all the rooms the minute the contractors are out the door. Otherwise, the project can lose its momentum.”

Fortunately, the Kellys had a head start on the furnishings. Many of the pieces came from Mark Kelly’s grandparents’ homes. Kelly and his parents also discovered numerous treasures while traveling. “All of us are collectors,” he said. “We all like to go to auctions and antique shops.”

Carson and Linda Kelly also made shopping trips together. During one, they found the wrought iron railings used in the balcony. “Mark liked Susan’s suggestion to use old wrought iron, and Susan knew of a dealer in Chapel Hill,” Linda Kelly recalled. “We went and bought this wrought iron and carried it home in Susan’s station wagon. That was the beginning of our balcony. Then we had to improvise with new wrought iron going down the stairs.”

Carson used antique newel posts to complete the staircase. She had Roberts stain the posts and the handrails a rich brown to bring warmth to the wrought iron and to be compatible with the room’s furnishings. She had the post caps painted black with red rub through, creating an appealing time-worn effect.

In selecting furnishings and fixtures, Carson was careful to maintain the home’s pastoral spirit while avoiding the blatantly rustic. She also made sure the home was comfortable. “You can always achieve comfort without sacrificing aesthetics,” she said.

For all involved, the project represented a true collaboration. “It’s wonderful having clients who are as excited about the design process as you are,” said Carson. “There are always pressures in any construction project, but mostly on this project, there was a spirit of fun. There was also freedom to be creative.”

With most of the work on the house now completed, Mark Kelly is free to concentrate on the landscaping and his next construction project—building a carport and guesthouse using materials from the salvaged tobacco barn.

Meanwhile, Carson is hard at work on multiple design projects in more conventional homes. “There’s not really a standard recipe for designing a log home,” she said, “so compared to a typical home, there are many more creative possibilities. In Mark Kelly’s log home, we maintained a respect for the past while creating a very contemporary living space. As a result, we integrated the old and the new very happily together.”