Back in the first week of April before spring was budding, we wrapped on our 1880’s carriage house/barn renovation.
An equally challenging project as it was fun and rewarding to save this old barn and see it transformed into something new for a real lovely family and their creative passions and pursuits.
Looking forward to visiting again with the landscaping all finished.
In the interim we are designing some custom bookcases and record storage cabinetry to finish off the space.
A busy spring and has been a very busy start to summer.
I’m beyond excited to share this new project we started late spring.
A music studio we have been working on designing over the last year for a lovely client who has embraced our passion for combining bio-based natural building materials, with high performance construction, for a place of artistic practice.
This is our first project, using pre-fabricated structural panels, and this project uses S-SIPS (Straw Structurally Insulated Panels) which I’m super excited about.
My history in working with natural building materials, specifically strawbale construction goes back to 2001 building strawbale & earthen structures in the Western Catskills.
I’m so grateful to have this opportunity with @casey_dienel who is a musician, gardener and all around amazing human who’s interested in incorporating some of my early building experiences, ideas and ethos into this current project, and one of the areas of main focus and direction for our future projects going forward.
Bringing things back full circle.
It has been very inspiring to see the evolution of strawbale construction and prefab straw panels evolve over the last 20 years.
I’m amazed and so inspired by how things have progressed since I first saw prefab panels back in the early 2000’s at a Natural Building Colloquium where I participated in raising the walls of a pre-fab straw panelized structure, and from reading the articles of @thelaststrawmagazine from way back then.
This has been a real fun one to work on, and so grateful to be collaborating with @newframeworks on this project.
More to share soon on this project, and another straw-bale project that has been developing in the design phase.
Happy Summer All!
Plaster progress over at the schoolhouse renovation.
Thank you @liz_earthen_endeavors for all the shared knowledge, support and helping coordinate :)
Thanks @casnaturalbuilds Alex, Em & Ecca, and @katrinehildebrandt for all the help on site and the yummy crew meals, good hangs, and support along the way 💕✨🫶
Looking forward to the next round soon!
@earthaus.plaster plaster & lime wash
Happy Solstice.
It’s been a little quieter on here lately, and I wanted to share some life updates, better late than never...
This past spring and summer was a busy one and very full—wrapping up a few projects, and my family and I deciding after many years of dreaming and planning, we made a big life change and moved to the Western Catskills :)
I packed up and closed down the wood shop, and with lots of help from my kids and friends, Katrine and I packed up and said goodbye to our home of 13 years and had a great summer with dear friends before our family made our move back to the Catskills, where Katrine and I first met in 2001, lived and worked on and off a bit, and have been returning to ever since.
5 years ago we bought an old schoolhouse with the ambition to slowly renovate and someday move back to the area. The same summer we lost Clyde, after an episode of seizures I was hospitalized and diagnosed with Lyme disease which had led to swelling in the brain and a rare autoimmune-neurological and central nervous system disease and other related health problems got in the way of all of that dream.
With lots of improvement over the last year we realized how life is short and it was time to make our move happen. During that recovery period we also welcomed Sydney into the family and she’s been bringing us so much joy!
Since arriving, I’ve been (slowly) making some updates on our old 1845 home, and also just taking some time to slow down and enjoy this new chapter in life.
It’s been a mix of unpacking, fishing, walks in the woods, lots of swimming, reconnecting with old friends, reflection, and appreciating the calm in between.
I’m also super excited about some of the projects that wrapped up before the move and some upcoming projects that are in development, will share more when the time is right on all that.
Lots of good things taking shape here.
More soon… feeling super grateful for this place and being back to what has always felt like home to me. These past 6 months have been nothing short of joy. I’m so grateful for this season, my family, friends, community near and far and everything that lies ahead.
So hello folks, be well and be good ✨✌️
Custom kitchen we recently wrapped up in the shop along with a series of wardrobe cabinets.
Always fun collaborating with kind like minded folks ! Thanks Lucas & Tim ✌️ @shake.ac
