Early Branch Farmhouse

 

Utilizing materials salvaged from a house that was destroyed by General Sherman in 1865, this nearly-intact 1868 farmhouse and outbuildings required total renovations and the addition of nearly 1,200 sf for a kitchen, porches, gallery, utility rooms and bath to satisfy the needs of the owners. Remaining faithful to the vernacular style of the house was the thrust of the design for both renovations and additions. The addition was oriented east-west and used broad, deep overhangs, sheltered windows and operable clerestory and floor-level windows to minimize cooling and sustainably soften the effects of the intense summers of the southern coastal plain.

 

 

The scope of the project was to rehabilitate the existing house to modern living conditions without destroying its character, to demolish the considerably unsympathetic recent additions, renovate an existing storage shed into a Tea House and guest room, and convert an existing garage into a cottage addition.