This Sunbury farmhouse had been in the same family since it was built well over 100 years ago. The hub of a several hundred acre working farm and trucking business, this young family loved to host family and friends. As is typical of many older homes, the building technology of the time didn’t allow for longer spans and wide open spaces that are so conducive to modern lifestyles, and this house had no spaces that were suitable for large-scale entertaining. Our assignment was simple: create a great room that worthy of its name, and make it work with the existing house.

We located the addition to maximize daylight and cross-ventilation, take advantage of an existing functional chimney that could be tapped into later, and to reduce the impact on the existing house. The area of the great room under the lower pitched roof and flat ceiling was designed to be filled with built-in shelves, both to create an intimate and nurturing reading nook, and to help buffer the room from the brutal northwest winter winds. The vaulted ceiling in the remainder of the greatroom lets in more light, lifts the occupants eye and spirit, and lifts the hot summer air as well to create a more comfortable environment for the occupant in the warmer summer months.

The double doors that access the room from the existing house replaced windows that were in the same location, which enabled minimal intrusion of the addition into the existing home. A full basement below this new greatroom provides the perfect out-of-the-way playroom for the couples two young children. Finally, either wood or corn burning stoves are in the works for at least 1 level of this addition, if not the basement too. The family can supply their own fuel in the form of dead trees that have fallen in the many acres of the farm, or in the corn that they family grows as part of the normal farming operation.

A functional cupola was originally part of the design, but in the end the cupola is only decorative. It is lit at night, however, and has become a landmark feature of the house and a beacon to neighbors of visitors. Comments from visitors attest to the success of the project; “It looks like its always been there”. That was the goal.

Sustainable features include:
- Reusing an existing house and making it more suitable to meet modern lifestyles and needs.
- Using a new metal roof on the entire home, which is 100% recyclable and is expected to be a “life-time” roof.
- Using rot-resistant, stable, and durable fiber cement siding on the entire home. The siding is expected to last at least 50 years, will hold paint and finishes much longer than wood siding, and doesn’t require the cutting down of trees to manufacture.
- 6” wall depths for increased insulation and energy efficiency.
- Designing ample day-lighting and cross-ventilation into the new space.
- Designing for inexpensive and efficient future heat sources.
- Use of extremely energy efficient clad windows and doors.
- Use of locally grown and harvested Pine flooring and trim.

This project was constructed by Harvey Yoder Construction, Lexington, OH
Interior by client.