4 Hallmarks of a Casual Timber Home | Is Your Timber Home Casual and Comfortable?4 Hallmarks of a Casual Timber Home A home should be a place where you can kick back and relax. Create a space that eschews tradition for serious livability with our expert tips.  Is your timber home design the architectural equivalent of a working stiff? Loosen up that tie and consider informal living, where kicking your feet up isn’t just okay, it’s expected. Marc Vassallo, architect and author of The Barefoot Home (The Taunton Press, 2006) shares his concepts for casual design with Timber Home Living. Without further ado, here are the 4 hallmarks of a casual timber home: 1. Informal “Give yourself the permission to be casual, first of all,” says Marc. “Don’t get hung up on rules and traditions.” A formal entry could be the first to go. (Who thought grandiose could be welcoming anyway?). Coats and hats can hang right by the door where you need them. Just be sure you’ve planned proper storage to keep this area free of clutter. 2. Open By design, timber homes are almost always open, with spaces that flow into one another. Extend this concept with multifunctional rooms. This is as simple as putting the dinning area back in the kitchen. On a smaller scale, “Open shelving sometimes can give you a casual feel and has a real spirit of openness,” Marc says. Try this in the kitchen for areas above the counter—you could save cash on cabinetry, too. 3. Sunny Illumination from light bulbs just can’t replace good old rays of sun. “We have a positive response to sunlight,” Marc explains. He suggests that, wherever possible, a room should have light on two perpendicular sides. “You get that three-dimensional feel and a sense of airiness.” When it comes to window treatments, think about ditching them for more informal (and more interesting) textured or stained glass. 4. Connect to the Outdoors Having an outdoor connection doesn’t mean building a house of glass. You can be subtler than that. “It can be things like keeping the floor inside on the same level as the deck or patio,” Marc says. Or maybe you use the same flooring material—the idea is to give a sense of unity. Also, look for opportunities to be and enjoy outside (other than the porch and deck), like with an outdoor shower or an herb garden right by the kitchen. Enter to Win: The Barefoot Home More: Timber Home Design Ideas
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