Shackleford Ridge Residence

Our client, a contractor himself, had built or renovated many of the homes his family lived in over the years, yet none quite suited the way they lived. They were still chasing a house they could call home, one that held meaning and memory. They remembered coming home from school to find their mother on the stairs, and a big open room by the fire for play and stories. They wanted a home for deep living and connection with the natural world, where the doors stay open and friends are always welcome.

The five-acre site is deeply wooded, on a bluff along Shackleford Ridge, with neighboring homes visible to either side. A small clearing at the bluff's edge seemed to suggest where the house should sit.

With neighbors close at the sides, we knew the house would want to extend its arms into wings and open up through the center.

A nearly symmetrical plan flanks a great central living room that opens fully with telescoping doors and windows, so you could throw a football from the front yard to the back right through the house. It catches the morning sun on the dining table and the evening sun on the back porch by the fire, so the family feels the rhythm of each day. At the landing of the main stair, a small round window frames the view down the drive, recalling that memory of coming home to mother on the stairs. Threaded with their story, it finally feels like home.