A couple with two young children wanted to build a home on rural property near Maineville, Ohio.  The brief was quite typical, suggesting three bedrooms, 2 ½ baths, kitchen/dining/living, support spaces, studio, and garage. A budget of $300,000 was challenging because the hillside site needed a well, septic system, propane storage, and electric service.  To help with the cost, the clients personally furnished and installed the cabinetry and hardwood flooring.

Given the context, budget, and program, we settled on the form of a simple bar approached via a dogtrot created by a detached garage.  A partially-covered terrace was inserted along the south façade, overlooking the woods and pond beyond.  The north face provides a more formal entry sequence.  The iconic farmhouse shape with its lean-to addition provides a regimented container for the open plan of the first floor, and the explicit plan of the second floor.  Fiber cement panel siding with battens and prefinished metal roofing complete the exterior. Using only the combined areas of the two main floors in the calculation, the total project was built for $134.00 a square foot plus the client’s sweat equity. Despite the modest cost, the project contains a material richness and gallery-like quality that embodies design economy.