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Welcome to ‘Deer Chase’ home of Joe &
Jo Bell, Tar and Sadie ...
allow us to show you
around. We hope you enjoy visiting our home.
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| If you would like an on
site tour please contact ‘‘Miss Jo’
njbell@cabincreektimberframes.com
or Tracy Bailey
tbailey@cabincreektimberframes.com
by phone at 828-369-5899. Our home is located in
Franklin, North Carolina. (Pictured left and
below) Deer Chases entry way is of Eastern White
Pine. Two of the three trusses have a collar
tie, and knee braces run the direction of the
frame. The frame has three coats of marine
sealer to protect it from the elements. The six
pane front door is solid walnut and was built by
John Bell & Joe Bell. John Bell owns and
operates Bell Enterprises, Hendersonville, NC. |
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How ‘Deer Chase’ got its
name. The 5 acres ‘Deer Chase’ is built on is
at the base of Blaine Mountain. Long ago it was part of
Hilliard Solesbee's dairy farm. A large portion of the
property was a bog due to the numerous natural springs
on the property. Dr. Joe put in at least nine French
drains which have allowed the area to become a natural
meadow. Many deer and turkey still forage there. When we
first started building our black lab “Tar”
was a pup. He befriended a yearling. They would take
turns chasing each other back and forth across the
meadow. We have watched them “play” for as
long as forty minutes…...as long as neither gets
closer to the other than 25 feet. Each year we think
that will be the last year for “play” time—but
it continues still. |
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How ‘Deer Chase’ got its
name. The 5 acres ‘Deer Chase’ is built on is
at the base of Blaine Mountain. Long ago it was part of
Hilliard Solesbee's dairy farm. A large portion of the
property was a bog due to the numerous natural springs
on the property. Dr. Joe put in at least nine French
drains which have allowed the area to become a natural
meadow. Many deer and turkey still forage there.
When
we first started building our black lab “Tar”
was a pup. He befriended a yearling. They would take
turns chasing each other back and forth across the
meadow. We have watched them “play” for as
long as forty minutes…...as long as neither gets
closer to the other than 25 feet. Each year we think
that will be the last year for “play” time—but
it continues still. |
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Upon entering “Deer Chase’
through the timber frame entryway of Eastern White
Pine you will be in the dining area which features
paneling of sycamore and hard wood flooring of
spalted sycamore. (photos above) The dining table is
eight feet long by 48 inches, wide, it has a cherry
top and legs. The rail is black walnut. The table
was handcrafted by Joe Bell. It can easily
accommodate seating for ten. |
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(pictured above & below) The
great room of Deer Chase was originally designed,
cut and displayed at several timber frame home shows
in Atlanta, GA, Greenville, SC and Franklin, NC,
before being incorporated into our own home. This
room is an advanced study in the art of compound
joinery. The room is cut from Eastern White Pine and
measures twenty-four feet by twenty-four feet. The
room features crossed king post bents with a
spectacular center pendant. The splines which
actually strengthen the joint are of black walnut.
The view west from this room offers a panoramic view
of the Great Smoky Mountains. The paneling in this
great room is of spalted silver maple, the hardwood
floors and window and chair rail trim are of black
walnut. All the tables and card in this great room
were handcrafted by Joe Bell. The musical
instruments are for the occasional jam session that
take place at Deer Chase - not as often as we would
like. Joe plays the banjo very well, plays at the
mandolin and violin. Jo looks at the base. (pictured
below) detail of the compound joinery in the great
room. |
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(pictured below) The spiral stair
is built with a dodecagon (twelve sided) Douglas Fir
main post. The splines are Cherry and tenoned into
the main post. The treads and the balusters are
black walnut. These were crafted in our beamery. The
laminated hand rail of cherry was done by a local
stair company once the stairs were in place.
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| The stairs as viewed
from the side. |
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| Looking directly down on
the stairs from above. |
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Just past the circular stairs you
will come upon the breakfast room. The paneling in
the breakfast room is sycamore. The hardwood
flooring here is spalted sycamore. Just outside the
French doors is a flagstone patio which overlooks a
small waterfall. The breakfast room table is of
black walnut and can easily accommodate six . The
hand quilted table runner is a gift from long time
friend and award winning quilter Phyllis Rugentsein
of the Highlands-Cashiers area, NC. |
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| picture left) view of hall
from first floor guest bedroom and bath and
master suite towards breakfast room and kitchen.
(picture right) view down hall towards guest
bedroom and bath and master suite. |
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| The hall is paneled in a
combination of buckeye and sycamore paneling.
The hardwood floor is spalted maple. |
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The kitchen, dining room, and loft
sitting areas are open to one another. One can view
the dining room and the great room from the upstairs
sitting area. We expect our grandchildren to ask for
a dumbwaiter to the upstairs any day now. |
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| The kitchen, aka ’the
heart of the home’ features simple style
shaker type cabinetry painted white with granite
counter tops called verdigris galaxy . The
counter tops are lighted by numerous low voltage
under cabinet lights. The range top is comprised
of six gas burners and a griddle. Above the
range is a warming rack that keeps food warm
with two heat lamps. There is also a commercial
grade ventilation system above the range. There
are two ovens, the largest can be used as a
convection or standard oven . The smaller is a
standard and warming oven. |
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Down the hall from the breakfast
room and the kitchen is the guest bedroom and bath.
The guest bedroom is paneled in birds-eye and
fiddle-back pattern spalted red maple. The hardwood
floors are of spalted maple. The quilt (pictured
below) was titled ‘Country Bride’ by its
Lancaster county creators. This particular ’Country
Bride’ quilt was hand appliquéd and
quilted by Phyllis Rugenstein in 1993. The queen
sized hand crafted timber frame bed is of Eastern
White Pine. The handcrafted timber frame bench is
Cypress and Black Walnut. |
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More picture of the guest bedroom
(below), this time featuring Miss Jo’s
grandmother Hannah's hand quilting. The quilt
pictured below was completed in 1959. It now hangs
in Cabin Creek Timber Frames office. |
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| ( pictured left) The paneling
in the first floor guest bath is buckeye . The
hardwood flooring is black walnut. The guest
bath has a white pedestal sink , commode, and
glass enclosed corner shower unit. Thel towel
bars are from the blacksmith shop at John C.
Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North
Carolina. |
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Near the guest bedroom and bath is
the master suite. (pictured below) The paneling in
the master suite is spalted beech. The hardwood
flooring in the master suite is spalted maple. There
are several handcrafted black walnut knee braces in
the master suite. |
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The timber frame queen bed
is Eastern White Pine. The timber frame bench is
eastern white pine and black walnut.
The
bedside lamps are spalted oak. The lamps were
turned on a lathe.
The end tables are of
black walnut. The TV cabinet is of reclaimed
teak. The timber frame bed, and bench, lamps,
end tables and were handcrafted by Cabin Creek
Timber Frames. |
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| After entering
the master suite you turn right through the
pocket door to reach the matching his and hers
walk-in closets. Past the closet area you come
upon the master bath. The paneling in the master
bath is spalted beech the hardwood floors are
spalted maple. The soaking tub surround and both
Joe’s and Jo’s vanity counters are of
granite. The granite counter top and tub
surround have garnets embedded in them up to 2
cm. in diameter. |
The soaking tub
is pictured on the left.
An area not
shown is the walk-in shower .
The
matching vanity cabinetry and sinks of simple
shaker style are pictured below.
Joe
handcrafted the drapery and towel hardware of
walnut and locust. |
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The two story section of this
timber frame is cut from Hemlock from Maine. Hemlock
from Maine is a very hard dense wood. It offers some
insect resistance; but it ‘checks’ to a
greater degree than Eastern White Pine. This
checking does NOT alter the natural strength of the
wood. The majority of woods increase in strength by
25 % as they dry. Cabin Creek Timber Frames grades
their own timbers in the beamery. This process is
overseen by Timber Products Inspection, Inc. of
Conyers, Georgia. Cabin Creek uses only wall log 40
and select grades of wood in our timber frame
structures. |
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(above) Let’s head up the
stairs to the library and sitting room. The great
room is joined to the two story, twenty-four foot by
forty-eight foot section of the timber frame by a
compound joinery ‘arm’ or “L”.
The arm or the timber frame serves as the main
entrance and dining area of “Deer Chase.’
(below) Once we reach the top of the
stairs we come to the sitting room of the library. A
quiet place to sit and read a book. You will notice
the wrought iron non-balcony that provides a safe
place from which to view the waterfall below. The
floors on the second floor are Arkansas Pine.
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| Adjacent to
the sitting room is the library. (below &
right) We can see Joe and Tar watching a Tar
Heel vs. Clemson football game. Tar seems to
already know the outcome, as he is snoring.
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Library as viewed from adjacent
sitting room. (below) The small oak table is where
Joe ties flies for use in the local rivers and
streams when we go fly fishing. |
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| This stained glass
interpretation of Cabin Creek Timber Frames logo
was a Christmas gift from our son John in 2005.
(right) It illuminates the upper wall between
the upstairs bedroom suite and the library.
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The upstairs bedroom suites
does double duty as a guest room and Miss Jo’s
sewing room. |
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| The
upstairs bath has spalted maple hardwood floors.
The upstairs bath has a replica of 1800’s
bowl sink, a commode and a glass enclosed walk
in shower. The interior doors throughout the
house are Norwegian Spruce. (Not pictured is the
glass enclosed corner shower unit.) |
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