Houzz Tour: From Overgrown Weeds to Picturesque Farmhouse Expanse
This once-neglected 100-acre South Carolina site now features a lake, a wood-filled farmhouse and a far-reaching view
Here’s why I could never be an architect. I can’t look at 100 acres of chest-high weeds and overgrown pine forest with a mosquito-infested ditch and see the potential for a well-designed house with an amazing view. But that’s OK. That job should be left to architects like Robert Cain.
Cain had the vision to turn the aforementioned mess into a sprawling, picturesque property for a family in South Carolina: general contractor Wally Hiers of Brunson Construction; his wife, Renee, a registered nurse; and their three kids. He first cleared the overgrowth to reveal stunning symmetrical rows of hard pine and live oak, creating a greenway that extends "almost to infinity," he says. He then excavated the ditch to create a serene lake teeming with fish.
Once his perfect view was created, Cain set to work designing a house that celebrated his creation. The result is a wood-filled farmhouse that comprises three parallel, shotgun-style structures connected by dogtrot bridges. And even from inside, anywhere you look out you'll see a lake or tree-lined landscape.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Wally and Renee Hiers and their 3 kids
Location: Outside of Barnville, South Carolina
Size: 3,500 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms
Cain had the vision to turn the aforementioned mess into a sprawling, picturesque property for a family in South Carolina: general contractor Wally Hiers of Brunson Construction; his wife, Renee, a registered nurse; and their three kids. He first cleared the overgrowth to reveal stunning symmetrical rows of hard pine and live oak, creating a greenway that extends "almost to infinity," he says. He then excavated the ditch to create a serene lake teeming with fish.
Once his perfect view was created, Cain set to work designing a house that celebrated his creation. The result is a wood-filled farmhouse that comprises three parallel, shotgun-style structures connected by dogtrot bridges. And even from inside, anywhere you look out you'll see a lake or tree-lined landscape.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Wally and Renee Hiers and their 3 kids
Location: Outside of Barnville, South Carolina
Size: 3,500 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms
Glass-walled dogtrot bridges connect the three houses. Windows open to let breezes pass through.
Cain had small pine trees and chest-high grass and weeds removed to clear this greenway between a row of hard pine on the left and live oak on the right.
While an all-wood interior has the potential to overwhelm, Cain knew he could bring in enough light to make the material work. “You can stand in any room, and the views of outside take your eye away from the wood,” he says.
Cain wanted the living spaces as open as possible to highlight the cathedral ceiling, which conforms to the slope of the roof, creating one connected great room.
The counter is soapstone.
The counter is soapstone.
A custom hutch breaks up the space, but glass offers glimpses through to both sides.
Cain is fascinated by cantilevered designs. “I enjoy going beyond what the ostensible material is capable of,” he says. He used the method for the exterior eaves, lake pier, bathroom sinks and office desk, and the dining room table shown here, which is a thick slab of pine on a sheet of plywood that creates a floating effect. Three steel tubes go through the floor and connect to a footing in the crawlspace below. Stainless steel cables with turnbuckles typically used for railings help keep the table from teetering.
More cantilever tricks appear in the home office, where a hard pine worktable angles out from two vertical steel posts that go through the wood floor into a concrete slab.
The wood boxes are file drawers that pull out from steel tubes, which are covered by a wood board.
The wood boxes are file drawers that pull out from steel tubes, which are covered by a wood board.
A pier cantilevers over the lake that once was a mosquito-infested ditch. The Galvalume roof and concrete block design mimic the house.
Counters in the main bathroom also cantilever.
Gypsum board helps break up the wood interior, while wood trim adds symmetrical detail that helps prevent the space from "looking like just dismal gypsum," Cain says.
Gypsum board helps break up the wood interior, while wood trim adds symmetrical detail that helps prevent the space from "looking like just dismal gypsum," Cain says.
The main bedroom opens to a porch with lake views, while a low-slung window offers a perfect sight line to the allée of pines and live oaks.
The two boys share this bedroom, which has built-in beds and a loft space.
Eaves supported by steel tubing attached to the concrete block foundation shield the western sun, helping to keep the house cool.
Cain considered every aspect of the design, including controlling the way the property reveals itself to guests. He designed a semicircular driveway that forces guests to first see the lake and fishing pier (while entering from the main road on the left), with views of the houses appearing faintly through the trees. Guests then curve around through towering oaks that offer glimpses only of the houses, then pass the lawn of parallel pine and oaks to finally face the entire house.
The design is oriented for passive solar energy. Multiple eaves help block sunshine, while the long, thin layout helps ventilate the space so the homeowners don’t have to run air conditioning during the spring and fall.