Undoubtedly one of the most overlooked features, or should I say building materials, used for this Victorian home is the smooth 3/4" solid cypress lap siding. One of the interesting things I found out several months ago after talking to Rhett Bonner was that true Victorian architecture calls for the lap siding to create deep shadow lines. 

Remember...back when they were building Victorian homes, all siding being used was solid wood and it was not a mere 5/16", as is available today.

The owners of this home originally wanted fiber cement lap siding (Hardie plank). Hardiplank does not come in 3/4" planks, only 5/16". The Bonner Custom Home team was able to convince the owners to go with the cypress siding to aid in that full-blown Victorian home look...inside and out.

Tulip Poplar bark siding is about as rustic as it gets in the building material world. This was the first time I had seen Yellow Poplar bark shingles/shakes in use and we saw it while on our little excursion a couple of weeks ago on the home garden tour we attended recently.

The fully landscaped 10-acre estate on the tour featured a fully equipped outdoor kitchen, fireplace, picnic tables (dining area) and...(drumroll please) an outhouse clad in Tulip Poplar bark siding. Now that's rustic outdoor living at its' finest!  

Can't believe I'm saying this, but today I'm going to talk about butts...classic butts...to be specific. No kidding. I'm sure my mother is shaking her head and if my brother, Chris, is reading this...well...let's just say that sort of humor is right up his alley, but I'm not going to go there. Think I'm kidding? Look at the photo (found below). See!  What I'm really talking about are clear heartwood, western red cedar, classic fish-scale butts (shingles).

Classic fish-scale shingles (butts) were the design choice for the front gable of the Victorian home I've been writing about. When I first talked to Project Manager, Rhett Bonner, about some of the outstanding features of this home build, red cedar fish-scale shingles were one of the first items he mentioned. Yet another nod to the Victorian architectural style.

I've got a few photos of the (primed-unpainted) fish-scale butts applied to the gable if you'd like to 'read more'.

If you need a few great tips to organize that oft-misused space...the garage...here are some quick links to get you started.

Updated 02/16/2008 with some great new garage organization ideas, solutions and storage systems.

Did you ever think you'd like to drill your own water well? Jerry Bonner of Bonner Custom Homes did. He put a plan into action at his new English cottage-style home at The Retreat. It never occurred to me that he would have a water well drilled on the property because he is within Marietta city limits.

Fact:
Did you know that there are over 15 million homes in the U.S. with water wells and over 6,000 are drilled per week.

When I was driving by his neighborhood on the way home from work the other day and saw a drill rig mast piercing upward through the trees, I had to stop in and see what was up. Jerry happened to be at the job site when I drove up so I took the opportunity to ask him about the water well. Here's what he had to say when I asked him about the water well...

Multifamily Home Plan, Duplex Design, Townhome Plan, Townhouse Design, Paired Villas. Pick a name from the preceding list for what you see in the above photo I took recently at Hiram Park subdivision. No matter which you choose you must agree that they are craftsman-style designs. If you're having a tough time making a choice of what to call them then join the club.

Here's why I had a tough time of it: