Bark House Style (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Nan Chase (Author)
Key Phrases: bark house style, poplar bark shingles, chestnut bark shingles, North Carolina, Bark House History, Modern Bark Revival (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Everything old is new again with Bark House Design: A Rustic Style Reclaimed.

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Rustic, refined, natural, organic, unique, sophisticated, timeless, long lasting, sustainable-bark shingles are the material of choice for today's architects, builders, and homeowners. They appear in a breathtaking range of projects: mountain, seaside, and prairie homes; resort lodges and inns; shopping centers; sports venues and other entertainment facilities; and built-in and freestanding cabinetry.
The first use of bark shingles came in the mountains of western North Carolina from the American chestnut tree, sometime in the late 1800s. The style spread quickly through the resort towns and beyond: the classical lines had broad, timeless appeal yet synthesized three recognized decorative styles at the turn of the twentieth century-Rustic Revival, Shingle, and Craftsman but died out after 1940s. In the 1990s, the revival of bark architecture was generated by Marty McCurry, who made it his life's work to reinvent a modern-day process for manufacturing bark house shingles from poplar bark, utilizing green building practices. Building with bark requires a willingness to take responsibility and to make conscious choices about what you build and how you build it.
Bark's appeal in construction comes from its feel of "instant age." A building clad in bark looks settled into the landscape as soon as construction is completed; it makes a home warmer and more comfortable to approach, and it makes larger buildings more intimate. No matter what variety of rustic styling you prefer-Adirondack, Cowboy, Craftsman, Modern Rustic-bark used in remodeling can act as a visually pleasing architectural tool to bridge the gap between old and new.
As bark architecture returns today in new forms, it is easy to appreciate the inherent strength of the old bark house context and design. During this architectural revival, bark house design, with all its rich accents, has truly returned and has grown beyond the residential realm. Something of the original bark house lifestyle has returned as well: the appreciation of beauty, relaxation, and nature's glorious progression throughout the four seasons. Bark house design has endless promise for creating a simply beautiful home
Chris McCurry and her her husband, Marty McCurry, are the originators of modern poplar bark shingle manufacturing. She is a pioneer in today's indoor-outdoor bark house design, and a building industry professional. They founded Highland Craftsmen to bring a little-known building material back into general use. They have succeeded, with installations of their bark in thirty-seven states and several locations overseas. She is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and the American Chestnut Foundation, and founder of www.growthishome towngreen.org, a grass-roots effort to identify grants that can bring green development opportunities to economically distressed rural communities. Chris and Marty travel extensively in Europe, Africa, and Latin America to study how people in other parts of the world use local resources for building.
Nan Chase writes about architecture and landscape design from her home in western North Carolina. She is the author of Asheville: A History, and her work has also appeared in the New York Times, Smithsonian, Fine Gardening, Architectural Record, and Southern Living. She and her husband, Saul Chase, have built a rustic bark bungalow near historic downtown Asheville, North Carolina, where she is a contributing editor of WNC Magazine.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 152 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith (August 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423602145
• ISBN-13: 978-1423602149
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #79,682 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bark House Gorgous, December 27, 2008

By	C. Anderson "LodgeLover" (Oregon City, Oregon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

My husband and I were interested in this book because we just had our 3 dormer windows resided with this poplar bark. I have been a long time fan of anything from the older days of the Adirondack style so this look really appealed to me. It was my husband I had to convince. After bringing a sample home and browsing through this book at the bookstore I began to convince my husband this was the look I knew we'd love. Our entire house is very "lodgey" anyway so when we chose to reside the house it only seemed fitting to add some bark. This style is very expensive hence why we only did the 3 dormers and the rest of the house bat & board cedar and rock. Trying to explain to people what it is exactly can be tiring so by buying this book which is now our "Coffee table " book will show them what exactly we are doing.
If you are a fan of this look and want to go "green" to boot, and add an unusal "rustic kick" to the look of your house that you will not have to maintain for the next 80 or so yrs of your life- check this beautiful book out and buy a copy. If not to eventually use yourself on your home or cabin, then just to dream away the hrs in front of a crackling fire with a cup of hot cocoa this book will show you beautiful cozy pictures of "the look" page after page and with tons of history abound!

5.0 out of 5 stars An unusual, appealing addition to the collection, March 15, 2009

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

BARK HOUSE STYLE: SUSTAINABLE DESIGNS FROM NATURE covers the return of bark architecture as a popular construction technique, now featured for their sustainable, long-lasting quality. BARK HOUSE STYLE pairs black and white and color photos with insights from architects and homeowners on the use, choices, and feel of bark construction. Any library featuring homeowner's or architecture guides will find it an unusual, appealing addition to the collection.

5.0 out of 5 stars Insight to a regional treasure, February 28, 2009

By	Brian S. Greig - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

We just built a bark house. We stumbled onto bark siding when the neighborhood architectural review committee rejected Hardiplank. Thank goodness they did! This amazing natural material, mixed with native stonework, gave us just the feel of the North Carolina mountains that brought the whole project together.

The book provides wonderful information about the history and use of bark, once predominantly chestnut and now poplar. From its origination to techniques in manufacture, we learned the story of this great building material. We have the book out for guests who visit and are interested in something they have never seen elsewhere.

Nicely done.