Press Release
November 10, 2008

Timberdale Receives Two HOBI Awards for Home on Candlewood Lake in Sherman

A 3,700 square foot lake-front home at 8 Shore Drive in Sherman, remodeled by Timberdale Homes of Bethel, received two 2008 HOBI Awards from the Homebuilder’s Association of Connecticut.

Each year the Homebuilder’s Association of Connecticut challenges its 1,400 member firms to submit their best projects for peer review and judging.  The award recognizes the best in class in the State for superior home construction quality, detailing and execution. The 8 Shore Drive home received a Grand Award for “Project of the Year” and a second award for the “Best Remodeled Vacation Home” in the State of Connecticut.

In 2007, Timberdale, owned and operated by Westonite Stewart Lade, received two HOBI Awards for a 6,700 square foot new home in Weston.  That house won awards for the best spec home in the State valued in the $2-to-$3 million range and for best home theater.  In 2006, Timberdale won a HOBI for the best spec home remodel in the state for a 5,700 square foot whole-house remodel in Redding.

Stewart describes the Shore Drive remodel as “very challenging.  The existing house was in very poor condition with a rambling, incoherent design and steep rugged site topography, providing limited construction access.  Also, the project had to be designed within a restricted building envelope, limited to the existing footprint.  I think we won Project of the Year for our ability to deal creatively with the challenges of this project.”

The development goal was to take advantage of the house’s phenomenal setting, with 200 feet of frontage on Candlewood Lake, expansive views and terrain with tremendous natural beauty.  “We reconfigured the existing space to take advantage of views, changed the exterior for a more natural connection with site and lake and created interior finish details to provide coherence between indoor spaces and outdoor setting.”

“The multi-level house rambled down the hillside which gave us the opportunity to detail the exterior to make the house fit beautifully on the site.   We also did extensive site redevelopment to provide better access to the house and lake and to enhance the house setting.   Timberdale typically designs the exterior spaces in conjunction with the overall house design so we know from the outset how the interior and exterior living spaces are going to work together.  We make extensive use of stonework to help define the exterior spaces and this house was no exception.  We added stone and boulder walls and natural stone entry steps which improved the house setting, access and visual connection to the site.”

Timberdale has created a signature style of design that results in well proportioned, human scale homes that embrace and nurture their inhabitants.  “We wanted to maintain that design philosophy and to create comfortable casual spaces for relaxed, lake-side lifestyle.  The main living area has a striking 30-by-30 ft. timber frame with large graceful arches and a vaulted ceiling with a clerestory roof.  This great room overlooks the lake and views of the hills beyond and provides a “canopy” for three living spaces, the entry, the living room and a unique oak-paneled, oval dining room.  All of this is enhanced with elegant natural wood trims, including arts and crafts style finish details hand crafted in quarter-sawn white oak.  The house also features a gourmet kitchen with an English AGA cooker and other chef-quality appliances, “his & hers” office closets and an arts & crafts inspired fireplace surround complemented with hand-made tiles.  The kitchen and living room have extensive decks accessed through French doors that provide seamless access between the indoor and outdoor spaces.”

“Most of the built-in cabinetry and architectural millwork is made at our shop in Bethel.  We are really good at working with our clients to create custom details that are both elegant and cost effective.  The cabinet-making mindset is carried through on everything that we do, which makes a tangible point of difference in quality.  We are pleased to have that difference recognized by our peers through the Homebuilding Association of Connecticut HOBI Awards that we have received.”

Timberdale is a design and build firm that often incorporates natural building materials, such as stone and large timbers that complement the home’s natural surroundings.  “We like to integrate the home with its surroundings and to create a natural flow between the indoor and outdoor spaces.  We selectively use traditional timber framing, stone and other distinctive natural elements in the design that integrate, in harmony, with more formal parts of the house to create a sophisticated country warmth and truly unique home.  We also incorporate the latest green building technologies to assure the home’s occupants benefit from a healthy environment and energy efficiency.   The Shore Drive home is EnergyStar rated.

Currently Timberdale is completing an 8,000 square foot whole-house remodel in Weston and has just started a large remodel in Ridgefield. For more information on the Shore Drive house or Timberdale go to Timberdale’s web site at www.timberdalehomes.com or phone Stewart at 203-791-1062.

  Press Release: Timberdale Receives Two HOBI Awards for Home on Candlewood Lake in Sherman (50.2 KiB, 222 hits)