This Brilliant Chestnut Wood Cabin is Revived with Unique Craftsmanship and Industrial Elements
This cabin is crafted with American chestnut and brought to life with light and volume. Take a look inside this amazing one-of-a-kind space!
Native to North America, the American chestnut tree was not only favored for its nut harvest and easily worked, rot-resistant wood, but also for itsΒ coarse texture and beautiful golden and honey brown hues. It is the latter that has made the treeΒ popular in design. A now-extinct tree hardwood, the America chestnut fell victim toΒ chestnut blight (a fungal disease), making the material moreΒ treasured than ever. When Jamie Pfeffer, of Pfeffer Torode Architecture, purchased a piece of land in Summertown, TN, he made sure to valueΒ the farmβs cabin for its American chestnut construction. βThe key starting point for the project was theΒ existing log cabin with American chestnut logs,β Jamie says. βThe question was how to use theΒ 1880s log framing while keeping it as something special and sacred. We kept all of theΒ logs and layout intact, and we accented theΒ existing historic construction by bringingΒ in life and volume.β
The logs remainΒ the central focus of structure and design, but the efficiencyΒ of space in theΒ 1,650-square-foot cabin was what needed to be reimagined. The footprint of the structure was unchanged, but by gutting the interior, Jamie allowed theΒ twoΒ bedrooms (each with an ensuite bathroom), a bunk room (with bathroom), kitchen and common living spaceΒ to comfortably fit groups of 8Β to 10Β β the usual crowd size at the farm.
Situated on the Buffalo River and a half mile off the Natchez Trace, ShenandoahΒ Farms is a place everyone is eager to experience for themselves. βIt is not occupied every day,βJamie says, βbut when it is occupied, it is piled in with a lot of guests. Because it is a group-driven space, we wanted to make it user-friendly.β
The main gathering spaces in the home are the kitchen and the connected screened porch. Not willing to give up square footage in the kitchen, Jamie created a flow that enables movement and conversation to carry from the eight-seat kitchen island to theΒ indoor living space and outside to the screened porch, which overlooks the Buffalo River.
The cabin itself was in a heavy state of disrepair. It had been reassembled over the years and sat unoccupied for some time. In order to restore the structure to its former glory and retrofit the space for intimate, large group gatherings, a complete gut was necessary β with the exception of the existing log footprint, which Jamie says was the cabinβs βsacred element to capture.β Teaming up with skilled craftsmen made the aesthetic and functionality of the renovation possible.
βWe let the historical things be historical, and the new things be new,β Jamie says of the studiedΒ combination of historical and industrial styles. βIt wasnβt about high contrast; it was allowing each thing to be authentic in its own right. We like to think about all things with a matter of respect β respect for the materials and process. The steel shelves in the kitchen were handmade; the planking doesnβt compete with the American chestnut but is a material designed to last with tone and texture and great characteristics underneath it. We put these pieces and parts together in a way that lets you see and understand the past and present together while giving each a clear voice.
βGreat craftsmen did outstanding work in the space,β Jamie continues. βFor example, the ships ladder in the living space β¦ Johnny Woolsey created this. It really is a work of art. The ladder allows the kids to get up to the bunk room. I couldnβt dedicate the square footage it would take to build stairs. The ships ladder folds out from against the wall and is easy for the kids to operate. The iron work is amazing β the details and the unique craft he applied to it.β
Whether for a family gathering, or just for the weekend, Jamie can often be found on the property.Β βMy farm is my favorite place on earth,β Jamie tells us. The 250-acre plot is a balance between work and play. It is a working cattle farm with 100 head of cattle that also offers plenty of opportunity for children and adults alike to explore swimming holes over the mile-and-a-half frontage on the Buffalo River.
Thank you to Jamie for giving us a tour of his Tennessee cabin and thank you toΒ Jon Cook at High 5 Productions for the photography.
RESOURCES
Interior architecture:Β Pfeffer Torode Architecture
Lead interior designer:Β Karen Sielatycki
Construction: Bill Moore of The Maintenance Company
Lead craftsman:Β Glenn Brown (rough and finished carpentry, tile work, painting and plumbing)
Custom steel: Johnny Woolsey
Cabinetry: John Morrissey
Windows: Vintage Millworks
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Alex Hendrickson
Alex is a Southern writer known for hunting down delicious stories and traveling the world with hunger. Her passions and interests lie in food, travel, interior design and inspiring people, and her dream is to eat a dozen oysters a day.