Honor Farm

SITE PLACEMENT OF HONOR FARM, a traditional Chester County farmhouse located in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, defies conventional wisdom suggesting that the best building settings are on high ground with access to views and breezes. That point of view however overlooks the opportunities that other locations may provide. The conservation easements on the Honor Farm property limited the buildable area to minimize impact of new construction in a carefully preserved landscape. Turning a limitation into an asset, the siting of Honor Farm takes full advantage of the available contours to create privacy and a wonderful entrance experience for the quintessential Chester County farmhouse.

From the winding drive, the chimney on the gable end is revealed first, then the full view of the front elevation appears just before arrival. The house and two small outbuildings—a log cabin and a pool house—are set in a shallow basin surrounded by groves of trees and the rolling farmland.

The Honor Farm log cabin began life 125 years ago as a two-story outbuilding and lodgings on a Lancaster Farm. Following the advent of larger and more commercially viable farm buildings on the site, the cabin fell out of use and gradually into disrepair. Discovered by the builder working on Honor Farm, the cabin presented the perfect solution for housing the power generator for the Kennett Square property.

While stacked in the traditional manner, the reconstruction of the weathered timber relies on a new internal frame structure to which the logs are attached laterally with discrete timber screws. This means that the inevitable loss of one member does not corrupt the whole structure and replacements over time can be easily made. With members lost to decay and damage over time, the resulting ‘new’ building is reduced to a story and a half tall but the same footprint as before.

The pool house recalls the small, stone spring houses found on 18th century farmsteads in Pennsylvania. In this instance, the spring house serves to conceal the requisite pool equipment as well as an outdoor shower. Creating a completely naturalistic setting, water flows from spas outside the springhouse and spills into the pond-like swimming pool below.

Inside Honor Farm, the client’s informal program for the Chester County farmhouse inspired a compact building form with interiors that are spacious and flowing to accommodate entertaining. A family lumber business—Hartzell Propeller (“Built on Honor”)—inspired the farm name and was the source of the salvaged walnut flooring and timber framing used throughout the home.

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