Coastal Home Design: The Florida Cracker

No, we’re not talking about a crunchy mid-day snack. The Florida Cracker is a classic and unique architectural home style of the United States. In the book, Classic Cracker – Florida’s Wood-Frame Vernacular Architecture, author Ronald W. Haase takes us through the history of this style and the original Floridians that designed and built these homes. If you are planning on building a coastal abode, take a peak at this book. More and more of today’s architects are picking up this style when creating ‘earth-friendly’ houses and when utilizing the natural elements surrounding homes. Orientation to the sun, building materials, and simplistic floor plans are all components that helped cool Cracker homes even before air conditioning was available, and can be incorporated today to save you energy costs. If you’re looking for a pre-existing Florida Cracker house design, check out these home plans. Sometimes beauty is all about getting back to the basics.

Hunkering Down for Hanna

Here we go again. The colorful swirl of the meteorologist graphics with what looks like a direct hit to our coastline. We’ve seen and prepared for this time and time again – perks of living at the beach, right?

Living on the coast does have a few setbacks, and hurricane season is one of them. The Lowcountry’s first threat this year is Hanna followed by her best pals Ike and Josephine. We are thankful that we have multiple days to watch the storm approach, giving us time to get out if necessary. If you’re thinking of moving to the coast, don’t let the hurricanes scare you away. Every area has it’s downside when it comes to weather, and hurricanes just so happen to be ours. The best thing to do is continue to watch the storm approach and listen to the advice given by your local meteorologist. If you are told to board up your house and evacuate, you should do so. Stock up on water and supplies, just in case. After the devastation of hurricane Katrina, we all know the results of being unprepared.

On the upside, hurricanes can make for in interesting change of pace as long as they aren’t too menacing. Some people even enjoy watching the weather roll in. Kids usually get off school, and family and friends get together for hurricane parties. These fiestas usually comprise of lots of food, water, and supplies in addition to a few cocktails and indoor past times. You might as well enjoy the storm if you’re waiting it out. If you’re new to the coast with a hurricane heading your way, take a look at a few tips for throwing a hurricane party of your own. You’ll get used the routine. Prepare for the storm, but have fun doing it.

For more information on hurricane parties, check out this blog and these additional pointers.

Journeying through the Building Process

If you’re building your first coastal home, we realize your project is a BIG undertaking with a lot to consider. The building process can become stressful and confusing at times, but remember to stop and take a breather – you’re not climbing Mt. Everest here. Ask your builder questions when you are concerned or curious, and in addition to answers you’ll end up with a better picture of your builder’s timeline and goals. As you get closer to opening the doors to your new home, celebrate the building milestones along the way. Things may not always go as planned, but the more you celebrate progress and prepare yourself for setbacks, the better you will feel about the project as a whole.

To help you get prepared, we recommend reading a couple of great books that outline and organize the building process for you. We’ve read plenty of these types of books, and we always come back to the same two – Building Your New Home and Building Your Home – An Insider’s Guide. You can find and purchase both of these books at the National Association of Home Builder’s publishing site at builderbooks.com. In addition to helping you get organized, these books will give you a better understanding of the building process and will teach you how to work better with your builder. Prepare yourself, and you never know, once you’re house is complete you may feel the same sense of accomplishment and success as someone who has just scaled the tallest mountain in the world.

Relaxing in Style: The Adirondack Chair

Go outside, take a seat, lean back, and relax. Sounds great, doesn’t it? To make it even better, choose an adirondack chair as your seat of choice. These wooden thrones are large, comforable and look sharp too. Adirondack chairs are prominent additions to many coastal and lake homes, sitting nicely on front porches, in backyards or by swimming pools. Increasing in presence, I began to wonder where the adirondack originated, so I did a little research.

Surprisingly, for a wooden chair, adirondacks are barely over 100 years old. They were first created by a man named Thomas Lee in 1903 who took matters into his own hands when he couldn’t find the proper outdoor furniture for his summer home in Westport, NY. Lee created this distinctive, rustic, and quality chair style himself, then called the Westport chair. The westports were made of 11 pieces of wood, had arm rests big enough to rest a drink on, and were painted green or brown blending well with the natural environment. Lee’s friend Harry Bunnell patented and began to manufacture the chairs after realizing how unique and comfortable they really were.

Today, though the design is much the same as the original, you’ll find Adirondack chairs in a variety of natural wood finishes or painted beachy colors. There are even quite a few plastic and recycled material variations out there. Expanding the design into tables, stools, swings, rockers gliders, and chaise lounges, the Adirondack chair has evolved into a key outdoor element of beach and lakeside homes. If you’re handy Like Thomas Lee, you can even build the chairs yourself with a do-it-yourself kit.

If you’ve never experienced the comfort of an Adirondack, I encourage you to give it a shot. You’ll sink right in, and you might even feel compelled to get a couple for your own porch or backyard.

Blue Adirondack

Do-it-yourself Adirondack chairs and table

Chaise Lounge

Create Your Own Sand Masterpiece

Ever walk past an amazing sandcastle at the beach and wish you could make one of your own? You know, the mermaids, 4-foot Cinderella castles, or menacing sharks that become the photo sensation for every passer by. If you’ve ever stopped to stare at these structures and wished you too could create something of the same caliber, we’ve got the DVD for you. Check out, Sandcastles for Everyone, an instructional DVD by Todd Vander Pluym who is in the Guinness Book of World Records for his intricate sand masterpieces and is the president of Sand Sculptors International. In the DVD, Vander Pluym illustrates simple design techniques and shows you helpful tools to use that can be found around the house. Building eye catching sand structures doesn’t only have to be for the artistically inclined. Whether you are a year-round beach dweller or visit the sea every now and then, make your mark in the sand or show your kids a thing or two about sandcastle creation with the tips you learn from this video.

Catch a sneak peak of the DVD at You Tube.

There’s no better time than now to build your coastal home

Wondering if you want to build now or hold out a little longer? After reading this, you may want to go ahead and get out the hammer and nails and get a kick start on your new home.

Which house plan format do I need?

Finally, you’ve found the perfect house plan for your new coastal lot. New to home building, you may be confused by the various home plan formats you can purchase – blueprints, reproducible master and AutoCAD files. Read up on the various formats to ensure you purchase what works best for you and your builder.

Add a Little Island Flavor to Your Home: The Metal Roof

When building on the coast, many people like their home to look just that – very coastal. One element in particular, the metal roof, has a distinctly coastal and island appeal. Click here for more information on the history and uses of metal roofs in coastal building.

Applying for a Building Permit

Obtaining a building permit can be a little tricky when building in a coastal community. There are certain requirements you’ll need to complete that vary from region to region. The article below has a few tips and suggestions for what you may need to accomplish before breaking ground:

http://www.coastalhomeplans.com/buildinginfo.php

See Ya Later Alligator: Blackwater Kayaking

Strolling up to my first swamp kayaking adventure, I couldn’t get the scary thought out of my mind of alligators with teeth bared swimming right for me. I’ve kayaked in the ocean before, but a swamp brings out new creatures and worries. Our instructor told us that the swamp was filled with alligators, so I was a little on edge. I didn’t want to end up as a reptile’s afternoon snack. At least he said they were small gators, right? I decided that perhaps my apprehension was Hollywood-driven, so I pushed my fears aside to enjoy the experience.

Starting at 10:30 in the morning, we embarked on our four hour Wambaw Swamp kayak endeavor with the help from Nature Adventure Outfitters in McLellanville, SC. The location is about 45 minutes away from both Charleston in one direction and Myrtle Beach in the other. The spot we dropped in the water was located in a protected national forest and was a couple miles into the woods.

As we glided along the water we enjoyed watching the crabs skitter on the sandy banks and the minnows swim in circles around our kayaks. We saw huge wasps nests up in the trees, beautiful flowers growing on mid-swamp rocks, and tall cypress trees growing where land meets water. The locusts were buzzing in the grass, the birds were chirping above us, and the water was as smooth as ice. Even hawks were out circling for a tasty treat over the undisturbed land.

About an hour into the trip we did have our first and only alligator sighting. It was a three footer, and was more scared of us than we were of him. I was relieved when he dipped down into the murky water.

Two hours in we reached a fallen cypress tree that covered the swamp from end to end. We beached our kayaks on the tree truck and had a snack. After our nourishment, we turned back the way we came and continued to enjoy the peace and beauty of the wilderness. We even decided to have a little fun – we engaged in kayak racing, and we ventured down smaller creeks to see what they had in store -all the while singing some of our favorite songs. Void of waves and strong currents to fight, our arms never felt fatigued from paddling. Four hours were up before we knew it.

As I reflect on the trip, I’ve come to realize that swamp kayaking isn’t something you can do just anywhere. The Lowcountry has some of the best swamps in the US to explore and most are only a short drive from coastal communities. Although the beach and boating are great weekend adventures, it was nice to explore a new kind of water – blackwater.

My Saturday was a success thanks to Nature Adventure Outfitters. NAO also has various other kayaking spots in the Charleston area including ocean tours and excursions along abandoned rice fields.

You can also enjoy swamp and blackwater kayaking along the coast of South Carolina including trips down the Edisto River (the longest undammed blackwater river in the US) with Blackwater Adventures. No matter which swamp you choose, you’re sure to be in for a real treat…let’s just hope you don’t become the treat!