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Maple Forest Cottage

Our Inspiration House: The "Maple Forest Cottage"

View More Maple Forest Pictures Here and below.
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September 1999 Issue

This is our "Inspiration House." Better known as the "Maple Forest House" or "Maple Forest Cottage" (as I heard the architect call it) as seen on PBS's HomeTime Show. It's not a big fancy foo-foo house, but it's ooozing with wonderful character and charm that will fit perfectly on our property. We may not build this exact home, but at least we have something beautiful to inspire us. Hopefully, we will begin building the main house soon. Until then, I will just have to stare at the pictures and sigh . . . :-)

I'll keep this info here and build upon it, as so many people come by this page, looking for info on the Maple Forest Cottage. Please let me know if you find any more info I don't have! But if you are really looking into building this home, you really need to visit the following two websites, where they sell the plans.

 

It must have been fate . . .

  1. In 1994'sh, I was watching one of PBS' HomeTime Series, "Managing Home Construction." That's when I saw this home for the first time, It was love at first site. Plus, it was featured in a series about Managing Your Own Construction, which we were planning on doing. Perfect!

  2. It was years later that I saw it again on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens, Home Plans Edition. I obviously purchased that magazine on the spot.

  3. My husband later saw the same show on HomeTime and also fell in love with the house, not knowing it was the same house I had fallen in love with years earlier. He called me into the room to see it. I laughed and told him my past encounters.

  4. During our search for home ideas, we went to a Lindal Cedar Homes dealer office. While looking through the Lindal Homes book, I came across the Maple Forest House yet again. But this time, Lindal had their own name for it. It was not named Maple Forest Cottage. I think it started with an S. I can't remember now. I told the guy the origin of the home and he kept trying to tell me that it was a Lindal home.... I knew better.

  5. After collecting more info on the house, from the Video and study guides to information found on the Internet, I found out that the home was built in Minnetrista, MN. So, what's the big deal about that? My brother-in-law Denny and his wife LaRae live in Minnetrista and Rich as going back to Minneapolis for a class reunion, while staying at his brothers house in Minnetrista. Sooooo.... a drive-by was a must! Denny called his local contacts and quickly found out exactly where the house was (easy enough... it's on Maple Forest Drive). I didn't go with Rich on this trip, but he said it was great to see the house in person. Denny fell in love with it too and started thinking he would build a home much like this one himself. He and Larae ended up building something else, but used one of the architects.

Porch of Maple Forest

Maple Forest Cottage Garage

Maple Forest Patio

Front of Maple Forest

Maple Forest Showing the Shed Dormer in a Gable.

View More Maple Forest Pictures Here (Larger Photos on this next page will take time to load - 582KB)

The Maple Forest Cottage

Designed by Michaela Mahady and Wayne Branum with M. Christine Johnson of SALA Architects

The Maple Forest Cottage
Minnetrista, Minnesota

The steeply pitched roofs and sheltering eaves of this house promise both welcome and retreat. Interiors and exteriors are characterized by a spirited sense of joinery, texture and detail. This house was featured on the PBS Hometime "Contracting a Home " series. For complete information on this home, including how to buy plans and the Hometime video, visit Framed Ideas

Maple Forest Resources:

I'm providing just a little info of what I have found below. Let me know if you have another link too!

The construction of the Maple Forest house was documented in depth on the PBS series Hometime and since has also aired on HGTV. The eight-part series, titled "Managing Home Construction" is available on videotape and DVD. Contact Hometime at (888) 972-8453 Order #4071 or purchase at the HomeTime Site.

The actual plans are available at several locations, however the two primary websites that you need to check out are:

Other Resources Online

Maple Forest was also Featured in These Publications:

 

Personal Websites

Please let me know of any other websites out there about the Maple Forest House!

These links will open in a new window

Exterior Colors:

Ok, first of all, there are a couple of discrepancies as to what the colors actually were. Cabot says one thing, but I think I remember different names of the stain on the video (which I have and will have to review), also, some years ago, there was a website that was somehow connected to the architects and were selling the plans. Anyway, they had a different set of colors listed on their site that thankfully, I saved. So, I'll provide both. Just remember however, that paint names and numbers may change depending on where you live. It has something to do with state codes allowing only certain types of paints to enter their state(?) Anyway, the exact colors have yet to be clarified. Cabot was their brand of choice however for the Maple Forest House, and for good reason. Read Consumer Report's about stains.

Remember, there are conflicting comments about the actual stain color sets used, that have been posted by two respectable sources. So it's up to the owner to decide which way to go I suppose.

Cabot's Listed Colors for the Maple Forest Cottage.

Cabot Stains 1-800-US-STAIN
Cabot also talks about the house on their website here Sample cans available by calling. They'll charge you for the shipping.

Cabot Colors as Once Listed by FramedIdeas.com

Cabot Stains 1-800-US-STAIN

Materials (as used in 1994)

 

Windows

Marvin wood windows with Flexacron finish, simulated divided lites in spruce green

Roof (14:12 pitch)

Certainteed Grand Manor Shangles: Deep Green/Sherwood Forest
For some reason, most of the photos I see of the Maple Forest Cottage, show a roof that looks blue/gray, I believe it's just due to the reflective nature of the shingle on the film. It is definitely the Grand Manor in Sherwood Forest Green from Certainteed, as I saw the bags in the video. We used this same roofing shingle, and it looks beautiful! We also found that GAF makes a VERY nice one named Camelot that is very similar.

Shingles (second story siding material)

Cedar Valley Shingles - machine-split Western cedar

Fascia and Trim

All heart vertical grain redwood
Copper Flashing (it's amazing how great the copper looks, and well worth the extra cost - trust me)