Black Contemporary Farmhouse

A weekend house on Lake Texoma, designed for a young family.

The Brief

A young couple with two daughters wanted a weekend and holiday house at the lake that they could open on Friday and close on Sunday with almost no upkeep. The request was compact and practical: a house built around time outdoors, durable enough for lake weather, with room for guests and a place to keep the cars and the boat. The lot sits in Cambridge Shores on Lake Texoma, close to the water and framed by trees.

The Design Idea

Some houses grow through many revisions. This one came together almost at the first meeting, because the family knew exactly how they wanted to live, and from first sketches to approved design took two weeks. I kept the footprint small and put the budget into the envelope and the patio. Black board and batten, black framed windows and a black metal roof give the house one calm silhouette against the trees and age well in lake weather with little maintenance.

The plan is organized around movement between the great room and the yard. Twin gables mark the entry, and from the front door you see straight through the house to the backyard, so the house has no foyer to pay for. The detached garage holds the cars and the boat so the house itself stays small.

Location: Cambridge Shores, Pottsboro, Texas
Lake or course: Lake Texoma
Style: Contemporary farmhouse
Square feet: 1,850
Stories: 1
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3
Garage: 4 bays, detached
Builder: Ceci Bates Custom Homes
Year: 2021
Status: Built
Service: Studio

Inside the House

Twin gables frame the entry, where French doors with sidelights and transoms sit under a hanging pergola that shades the front porch. Inside, the vaulted great room holds the living area and the kitchen in one space and opens through a wall of French doors to the covered patio, so cooking and hosting happen in one continuous room.

The kitchen runs in a straight line with a center island that seats eight. A walk in pantry faces the front and the breakfast nook faces the yard. The patio is large enough for several seating groups and has a bar with a pass through window to the kitchen for outdoor cooking.

Bedrooms are sized for king beds and nothing more. The two children’s rooms share a Jack and Jill bathroom, a guest room on the opposite wing shares a full bathroom with the living areas, and the main suite has its own bathroom and walk in closet. A detached four bay garage shelters the cars and the boat.

Questions about this house

Why paint a lake house black in Texas?

The black exterior is standing seam metal siding with black framed windows and a black metal roof, chosen first for maintenance. Metal shrugs off lake weather, needs no repainting, and keeps the weekend house easy to close and reopen. The dark color also gives a simple farmhouse form a calm, modern presence against the trees. The roof and walls shed heat quickly after sunset, and the deep covered patio does the shading work.

How do four bedrooms fit in 1,850 square feet?

By keeping every private room sized for a king bed and little else, sharing bathrooms where it makes sense, and putting the generosity into one vaulted great room instead of many small rooms. The children's rooms share a Jack and Jill bathroom, the guest room shares a full bathroom with the living area, and the main suite is the only room with its own bathroom and closet.

Where does the boat go?

In the detached four bay garage. Separating the garage from the house kept the house itself compact and let the garage take the cars, the boat and the lake gear without adding square footage to the conditioned space.

Why is there a window from the kitchen to the patio?

The pass through window turns the patio bar into part of the kitchen. Drinks and plates move through the window instead of through a door, and whoever is cooking stays in the conversation with the people outside. It is a small detail that shapes how the family uses the house every weekend.