Imagine watching your home go up in flames just as you've completed an addition. For Chuck and Joanna Smith of Richwood, Ohio, that nightmare became a reality five years ago when, as Joanna recalls, "We got out with the clothes on our backs. Everything else was lost."

Not quite everything. Somehow, the Smiths kept the heart and courage to try again, replacing the burned-out timber frame home with a new one on the same site. And while the house itself-5,500 square feet set on 30 acres surrounded by family land-is a feast for the eyes, what makes it special is the teamwork of the architects, timber suppliers, builders and decorators who completed the project on a rigorous schedule because they didn't want the Smiths to go through any more stress.

It was November 1992 and the Smiths were looking forward to moving into their expanded timber frame house. As far as we know, [the people preparing the floors] left oily rags, hundreds of them on a pile of trash just outside the house, " Joanna says. "We think it must have been spontaneous combustion: then when it hit the house, it just took off because the house was full of fumes." Luckily, because of those fumes, the Smiths were staying with Joanna's father at the time; which turned out to be a lifesaving move.

Rather than try to duplicate what they'd lost, Chuck and Joanna decided on a more sophisticated design. They engaged two Columbus firms, Glavan & Associates, architect, Ed Feher and Betley Vistain Builders, who in turn led them to Blue Ridge Timberwrights in Christiansburg, Virginia.

Al Anderson, a project coordinator with Blue Ridge Timberwrights, remembers that Chuck in particular was emphatic that the house be finished on schedule. "We had extra help to make sure that we got the frame up. Everybody wanted to give a little extra because we felt like the Smiths had been through enough!"

"Ed Feller picked our brains for the design and then had to work within the parameters of the timber frame company," ]oanna explains. "We sat down with him and said, 'When we walk in the door, this is what we want to see. We entertain a lot, and this is what we want to do." For example, even though the Smith children are grown and out of the house, they each requested a bedroom. The bedrooms are there, but on the second floor, away from their parents' master wing.

The frame, which recently won a design award from the Timber Framers Guild of North America for "Best Residential Design," was cut from mixed red and white oak. No exterior stain was used, except for a clear tung oil finish.

Faithful to its "barn " inspiration, the main house incorporates inclined purlin posts supporting principal purlins. The purlins are interrupted by principle rafters and connected to each other with sp lines. Large posts help to define both the downstairs hall and the upstairs balcony.

The Palladian window in the guest room is surrounded by a timber-framed wall system. Three other dormers, and the cupola, are built of structural insulated panels. For the "stable" look of the master bedroom. the posts are spaced closer together for a cozier feel. Out front on the adjacent porch, posts and girts suggest stalls.

The original plan for the "silo" or stairwell called for structural panels arranged like barrel frames under a timber-framed roof system. After some budget cuts the silo's design was revised, now it boasts a timber-framed roof set on 2-by-6-inch framed walls.

"This was one of the most pleasant projects we've ever worked on , " builder Jeff Vistain recalls. '"Everyone pitched in to make sure that the Smiths had exactly what they wanted. And after what had happened the last time, we made sure that every little detail was covered twice over."

Construction began in September 1993. "Watching the timber frame go up was the most exciting part, Blue Ridge Timberwrights sent a great bunch of people; it felt like a family" Joanna recalls gratefully.

A year later, the Smiths moved into their new home. "It seemed like an eternity; we felt homeless for so long," Joanna says. Thankfully, the house went up without a hitch. Though some trees were lost in the fire, enough were saved to give the house its woodsy setting on a natural grade.

Entering the house, a foyer opens into the great hall, with its 28-foot-high cathedral ceiling, skylights and raised stone hearth. Italian tile flooring extends into the dining room, breakfast area, kitchen and utility rooms beyond. Though there are additional fireplaces, the main level has a radiant heating system under the floors. The home is also prewired for a future whole-house audio system.

The kitchen, with a central cooking island, connects to a pantry, laundry room and craft area, which exits onto a stone-floored veranda with removable screen walls.

In fact, says interior designer Ann Greely, the dogs were an important factor in the home's overall ambiance. "The Smiths wanted a home where the dogs would feel comfortable." Ann says. "Yet there's a casual elegance that's extremely inviting."

With no existing decor to match or build on, Ann and the Smiths had to start from scratch except for two of eight French antique country chairs that were out of the house at the time of the fire. "We were able to find a craftsman to duplicate the rest of those chairs." Ann says. Ann, who shops worldwide for antique furnishings for her clients, went to horse-loving England to find appropriate pieces for the Smiths.

Though there's no mistaking the house's spacious beauty, it has an unstudied elegance that's as natural as its surroundings. As befits a time of rebuilding, Joanna has added more horses to her stable, and daughter Suzy has returned home temporarily to help show and train. Suzy is the fifth generation of Joanna's family to live on their land and if the faith and resilient grit of her parents is any indication, she won't be the last.