The exterior stays true to the village’s architectural roots, with a façade of black-painted douglas fir and a thatched roof. No matter where you are inside the house, the pitched roof remains ...

South African John Roston Smith specializes in thatched roofs, which are gaining popularity in other parts of the world. WSJ's Patrick McGroarty visits with him at several work sites.

"I quite often find thatching tools in the roof, which a previous thatcher might have forgotten about and thatched over. "We usually find newspapers shoved in there so the next guy can pre-date ...