I went home that night after A&S and started giving considerable thought to why I was having trouble with making that particular cut in the fabric. After several days of rolling it over in my mind I realized that the problem lay with the fact that my persona would not have traveled with a tent. Were they to go on a pilgrimage, etc. they would have stayed in inns.
With that thought in mind the changes that ensued came quickly and amazingly easily. The new design is now a wattle & daub house. After conferring with a former shire mate with amazing artistic talents I will be painting, using a 1:1 mixture of exterior latex paint:water, large timbers on the house. My artist friend will come in with a lighter color brown and paint in highlights. She will also be painting the roof to appear to be made of thatch.
This design feels absolutely perfect!