Changing Lifestyles Bring New Home-Building Priorities. Experienced home builders will tell you that lifestyle often drives design. In the wake of three years of the disruption of a global pandemic, that has never been truer. We asked the experts what they see as...
Designing a Kitchen for Function and Comfort
As the saying goes: “meals and memories are created in the kitchen.” Creating a log home kitchen that is both practical and welcoming is possible with thoughtful planning, as many log-home owners have discovered. “Our goals were to have an open kitchen with lots of...
Planning Exterior Spaces
Your outdoor spaces are a bridge between your home’s interior and the natural landscape beyond. Some of my favorite time at home is spent on a quiet spring afternoon, sitting on my deck listening to the rain hit the metal roof overhead. Whether it’s watching the sun...
Fabulous Family Rooms
Tips for Creating a Joyful Family Room Where Everyone Feels at Home. The family room is where memories are made. Where movies are watched. Games played. Gifts unwrapped. Laughter heard. It’s where couples cozy up and siblings snuggle. Where sleeping dogs (and cats)...
Open Concept vs. Traditional Floor Plans
There are several key factors to consider before designing your home’s floor plan. You’ve seen it on TV—expansive windows, soaring ceilings, people chatting in every corner. Open floor plans, aka “great rooms,” can be fantastic for families with children and those who...
The Light Stuff
A good lighting plan can take your home from dark to dramatic, highlight key architectural elements, and illuminate work spaces. Warm reading light in a cozy den, bright task light over kitchen counters, strategically placed walkway lights along a garden path:...
Build or Buy?
The Pros and Cons of Building vs. Buying a Previously Owned Log or Timber Home. After months of a hot real estate market, where sellers were fielding multiple offers and deals were happening within hours, the sudden uptick in interest rates froze the real estate...
Design Advice from the Experts
Experienced log and timber frame home builders provide valuable information on designing a home that you’ll love. It’s no surprise your log or timber frame home builder seems to know just the right place to put that reading nook you wanted, or the perfect way to...
Practicing Regular Basic Maintenance
Consistency is the key to saving time and money. Once you complete your new log or timber frame home, you may anticipate that all the work is complete. However, since wood is an organic building material, one must not forget Mother Nature. Her damaging arsenal...
Smart Money
Savings can be found in every aspect of log home construction. Global thinking, seeing the project in its entirety, is critical to cost-effective log home construction. Every aspect of a log home project requires planning and foresight and an eye for the practical and...
Designing for Curb Appeal
A great first impression will make people want to see the inside of your log & timber home. Whether you’re building a cozy cabin, a modest retreat, or a big family getaway, the exterior of your home makes a memorable impression that gives people a sense of what to...
Looking In and Looking Out
There are several considerations to achieve energy efficiency and drama by using windows to complement your log or timber home. Log and timber homes are often designed to complement their natural surroundings, so the way your design incorporates windows to bring the...