For those of you who love fresh air and sunshine there's no better way of life than indoor/outdoor living. From a simple door that leads to a porch or patio, to a moving glass wall that connects indoor and outdoor living areas, there are a vast number of ways to blend...
Home Flow
An architect or designer can help you plan your home’s indoor and outdoor living areas for maximum efficiency and flow. My husband likes to joke that I’m picking up space-planning skills from him. For as long as I’ve known him he has been a wizard at packing a...
Getting a Good Site Plan
Before you decide on a floor plan, you’ll need a site plan which shows everything on your land, its surroundings, and proposed home location. Planning the work and then working the plan is good advice in any situation, but during the construction of a log or timber...
Selecting the Best Floor Plan
Whether you choose standard, modified or custom, there are important considerations that can help you find the ideal floor plan for your dream home. You’ve been dreaming of your perfect home for years, and if you close your eyes you can visualize the grand entryway,...
Creating a User-Friendly Home
A checklist for making your home safer and more accessible for everyone. There are many ways to create a home where everyone feels at home. And—a great side benefit—it’s the same course of action that will make your home ideal for aging in place. It’s truly a win-win...
Y’All Go Wash Your Worries Away
More than any other room in a house, bathrooms need to be functional for all. You don't have to sacrifice style to make your bathrooms safe and accessible. Some of the trendiest bathrooms are beautifully designed for all ages and abilities. Photo by Roger Wade...
Y’All Come Eat
Accessibility in cooking and dining areas is a must. There are lots of universal design ideas for kitchens, some of which you may implement and others you may not want. Here are some ways log and timber homeowners made their kitchens user-friendly. Tomahawk Log &...
Planning a Beautiful & Functional Home
Your home will be much easier to navigate (and more attractive) if you build it for people of all ages and abilities now rather than retrofitting your home later. A few years ago, I had a major operation that resulted in several months of recovery in my home. Although...
A New Lending Landscape
How to find a lender to buy and build your dream home. If you haven’t applied for a mortgage loan recently, say in the last 13 years, then you will likely be in for some surprises when building your new log and timber frame home. That’s because the lending space...
Choosing a Producer and Builder
Assembling the right players is critical to the successful process of building a log & timber home. From the boardroom to the playing field, a successful team has to have the right group of people, with complementary knowledge and skill sets. The same holds true...
Log Home Myths vs. Truths
Log home experts confront questions that pop up frequently in the home buying decision-making process. Fact and fiction, popular misconception, and downright erroneous information sometimes surround the process of buying or building a log or timber home. It isn’t that...
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...