With more than 15 years of vacation memories and two previously owned homes under their belts, it seems only natural that Jan and Bob would consider the wilds of northwest Wyoming their home away from home. “We fell in love with the area and kept going back every summer for vacation. Then we were back two or three times during the summer,” says Jan. “Bob was still working and we decided to rent a house to see if he could be away from work. During that visit, we walked around the area…
Watching the sunset from the dock at Averill’s Flathead Lake Lodge in Bigfork, Montana, is a visual delight in stereo. Whatever alpenglow plays across the mountains and skies reflects below, across the seven-mile breadth of 30-mile-long Flathead Lake. Twin sunsets … but everything here is twice as nice. Another day closes at this historic guest ranch and folks are making plans for tomorrow as they dangle their feet in the lake’s cool waters. It’s a good thing the summer d…
For Todd and Sue Stokes, it all comes back to family—his, hers, and theirs. When the two met and married five years ago, they envisioned building a home their grown children and grandchildren would visit for years to come. Their log home, completed in 2016, brought that dream to reality. Their community in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, west of Pittsburgh, is adjacent to the borders of Ohio and West Virginia and is nestled in the farming region Sue grew up in. Todd and Sue are getting close to retirement, …
Front doors welcome visitors and reflect the personality of the people who live within the home. A front door can convey serenity, power, warmth, creativity, and so much more. Take some time to determine the statement you want to make and how you want your home to welcome you and your guests. And don’t forget about your interior doors: they also help create a home that reflects your personality and enhances your enjoyment of your home.
Acquiring something for the first time will always have a special place in one’s heart and memory, an extra sentimental value that the subsequent ones (even if they’re better, bigger, or more valuable) can’t match. When Danielle Deraiche and her husband Jean Lemelin started their log home-building company in 2007, this pretty and distinctive blue log home was their first project. Originally, it was destined to be a guesthouse at a hunting lodge, but the client abruptly cancelled the contract due to fina…
There’s no mystery to the appeal of Flagstaff, Arizona, and the surrounding Coconino National Forest. At an elevation of 7,000 feet, the high desert area is a recreation paradise, with four seasons including snowy winters (an average of 100 inches of snow each year). When hot summer temperatures in the Phoenix area become too much to bear, folks head north to Flagstaff for relief in the higher elevations. In fact, the proximity was one of the things that drew Steve and Laurie to explore the area around …
Roger and Mary Ann Miller didn’t realize they wanted to live in a log home until they stumbled upon their dream home while visiting their daughter and her family in Kentucky. But the “opportunity presented itself,” Roger says, when his wife started flipping through a real estate brochure she found in her daughter’s home. That’s when Mary Ann came across a 2,760-square-foot home in Paint Lick, Kentucky. She couldn’t resist the cabin’s cozy rustic charm. “I fell in love with [the house] withou…
One family’s annual vacation destination to picturesque Jackson Hole, Wyoming, became their home nearly two years ago. The outdoor enthusiasts, who enjoy activities such as hunting, fishing, rafting, skiing, and kayaking, designed and built Bighorn Lodge, a 10,000-square-foot home inspired by their many visits to the great lodges of the national parks in the Western states—particularly Old Faithful Lodge in Yellowstone National Park. “We love the outdoors and visiting the national parks,” the homeowner …
More than a century ago, celebrated architect Frank Lloyd Wright initiated the Prairie Style. A departure from the residential architecture of old Europe that had been widespread in the United States, it was distinctly American and featured bold horizontal lines. Wright’s influence on modern architecture remains strong, and in southwestern Montana near the city of Bozeman a tribute to his legacy rises in splendor next to a quiet pond with majestic vistas of the Bridger Mountains in the distance. The own…
When a Florida couple decided that summers in the Sunshine State were too hot and muggy, they began planning a vacation home in Banner Elk, North Carolina, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains where the average summer temperature tops out at a pleasant 70 degrees. They also wanted a log house with a distinctive look, so they called on Allen Halcomb, architect and president of MossCreek in Knoxville, Tennessee, to come up with a design that would suit their personalities. “The couple expressed a desire to…
Originally established in the mid-1800s as a hub and supply center for smaller surrounding mining towns, today’s Crested Butte, Colorado, is a premier destination for year-round recreation. Located about 30 miles due north of Gunnison, it’s just far enough off the beaten path to have retained a sleepy town charm; the population of full-time residents is not much more than 1,500. But the number of vacation/getaway homes is on the rise. One such dwelling belongs to Ohio residents Greg and Beth Bookwalter….
Nestled in the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains in Tennessee, Norris Lake is a recreation paradise renowned for its pristine waters. The lake covers nearly 35,000 acres with 800 miles of shoreline that includes three state parks. Fishing, boating, hiking, and camping beckon visitors from the entire region and draw many to the area looking for a place to build a dream vacation home. This gracious Norris Lake home, designed by MossCreek in Knoxville, Tennessee, was built as a getaway and gathering sp…
