What makes a house a home? For most of us, the answer has very little to do with construction and more to do with the people we surround ourselves with. When Amy Hyatt’s father, Dick Pate, retired, he knew he wanted to build a vacation home in the West. He spent a year exploring before discovering a property in Paradise Valley, Montana, in 2011 that was just right. “My mom still has the voice mail from him telling her about it,” says Hyatt. “He fell in love with it.” Pate had a few requirements: the pro…

Nestled in the mountains of Bitterroot Valley, Montana, this beautiful timber house is home to a pair of outdoor enthusiasts who had dreamed all their lives of residing in a quiet, serene setting away from the hustle and bustle of cities where they worked, including New York, Chicago, and Baltimore. When it came time to retire and build a dream home that would not only accommodate them now but also well into the future, they selected a timber home made to look like a traditional log home. “From the outs…

There’s an old saying that goes, “It takes hands to build a house, but only hearts can build a home.” The truth is, it takes both hands and heart to build a home that reflects your family’s lifestyle and values. By putting their trust in skilled craftsmen who truly listened, Casey and Rita Trumble have built a home that’s as much sanctuary as it is shelter. Nestled among the trees on the banks of the Wisconsin River in Wisconsin Dells, the Trumbles have been planning their home for a long time. Both Rit…

A Florida couple finds peaceful respite in a hybrid log and timber home on the shores of Tennesee’s Douglas Lake. “My husband was born and raised in Florida,” begins Melinda Kolar, “where our primary home is located. I’m from Hendersonville, North Carolina, and ever since leaving I have missed the changing of the seasons that occurs there. Tom and I frequently discussed the possibility of having a second home farther north.” When Tom and Melinda’s two children enrolled at Tennessee colleges (son at the …

When a Connecticut family began working with architect Reid Smith to design a vacation retreat in Big Sky, Montana, they emphasized that the overall feeling they wanted to have upon entering the final product would be less “ooh” and more “ahh.” “The homeowners wanted their vacation retreat to have a comfortable, cozy feeling,” says Smith, founder of Reid Smith Architects in Bozeman, Montana. “The house is large, but they wanted intimate spaces throughout with rich finishes and livability. This house doe…

Mike and Marta had been looking for lakeside property in the southern states, from Texas to the South Carolina coast, over a period of 10 years, using much of their vacation time to explore and camp in search of their little slice of heaven. Criteria for the couple’s property search included enough ground to “feel like country” while being in close proximity to a city. They found it in 2002 when they went to check out Old Hickory Lake in central Tennessee, a place they learned about in a real estate mag…

Larry and Pam Kerns never imagined that after 10-plus enjoyable years of residing in their North Carolina dream log home they would be uprooting and moving to Louisville, Kentucky. “We put our hearts and souls into building this amazing log home,” says Larry. “It took a couple of years of design just to figure out what we wanted it to look and feel like … and for seven years beforehand we were doing all sorts of research into what we were hoping for in a retirement home.” Since then, things have changed…

From the mountains of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia to the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts, the Southeast is a perfect place to build a log & timber home if you prefer a milder climate. The Southeast has its own long tradition of log & timber homes, and today you’ll find that people are building the homes that speak to their style. You’ll see everything from a tiny rustic vacation cabin in the Smokies to a sprawling estate on a flowing South Carolina river. It’s easy to find a spectacular view…

Joe and Elina Rodriguez’s dream house represents a great compromise for these two water babies raised on the beaches of South Florida. Both loving beach and water, but now living in Atlanta, the distance to Florida was prohibitive for weekend getaways and an eventual retirement home. They didn’t have far to look for an ideal property; they chose a close-by water venue, less than two hours away, on the shore of Lake Hartwell in South Carolina for their vacation home. In 2006, after doing considerable res…