A couple trades South Florida for lakeside living in a log home in New Hampshire.
Each morning Stephen Ferreira savors the Kohler steam shower they installed in their master bathroom. Nearly every night, his wife Sandra Hamilton enjoys a soak in their free-standing clawfoot tub in the master bath.
It’s these daily rituals that make their dreams of log home living that much more delightful. “When we first met, Sandra told me her dream was to build a log home,” Stephen recalls. “I said that’s my dream as well. And we made that dream come true.”
FINDING LAND
Stephen spent 30 years patrolling the streets of Palm Beach County, Florida, retiring with the rank of sergeant. He joined Sandra in New Hampshire, where she had lived for the previous 26 years. They soon set out to find land to build their dream home on.
A Realtor first showed them property in Londonderry. But it wasn’t until they drove to nearby Windham to inspect a two-acre parcel behind Shadow Lake that something clicked. Their dog hopped out of their vehicle to explore and immediately christened the land. “Sandra looked at me and said, ‘Well, I guess we’re home.’”
They purchased the land in December of 2022. They perused log and timber home companies, ultimately selecting Ward Cedar Homes (Houlton, ME) for that company’s use of Northern White Cedar in their homes. The couple were won over by that species thermal performance, durability, and natural resistance to rot and insects, especially termites. “We also love the look and smell of it,” Sandra says. Stephen agrees. “Plus, the company has been around for more than 100 years,” Stephen says.
The couple met with local representatives for Ward, Michael and Connie Jackson in Litchfield, NH. While they initially considered a design and floor plan that was recently built in the area, they eventually concluded they wanted to go for a fully custom design.
The couple invested a lot of thought into the design of this home. What they sought to recreate was a farmhouse chic aesthetic they had both seen in their travels. They took inspiration from restaurants and homes that they had seen in Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Colorado, where Stephen loves to spend time skiing.
“We wanted something really dramatic, especially for the entrance,” Stephen recalls. “We wanted people’s jaws to drop when they walk in with 30-foot ceilings,” Sandra adds.
After finalizing the design, they interviewed several contractors before deciding on Kidwell Builders (Londonderry, NH), a southern New Hampshire construction company. Talented carpenters at Kidwell helped with design and permitting through construction, inspections and completion.
MAKING THE DREAM A REALITY
Construction started in May of 2023 with the installation of the foundation. They moved into their new home in March 2024.
Several personally chosen materials continually bring smiles to their faces.
Among them:
Custom cabinetry: “We both love to cook and we wanted a perfect kitchen fit for a chef, to entertain in,” Sandra says. “We wanted that distressed, dented and cracked distressed look for the cabinetry. We had a hard time finding the exact look we wanted. But we eventually found custom-made high-end cabinetry that we loved.”
Reclaimed Wood Features: A talented local electrician helped craft the pulley lights over the center island in the kitchen, using reclaimed wood from a 100-year-old barn. (That same wood was used as the mantle over the fireplace.) “People always comment on how unique they are,” Stephen says. “We got the idea from a restaurant in Tennessee.”
Custom masonry for the fireplace in the great room and as the backsplash to their stove: “A French Canadian mason came out of retirement to create this with his son,” Stephen recalls. “He came every day for six weeks to complete it. It was incredible, using pulleys to set all the rocks, stone by stone, no modern machinery. It turned out incredible.”
Custom balusters: The iron balusters on the stairway and loft were custom made by local artisans.
Granite countertops from India: With really interesting green and blue colors that are completely unique.
An antique bell by the front door, which was given to them by friends who got the bell from a 100-year-old barn in Nova Scotia. “When people visit the home for the first time, we encourage them to ring the bell,” Sandra says.
HOLIDAY CHARM
Christmas is their favorite holiday. Stephen had a 20×15-foot shed built to store all their décor. “We have 13-foot-tall nutcrackers for the front porch,” Sandra says. “It looks like something that should be in a Hallmark movie.”
Last winter, the couple depended on local contractors for plowing their private road and 100-foot driveway to their new log home, which was less than ideal. But now they have a new UTV with its own plow to handle the considerable snow that falls in winter. “It even has its own speakers,” Stephen says. “I am all set.”
“If people turn down our road, they invariably stop and stare at our home,” Sandra says. “One of our favorite times is when we come home and we have left all the lights on, and the home is just lit up. It’s quite astounding we get to live here. We love it here,” Stephen says.
- Log Home Producer: Ward Cedar Log Homes , Houlton, MAINE
- Builder: Kidwell Builders, Londonberry, NEW HAMPSHIRE
- Two story home
- Square feet: 2,500
- Three Bedrooms
- 2.5 Bathrooms