A young couple crafts a log home to enjoy as their children grow.
When Alex and Connie Diamond decided to build a log home, it wasn’t just about creating a beautiful residence—it was about crafting an environment where their children could thrive.
“We both grew up in small towns and wanted to raise our kids in the country with a simpler and more connected way of life, including more outdoors, more land, and more peace,” said Alex, a doctor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. “We liked how a log home made you feel one with nature. We also felt like a log home exuded a sense of warmth and family and togetherness to all who entered it, and that’s what we want our home to be for our family and friends and all those who visit us.”
Once they discovered the perfect piece of land just outside the historic town of Lebanon, Tennessee, around 30 miles east of Nashville, they set their dreams into motion, collaborating with Dan Smith of Honest Abe Log Homes to create the 3,183-square-foot home they named “Haven on the Hill.”
“We looked at land options for about two years and eventually purchased our land in June 2015,” Alex recalled. “There was nothing on the land, not even a makeshift drive so we started from scratch. We worked with a great general contractor named James Wallace recommended to us by Dan Smith. He handled everything and was amazing to work with just like Honest Abe was.”
Connie said that having a good team that could work together and get along was important to ensure that the 18-month building process would be as smooth and stress free as possible, and James and Dan provided that.
“We are fortunate in that we have even become good friends with Dan and his family over our time working together,” Connie said. “Everyone at Honest Abe has been so helpful and kind, and they definitely treat people right. We are very grateful that God led us to work with the Honest Abe team.”
In finalizing a floor plan, which was conceived of by the Diamonds and drafted by Honest Abe’s in-house design department, a significant focus was on creating a large, open living room with panoramic windows designed to be the heart of the home. This room has become the most used space, offering breathtaking views, and flooding the home with natural light.
“My favorite thing about our log home is the view of our land and neighborhood hills from our large picture windows in our great room,” Connie said. “It never ceases to take my breath away when I walk into that room and marvel at the view.”
Alex noted that traditional log home designs often place the master suite on the ground floor, but with young children, Alex and Connie preferred to have all the bedrooms on the same level.
“We made sure to put three of the four bedrooms upstairs and have the guest bedroom downstairs, which would one day become our bedroom as we aged and didn’t want to navigate stairs to the second floor daily,” Connie said.
The Diamond family’s love for nature is evident in every aspect of their home. Open porches and a screened porch offer diverse views of the surrounding landscape, incorporating rocks from their land into the patio design. Screen doors in the living room provide easy access to the wrap-around porch, allowing the natural scents, sounds, and breezes to flow through the home.
“I love the smell and feel of the logs in our home,” said one of the Diamond’s children, who was only three when the family moved into Haven on the Hill in 2019. “It feels like I’m in a creature’s home.”
Features like custom built-in window bench seating in the bedrooms, an eating nook extending towards the forest and a guest bathroom sink made from a whiskey barrel offer subtle connections to nature.
“It’s like we are living in a treehouse—like we are part of nature,” observed another of the Diamond’s children.
As with any grand project, compromises were necessary. Some desired features were initially set aside due to budget constraints. However, the Diamonds recently embarked on an exciting addition to their home, once again partnering with Dan and James to bring their vision to life. This expansion includes a garage, storm shelter, exercise room, movie room, and a much-needed bonus room for the children to play, especially during inclement weather.
“The room that was supposed to be my office became overrun with all the kids’ stuff, so with them moving their things to the bonus room, I now get my office space back in the main house and Connie gets a space to do her crafts, art, and garden planning,” Alex said.
The Diamonds say that the unexpected benefit of choosing log construction, especially for such a large house, has been the energy cost savings.
“The logs serve as great insulation, Alex said. “Our utility bills are extremely reasonable, and we very rarely ever have to adjust the thermostat one way or the other even with the extremes of cold or heat we’ve had recently.”
However, owning a log home comes with its quirks. Regular maintenance, such as cleaning and staining the exterior, is essential and can be costly. Living alongside nature also means sharing space with some of its creatures.
“We have come to find out the hard way that the combo of a log home and a country setting can be an open invitation to creatures big and small, but we love our log home, and it is HOME for our family,” Alex noted.
The rustic setting has attracted its share of unwelcome guests, from wasps to bees to squirrels. Yet, these challenges have in no way made the Diamonds question their choice to build a log home.
Connie and Alex say they are glad they decided not to wait until “someday” to build their dream log home, choosing instead to create it during the years they could fully embrace special moments as their children grow up and create lifetime memories in a home designed with love and intention.
“Alex and I wanted a home that we could grow old together in,” Connie said. “We would raise our children in this home, and one day the home would be theirs. There is a small cemetery plot on the back corner of our land, and Alex said that is the only other move he plans on making.”
There, among the ancient forests, dramatic sunsets, and their bountiful gardens, the Diamonds have the haven they imagined.
- Designer: Alex and Connie Diamond (owners)
- Manufacturer: Honest Abe Log Homes, Moss, Tennessee
- Sales Consultant: Dan Smith, Honest Abe Log Homes, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
- Builder: James Wallace
- Square footage: 3,183
- Two-story home
- Bedrooms: 4
- Baths: 4.5