Log Cabin Homes Magazine

Heart & Soul

by Margaret Haapoja | Photography scott amundson | styling tal harris | Jul 9, 2021 | Exteriors, Room-By-Room

Tom Grove remembers vacations spent at the family cabin when he was a boy. Originally, his parents owned a condo in northern Wisconsin, but they decided to search for a cabin when a fire damaged their building. The one they chose was built of logs at the turn of the century as a hunting camp and remodeled in the 1950s. It was small with just two bedrooms, but they enjoyed it for many years. “Then our family started growing, and we had more grandchildren,” says his mother, Jackie. “We decided we ne…

A Grand Cabin

by By Laura Stapleton | Jul 9, 2021 | Entire Home, Room-By-Room

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…

A Look Ahead

by Bridget McCrea | Jul 9, 2021 | How-To, Planning

People buy log homes for many different reasons. Some use them as their primary homes, raising their children in the beautiful settings where such structures are so often located. Others build them as vacation retreats, where friends and families can get a respite from the stresses of everyday life, and kick back in a more natural, rustic environment. Still others build with the intention of someday retiring to their log homes and spending their golden years enjoying everything that these wonderfu…

His, Hers, & Theirs

by By Jennifer Donahue | photos courtesy of Hochstetler Log Homes | Jul 9, 2021 | Entire Home, Room-By-Room

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, …

Designing Your Log Cabin Home

by Tommi Jamison | Jul 9, 2021 | Building, Designing, How-To

When planning your perfect log cabin home, there are many decisions that must be researched. Whether you are contemplating the idea of a log home or beginning the design process, the end result can vary greatly depending on the multitude of choices made. The choice of wood species is one of the biggest and first decisions to make. Next, you must consider corner styles or joint methods, chink or no chink, and which drying method best suits your needs. You also need to learn t…

A Family Affair

by Heidi Long | Jul 9, 2021 | Entire Home, Room-By-Room

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…

Why Work with an Interior Designer?

by Jennifer Donahue | Jul 9, 2021 | Designing, How-To, Planning

You know the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Well, the same could be said of building a log or timber frame home. Your log producer, builder, and contracted experts in plumbing and electrical systems are all critical to building a successful new home, and interior design expertise is just as important. Having a professional you can rely on to guide you through each step of the design process makes building a home more manageable and can actually end up saving you mon…

A Strong Finish

by Tracy M. Ruff | Jul 9, 2021 | How-To, Maintaining

You’ve most likely spent months, if not years, planning the design of your log home and hadn’t even considered what you would use to protect its precious walls. There are many companies out there that claim they make the best finishes for the exterior of a log home. Weeding through all of these products can be a daunting task, and you may be tempted to drive down to the local hardware store and pick up a few cans of the product that’s on sale that week. Before hopping in your car, get to know what makes…

First Born

by Anne Gardon & Perry Mastrovito | Photography Perry Mastrovito | Jul 9, 2021 | Entire Home, Room-By-Room

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…

The Jewel in the Crown

by Mike Haskew | Jul 9, 2021 | Exteriors, How-To, Landscape, Room-By-Room

A stunning stone patio, boulders, ornamental grasses lined up in rows, and tall, slender trees all serve to enhance the beauty of this home. An old saying tells us that the devil is in the details, but so is the dazzle! Landscaping and hardscaping your log or timber home put the finishing touch on the self-expression that motivates homeowners everywhere. Rather than an afterthought or an add-on, the exterior finish of the home and surroundings bring the vision to life and complete the journey from idea …

Welcome Home!

by Log Cabin Homes Magazine | Jul 9, 2021 | Entire Home, Exteriors, Room-By-Room

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.

The New Norm

by Debra Grahl | photos by Roger Wade | Jul 9, 2021 | Designing, How-To

The professional consensus on current primary home trends, from differing regions of the country, includes cost-consciousness, sustainability, practicality, and a better-than-ever educated client. These are the overarching trends that will likely be around forever, becoming, as architect Shawn Leatherwood says, “the new norm.” “It’s a strange time right now,” suggests Leatherwood. “Prospective clients seem to be doing plenty of tire kicking before hi…