Warm reading light in a cozy den, bright task light over kitchen counters, strategically placed walkway lights along a garden path: lighting is one area of your home where having the right plan in place can make all the difference. One of the things we love about log and timber homes is the way the designs showcase the natural beauty of wood. Properly planned lighting design can help highlight, not hide, that beauty. “Lighting should not dictate …
Exploring Alternative Energy Sources
Going green is easy these days, especially when you are building a new home. With the cost of fossil fuels increasing annually and the damage they cause the environment more evident every day, it’s a good time to reduce your carbon footprint, save some money on utilities, and make your living environment comfortable and healthy. Adding an alternative energy system to a log home is no more difficult than installing a standard HVAC system, but it does require a different set of skills and equipment….
Just A Hop Away
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…
Designing & Decorating Your Great Room
Reclaimed wood is the star in this home, from the warm floors to the mantel to the vertical siding on the walls. In contrast to the sleek surroundings, the homeowners were not afraid to go bold with the carpet, ottoman, and comfortable wing chairs.
Stay & Relax
Randy and Janelle Lang wanted something more permanent. Their time in the wooded surroundings of a cluster of chain lakes was hardly ever enough to completely satisfy. The forests and woodlands of northern Wisconsin sometimes seem to have that effect. “We had a small cabin on a small lake in the area for many years and were up just about every weekend,” reflects Randy. “After retirement we decided to move here since we were at the cabin as much as at home.” The decision to move required some planning, a…
A Picture of Grandeur
It’s been about 10 years since Micky and Reneé Harrison read an article about The Rio Grande Club in South Fork, Colorado, where Renee had vacationed with one of her friends about 47 years earlier. After deciding that South Fork would be a fun place to visit, the married couple was pleased to see that the area hadn’t changed much, with the exception of The Rainbow Grocery’s relocation from the “fork” in the river to its current home. “South Fork was exactly what we were looking for: a cool climate to pl…
Built to Last
When Alice Royer and her husband John had the opportunity to buy back the 212-acre farm that had belonged to Alice’s family all but 10 years since the U.S. Civil War, the couple jumped at the chance. Alice has vivid memories of spending time on the farm during her childhood, when it was her grandparents’ home, so the land became a piece of family heritage she hoped to share and pass on to her two children, who are now adults. In 2008, the family built a log home on the property, giving them regular week…
Our Favorite Bedrooms & Bathrooms
This bedroom is the ideal place to hibernate during cold winters. Stone is an unusual choice for bedroom walls, but it adds a lot of rustic texture to the room and the color keeps it from being oppressive. Note the reclaimed wood beams and lintels over the windows and doors and other fine details. .
A French Country Beauty
Brian Hayes has fond memories of summer vacations with his family at Dale Hollow Lake in Kentucky. Three generations later, it remains a special retreat for him, his brothers, and all of their children. “We all fell in love with the place the first time we went,” says Hayes, of Noblesville, Indiana. “After my brothers and I grew up, we started taking our own kids down there. We’ve watched the place grow from being undeveloped to now being a resort area. Three generations of our family have loved this pl…
Annual Inspection Checklist
The maintenance of a log, timber frame, or hybrid home is a saga of planning and vigilance that begins even before the structure is completed. These homes are regularly conceived, planned, and constructed with maintenance in mind. Further, maintenance involves the exterior and interior of the main structure and any outbuildings, as well as the planned landscaping and any vegetation that is indigenous to the lot or acreage where the home is located. Antic…
Heart and Soul
Log homes come in many styles, shapes, and sizes. Some are quite humble, others very luxurious. This home, which measures 84 feet x 32 feet, is certainly in the category crème de la crème. It is harmonious and elegant in design, sophisticated in a rustic way, and equipped with amenities that are not often found in a country home, such as an elevator and a fireplace on each floor. And its detached garage is so big and fancy it could easily be mistaken for a country cabin. Built in 2011 near the town of M…
Four Good Reasons
ACCORDING TO THE EPA, the indoor air quality of a typical home can be three times more polluted than outdoor air and can be incredibly dangerous to our health. Over the past decade, government regulations have been put into effect to combat this, and are likely to get stricter, not more lenient. Sjoerd Bos, vice president of Sansin Corporation, a leading manufacturer of stains, sealants, and coatings, says, “I expect tougher VOC limits and, in certain states like Calif…