Joe Murphy didn’t have a lot of extra time on his hands, but he really needed a project. Over the past decade, Joe and his wife, Jill, have developed a penchant for purchasing fixer-upper real-estate projects, predominantly in the Lake Gaston region 60 miles north of Raleigh, then updating and breathing new life into them and putting them back on the market for future owners to enjoy. “In October of 2015,” says Joe, “Jill and I became interested in building a new house on Lake Gaston. We had owned sever…

Something clicks when the right house comes along. One Midwest couple, weary from looking at dozens of homes, finally found their forever home 18 years ago when they purchased a stately two-story. “It sure had all the bells and whistles and then some,” says Ann, recalling how her love of family heirlooms and Old World furnishings would be a perfect fit. Her husband, Karl, reserved judgment until he went downstairs to the lower level. To differentiate the formality of the home’s more traditional style, o…

When Jim and Nancy Schueler of Hamilton, Montana, set out to build their fourth  log home, they wanted a design that would take full advantage of the 250-acre  property’s breathtaking views of the magnificent Bitterroot Mountain Range.  The result was a sprawling home situated on a knob in the Bitterroot Valley, with expansive windows in every room to offer panoramic views of the surrounding mountains.  “We wanted to design a house with a view from every room, and we accomplishe…

Whether it’s for business or pleasure, one of the greatest delights a traveler can encounter is a better-than-expected lodging experience. Such was the case for my husband and me while we were making our way through the Southeast for work.  Located just 15 miles, but seemingly eons, from Louisville, Kentucky, is Captain’s Cabin Bed & Breakfast. The 1800s Appalachian-style log cabin is situated a stone’s throw from welcoming proprietors Tammy and Jan Paul Donelson’s main house. The cabin was loc…

In 2009, when land prices were falling, Indianapolis residents Dale and Michele Wedel bought a parcel of ground in Brown County, Indiana, approximately 70 miles from their Indy home. It seemed like a good investment, and the pair had an inkling that it could make for a nice vacation place, or even a retirement home down the road. “A couple of years later,” says Dale, “Michele and I began a more earnest discussion about what we wanted to do with the site. We tentatively thought that a log home might be a…

Lone Mountain Ranch in Big Sky, Montana, offers a smorgasbord of log home living, a bucket list of adventures, and cuisine to live for. At less than an hour from the Bozeman airport, 18 miles from the border of Yellowstone National Park (45 to its entrance), and 7 miles from Big Sky Resort, this historic guest ranch is close to paradise and feels like heaven. My friend and I came to stay for a week. Past the horse corral, across the meadow at the edge of the woods, our two lo…