A Sportsman’s PARADISE
A Sportsman’s PARADISE

Living the Fairy Tale

When Dallas couple Jennifer and Robert Quinn began taking their family on annual camping excursions two decades ago, they explored various areas throughout the Southwest—particularly Colorado. On one occasion, they happened to drive through Lake City, Colorado, a small town nestled in the San Juan Mountains. “It was just like driving through a fairy tale,” Jennifer says. “We fell in love with it.” The couple began dreaming about and planning to build a log home in  Lake City as they continued makin…

Mountain’s Majesty

Just a few minutes from the Bozeman, Montana, airport, the Rocky Mountains rise toward the heavens. A drive along the Gallatin River leads to a captivating log home that fulfills a lifelong desire for its owner, blending the beauty of the Mountain West with modern convenience and sweet serenity. “I wanted to create a home where our large family and other families with us could all be in one room,” relates the homeowner. “The house is centered around a great room on the main floor with dining room, kitch…

Online Exclusive

The log home lifestyle is within reach of homeowners everywhere, whether their current homes are of conventional or log construction.  More popular than ever, log additions to existing residential structures are gaining momentum with creativity and affordability. A log addition to a home of any style may be accomplished with planning, consultation, and vision. “The sky is the limit on what you can do with a full-scribe handcrafted log home,” comments Brad Neu, president of Montana Log Homes, “and w…

Good Things Take Time

“Initially, we were looking for bare lake frontage to build a log cabin on,” begin Wisconsin homeowners Jamie and Karen Geschke. “However, finding a great lakefront lot without an existing home proved to be impossible.” Then a realtor friend, Erik Johnson, showed the couple a property on Lake Kaubashine that was coming on the market, and it was love at first sight: sand beach, pristine water, not much boat traffic, and bordered on one side by state-owned land. There was a modest house on the property, b…

Legacy Begets Legacy

“Our client chose full logs for their family house,” says Dennis Davis, project manager for RJ Dailey Construction, “believing the aesthetics would make the proper statement about family and farm values: strong, stable and, most of all, enduring.” RJ Dailey builds only custom residences and estates, says Davis, “but up until now only in California, where our company is based.” It was an honor and a pleasure for the company to be selected as the general contractor for a log home on a family farm in Illin…

Dream Escapes

Do you want your vacation getaway home to be an exact duplicate of your main home? Of course not! Your leisure life is far more relaxed and free than your everyday life so you’ll want that to be reflected in your home away from home. Perhaps you are attracted to a different architectural and decorative style that you’d like to explore. Go a bit more sleek and modern or maybe indulge your love for a rustic, natural feel. If the colors used in your main home are neutral, take a chance …

Winter Weather Advisory

Seasons change. Log and timber home owners are wise to heed the advice that seems to be everywhere. Winterize to protect your investment, prevent larger maintenance issues, and ensure the best of experiences regardless of temperature, snow, ice, and howling winds. Basic prevention makes all the difference. Begin with a general inspection, much of which can be completed by homeowners themselves. Service providers are also available to make light work of seasonal chores. “The first thing to do is to inspe…

Ensuring Energy Efficiency

Considering the rising costs of energy and the environmental awareness that is so necessary as natural resources become more scarce every day, log home owners are taking advantage of opportunities to maximize the energy efficiency of their homes on a regular basis. While doing so, they discover not only that savings in real dollars may be substantial, but also that their personal impact on the environment is becoming “greener.” Those who are constructing their log homes and those who are purchasing an e…

Passive Solar Principles

Who hasn’t been drawn to the warmth of a sunny spot on a cold day, or cooled off in the shade during the dog days of summer? Passive solar design takes that natural comfort and incorporates it into the design of your house. Put simply, you can design your home to gather and make use of the sun’s light and warmth in the winter, while minimizing the warming effects of the sun in the summer. The result: a comfortable, bright, efficient home.  There are many factors to take into consideration when inco…

Beauty Transformed

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…

Rustic Bathroom Trends

Picture a bathroom with a barn-style door, timber-framed windows, or even a tree stump sink pedestal with all the conveniences that modern design offers. Thanks to continuing advances in interior design, you can enjoy the beauty of a rustic-style bathroom without roughing it. Yesterday’s image of a dark, fully log-walled bathroom is being replaced with a light, airy space that is comfortable as well as practical. Many of today’s log and timber home owners opt…

The Battle of the Budget

For those who embark on the journey of building the log or timber home they have always wanted, one point become clear early in the process. The dream may be realized only within the boundaries of what the budget will bear. Finding the necessary balance between building and budget is a curious combination of art and science, aspiration and reality. Taking some time to consider the parameters that must guide the building process reduces stress while saving later effort and money. “W…