When Paul and Debby Kenney began planning their dream log home while they were dating during the mid-2000s, the couple envisioned a retirement home they could enjoy growing old together, surrounded by picture-perfect views in southern Colorado. “We wanted this to be a home that we could live in as long as we wanted to,” says Paul, who is retired from the U.S. military and his most recent career as a high school ROTC instructor. “We love Colorado, and we wanted to spend our retirement years her…
When you hear the word “roof” probably the first image that pops into your head is the tried and true asphalt shingle roof that is ubiquitous in the United States. When you dream of your log home, you most likely envision a more rustic roof that will complement the wood and architectural style you have selected. The good news is that you can have a beautiful roof that enhances your log home and is also durable, sustainable, and energy-efficient. If you are co…
Mike and Julie McGlynn had vacationed on Bay Lake in Northern Minnesota for years, often boating past a quaint 1933 log cabin located on a popular causeway called Echo Point. When the property came up for sale in 2001, they jumped at the chance to purchase the lot and its dilapidated buildings. “It was always sort of a dream to find a vintage log home,” says Mike McGlynn. “We wanted a place to spend time with our daughters, their husbands, and our seven grandchildren.” The prev…
If you are in the process of designing a log home, or just dreaming about it, this room-by-room list is designed to spark your imagination and help ensure that you include all of your needs and wants in your floorplan. Photo by Karl Neumann Great Rooms 1. Position windows to “frame” the picture of your view. 2. Anchor a large living area with a stone fireplace; it will provide a natural focal point in harmony with the outdoors. 3. Use hand-forged log straps to add a custom touch to your home. 4. Give yo…
“We just love being here,” remarks Bill Ray, gazing out over North Carolina’s Cataloochee and Smoky Mountain ranges. “It’s worth every mile and minute of the 71/2-hour drive it takes us to get here from Indianapolis.” Located at Cherry Hill, a rural development near Waynesville, North Carolina, the Ray cabin is situated on four-plus acres, but the astounding views make it feel like 4,000. “My heart has always been in the Smokies,” chimes in Bill’s wife, Louise. “My parents brought my twin sister and I d…
Ken Miles and Margo McKinney were leading very busy professional lives in the greater Baltimore area. Margo, a retired school principal, had taken up a second career in real estate sales. Ken worked as a sheet metal developer at Middle River Aircraft Systems. The couple had discussed living in a log home in their retirement years and agreed that a quieter, simpler life in the country was their vision for the future. They began to focus attention on their retirement goal, but couldn’t find property that …
Amy and Bill Richardson fell in love with Grand Lake, Colorado—and the dream of a mountain vacation home—at the same time they fell in love with one another. “We met in grad school, and right after graduation from our two-year MBA program, we got in the car and hit 23 states in 26 days,” Amy says. The couple’s journey took them through the Rocky Mountain National Park and Grand Lake. “Grand Lake’s marketing slogan is ‘America’s front porch,’ and it really does look l…
Near the town of Hamilton, Montana, roughly 45 miles south of Missoula, the Bitterroot Valley and Sapphire Mountains converge, and the steep rock walls of Blodgett Canyon soar skyward more than 1,500 feet. In this majestic outdoor cathedral of Ponderosa Pine, swift-running streams, and incredible natural beauty, a family from Minnesota has found its western paradise. Within the Stock Farm Club real estate development, three structures—a house, cabin, and barn—surround a serene courtyard and welcome the …
Northern Colorado’s Routt National Forest might be one of the state’s best kept secrets. The outdoorsman’s mountain paradise remains spared from many of the crowds that enjoy Colorado’s other outdoor playgrounds. The forest, which is split by the Continental Divide, extends over one million acres with seven different wilderness areas and is home to Steamboat Ski Resort. As avid athletes and wilderness enthusiasts, John and Carrie Morgridge were overjoyed to find 15 acres in Routt County available for pu…
Nobody likes to vacuum, but we all have to do it from time to time. However, most homeowners would agree that vacuuming is child’s play compared to dealing with a broken appliance, a drafty window, or a stained countertop. While the vacuuming may be a fact of life, the other chores on this list don’t have to be—at least when it comes to your new log home. The secret is keeping an eye out for easy maintenance when planning and designing many of the home’s interior features. To help wi…
The wants and needs of log and timber home purchasers vary widely, and dealers respond to individual preferences with everything from a basic package with finishes left at the buyer’s discretion to complete turnkey projects. “We know that ‘one size does not fit all,’ explains Robert Lambert of Natural Element Homes in Athens, Tennessee. “In fact, we never deliver a home that is exactly like any other home we have ever done. There is always some degree of customization, either to th…
If you thought barn doors, reclaimed wood wall coverings, and open-beam ceilings were only the domain of rural log cabin homes, think again. It’s 2018 and pretty much everyone from the single-family homeowner to the loft dweller to the apartment renter wants these and other rustic elements blended into their abodes. Driven by TV personalities like Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper, who uses whitewashed shiplap and barn doors in any area of the house where she sees fit, this tre…
