Woof! Meow! Pets are Family, Too!
Woof! Meow! Pets are Family, Too!

Destined To Be Home

Some folks maintain that everything happens for a reason. When Kevin Nunn, owner of Bear Creek Log Homes, was hired to build a log home for a client in the mountains of North Carolina, an opportunity seemed to fall into his lap, one that he could not resist.  The project was located at Cave Rock Estates, a new development just south of Sparta, not far from the Virginia border. Kevin’s client, the owner of the development, had purchased 280 acres with the intention of dividing it into parcels for sa…

A Slice of Heaven

A ski trip to Deer Valley, Utah, more than a dozen years ago awakened a deep love for log homes in Donn and Candy Fuller. “We rented this beautiful handcrafted, full-log home with more than 10,000 square feet of space,” recalls Donn Fuller, an orthopedic surgeon in Fort Myers, Florida. “It was just gorgeous.” On another ski trip the Fullers discovered where they wanted to build their dream vacation home: Big Sky, Montana. “Another orthopedic doc friend invited us out and we just fell in love with Montan…

Skimp or Splurge?

A home is the epitome of self-expression. It shows the world your personal style and hints at what is important to you. It offers an escape from the world, creating a sanctuary for those who pass through its doors. But building the ideal sanctuary involves planning and budgeting to accommodate all the design options you might desire. Beginning with the structure, a home will speak volumes about who lives in it and where it is sited. But what about the design deta…

Landscape Your Property

Landscaping should be at the top of your list when you begin to plan your log home. A National Gardening Association survey found a well-designed and maintained landscape can increase the value of your home by as much as 15-25 percent. “Too often the landscape is an afterthought” says Maureen Parker, owner of Common Ground Landscapes in Boyne City, Michigan, “and landscape architecture is much more than plantings.  Planning for your landscape starts with positioning your …

First, Do No Harm

All doctors are familiar with the phrase, “First, do no harm.” It’s part of the Hippocratic Oath they swear to uphold once they become doctors. It means that they will treat patients to the best of their ability and judgment without doing them any unnecessary harm.  When you are planning your new log home, why not treat it and the property you are building on as your patient and do your best not to disturb or contaminate it or the other living things you will be sharing it with? Today, “green” is t…

Lakeside Idyll

“There’s not much that tops the happiness we feel on the day we launch our boat at Swan Lake,” say Montana residents Mike and Linda Smith. “It’s usually in the month of May,” they continue, “when the lake is uniquely quiet and beautiful.” The event signals the beginning of summer fun at the cabin. Conversely, the day the boat comes out of the water at summer’s end is melancholic for the couple. The Smiths’ sentiments are understandable, considering their idyllic lakefront property and sleek contemporary…

Lasting Legacy

When you first build your log home, you’re thinking about how it will fulfill your family’s current needs. After years of living in the home, as your children and grandchildren grow up, you begin to build a history of cherished memories around it. Then, you may begin to think of your home differently. It’s not just as a place to sleep and eat anymore, but much more. It has become a building block for your children and their children’s future. It’s the place where family gathers for holidays and vacation…

Down in the Valley

Handcrafted log homes highlight the natural beauty and unique characteristics of the wood. Each home is one of a kind. “It wasn’t going to be quite this large, originally,” says Marvin Meyers, regarding his log home on the Yampa River, near Steamboat Springs, Colorado. “But the more time my wife, Tish, and I spent visiting our property the more we realized that our family and friends would also want to spend time here.” Initial cabin floorplan designs came in at around 2,500 square feet. The final plan …

Artistry & Craftsmanship

Imagine your log or timber home is a canvas to showcase the natural beauty of logs. Handcrafted log homes take that beauty a step farther by showcasing the unique variations in each individual log while honoring the timeless craftsmanship that goes into the building process. What Makes a Home Handcrafted? In a handcrafted log home, each log has been hand peeled, notched and fitted to the log below using traditional hand tools like axes and draw knives, as well as modern tools like …

Nature Galore

From the back porch of their log cabin home, Bill and Dedie Nutt have an up close and personal view of nature that few people ever get to experience. For example, nearly every night, right around sunset, a cinnamon bear (really a black bear in its “cinnamon” color phase) ambles down to their man-made pond, stoops over, and quenches its thirst with a long, slow drink of water. “It’s pretty amazing to see,” says Bill, “and right in our own backyard.” That cinnamon bear is just one of the many slices of na…

How To Build An Energy-Efficient Log Cabin Home

Control Moisture Controlling moisture also is important. But the house needs to breathe to allow excess moisture to escape. Seider recommends controlling this factor with good HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) equipment. Grant also installs a growing number of encapsulated crawl spaces—a method of sealing off the crawl space from the ground and outside air by lining the area with a high-performance vapor barrier. This process not only eliminates moisture, mold, and mildew, but also impro…

Inspired Living

Something about this home speaks to you. It reaches out and grabs your hand, whisking you back at least 100 years. The wide front porch beckons you to sit and stay a while, reminiscing about the past. The tin roof alludes to a simpler time and the reclaimed timbers encompass images of an old barn that could easily tell stories of a long ago generation. The door greets you as though you are a long lost friend, coming home after years of being away. Everything about the home …