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Surprise Rustic Log Home

Have you ever dreamed of building or owning a Rustic Log Home but for one reason or another you never followed the dream. Maybe you decided traditional log construction would cost too much or maybe you are living in an area where the Log Home style would not fit in.

I want to share with you one of our winter 2010-2011 Dream Home projects. Now that this home is nearing to finishing stages it is easier to see the unique details we have brought together here.

rustic log finish interior with cultured stone and stamped stained concrete

From the front exterior you will see a rather modern ranch style home. The homeowner chose to construct a more cost effective wood framed home, in spite of their burning desire to build a Dream Log Home. We might catch your attention by the matched trapezoid windows poised over the entry porch area but beyond that there is little to make you think you are about to enter a Rustic Log Home.

rustic log finish,genovations decking,screen room

rustic aromatic cedar stairs,hickory flooring,kolbe and kolbe

Moving around to the rear of this home you will begin to see we have incorporated some features that create more of a hint as to the surprise that waits inside. Take note of the octagonal roofed room on the left end of the rear. You will begin to see the dramatic effect we created with the vaulted octagonal custom dining room off the great room and kitchen areas.

Entering through the front door of this home can be a little overwhelming as I believe the first thing that will catch your eye is the hand scraped native aromatic cedar staircase traversing from the lowest walk-out level to a suspended loft poised over the entryway.
rustic hand scraped cedar stairs,kolbe and kolbe Pay attention to the hand carved beauty of the natural cedar log steps and supporting stringers as well as the natural log support posts which are actual cedar tree trunks and the log rail and spindle system.

The loft floor is finished in hand scraped hickory wood in a natural finish. If you look up you will find plank finished knotty pine ceilings everywhere. The homeowners elected to finish all the exposed wall surfaces in a variety of faux finishes and if you look closely you will even find natural leaf impressions emulating from a few of the wall surfaces in the home.

kolbe and kolbe windows with rustic hand scraped cedar landing

The great room windows as well as dining room windows are being trimmed in 10” hand scraped pine logs and the dining room pine plank ceiling will be finished with wagon spoke walnut beams.

The entire roof system of this home was built with pre-engineered wood roof trusses. In my design I included a series of parallel cord trusses throughout the great room to create the same ceiling effect you will find in a traditional log home. Because we used engineered roof trusses we were able to avoid putting any load on the interior walls and this helped create the open airy effect we where looking for.

My homeowner had brought me a photo of a dining room with vaulted octagonal ceiling during the early design phase of this project. She was delighted to see that we where able to include this feature in her new dining room by including a load bearing girder and jacks to simplify the roof system.

I have learned to add great flexible options in my ceiling designs with the use of pre-engineered roof trusses.

Once completed this entire area will feature a beautiful hand scraped solid walnut floor to bring it all back down to earth. It has been a pleasure helping this couple bring their dreams of building a beautiful log home into reality. I have most enjoyed the attention to every last detail right down to the electronics and fixtures.

pine plank octagon ceiling

"Homeowners Viewpoint"

"Do you remember when your evening project was trying to draw a house for us?

It is my house, and the house is awesome, and when it is completed I’m sure it will have the warm comfortable feeling that I was looking for, even though the back of the house is all glass, which normally is cold. When I say the house is awesome, I mean if you think about all the work that has gone into it by so many people, all the skills and talents that each one has brought to this project, it is just amazing.

We started with a rough bumpy hay field with some woods with lots of multiflora rose, and was told that there was no place to put a pond, but a very talented dozer operator gave us one, and a very nice one, and then the landscaper started to work his magic.

rustic hand scraped cedar stairs, kolbe windows

From a couple wanting a log home, but not the maintenance that went with it, to the designer who really was struggling because this was a little out of the norm for him, who had to explain to the contractor how to build this creation, to his crew who were working on it in extreme cold to get it buttoned up before a blizzard, the electrician, the plumbers, the HVAC guys, the painter, the Amish that hand scraped all of that hardwood flooring, the cabinet makers, and Pat and Nina’s talent with working with natural cedar, Rick’s ability to make that log siding work for trim, just like I wanted, and pay attention to the little details to make it look more like a true log home. I haven’t even mentioned the drywallers who made the walls perfectly smooth, the stone masons, and the tile guys……and the kitchen designer, who even though she wasn’t able to sell me cabinets, gave me the kitchen of my dreams. (forgot to mention Daryl and his perfect foundation, and beautiful stamping on the front porch)

I feel the best part of this house is that we worked with the natural beauty of what nature has to offer.

So, when I say the house is awesome, it is a compliment to all who have contributed to taking this house from concept to completion. Everyone that I have hired in my opinion has been exactly the right person for the job."