Log and Timber Home Living Floorplans 2022

A well-designed home is like a finely tailored suit – it has the proper measurements, the proportions are all correct, it’s styled to your specific tastes and, most importantly, it fits you to a T. However, finding that flattering fit can prove to be a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack. Many people just don’t know where to start. Of course every home starts with a floor plan, but taking that leap from 2-D pattern to finished home can feel like a puzzle you just can’t seem to stitch together. Plus, there are a lot of eye-catching home designs out there, especially in the log and timber home sect. How can you choose just one? You can make it a whole lot easier by rolling up your…

When you’re ready to purchase a floor plan from a log or timber home company or designer, be aware that you won’t own the actual plan — just a one-time right to build the home. This is an important piece of the process to understand because it protects both the company and you from copyright infringement. Deciding on a plan from one company and “shopping” it around to others is a big faux pas. A reputable log or timber home producer will never knowingly use a copyrighted plan from another company. If you do plan to build or alter an existing floor plan from a designer other than your own, be sure to get permission from the plan’s originator. To protect yourself from copyright violations, keep the following tips in…

Flow is absolutely crucial in creating a floor plan that works with your life. In fact, arranging rooms in a way that makes sense is the point of floor plans. To get the flow right, consider everything from the view you want to capture to the way you’ll move around in your home. Here’s how. Start with your location and your landscape. Before you can figure out how to make your floor plan flow, you need to pinpoint any potential blockages. Look at the things that will constrain the way you organize the house. The most limiting factor is usually the site. That’s a very difficult thing to change. If you have an amazing view of snow-capped mountains or a tranquil lake, you’ll want to organize the home around that…

Whether it’s to reduce upkeep, to live a simpler life or to get the best value for their money, many homebuyers are moving toward smaller, more efficient designs. But that doesn’t mean you have to shrink your dream home to the size of a studio apartment. It means getting back to the basics of what you need to function — home design that’s smarter as well as smaller. If you can relate, follow these design ideals for small-scale log and timber homes. 1. Understand how much space you actually need. Despite preconceptions about the square footage you and your family require, until you actually see the dimensions, it can be hard to visualize. The way people perceive space in their minds is called “volume metrics.” It’s a spatial calculation that…

Jonathan Orpin, founder and owner of New Energy Works, a timber frame and design firm with locations in New York and Oregon, is a champion of smart design, no matter the size. He believes there are several elements you should squeeze into every home, regardless of square footage. ◼ Open living area. “In our designs, we include a combined kitchen/living/dining area we call ‘the commons,’” Jonathan says. By combining these important spaces in a central location, it becomes flexible space suitable for a variety of uses — a feature particularly important in a smaller home.◼ Pantry. No one has ever regretted having an abundance of storage, and the kitchen is one room that requires its fair share. “I always plan a pantry,” explains Jonathan. “It’s a cheap form of storage…

There’s plenty of joy in the prospect of making your dream home a reality. But it’s normal to have some anxiety as well. After all, you don’t want to plan a house that falls short of your expectations. For many, the thought of getting it wrong can be paralyzing. If you can dodge these six common design pitfalls and adopt these solutions, you’ll be ready to put your best design foot forward. AVOID Rushing the design phase Once you’re on track to live the log and timber lifestyle, it’s hard to slow that train down. It’s common to want to get the home designed and built in a hurry, so you can enjoy it to its fullest, but it takes time and a great deal of thought to craft a…