Innholdsfortegnelse for Favorite Homes 2025 i Log and Timber Home Living

GREG: We live in Tennessee, but we motorhome in the summertime. There’s a particular area of Colorado that we like in the south-central part of the state. We heard of this very exclusive RV resort that caters to Prevost motorhomes. We went out there in 2019, and they were just opening up some very rare property along the Rio Grande. We bought two of those lots. They had restrictions on them in that you could only build living ters of 600 square feet inside or 800 square feet under roof. We decided to build a beautiful cabin with fir half-log siding and, on the lot beside it, put a pavilion with a fireplace and an outdoor kitchen. We’re just below 9,000 feet in elevation. In that part of the…

Have you ever been shopping for home goods and noticed a surge of similar colors stocking the shelves? Everything from coffee makers to throw pillows suddenly seem to be in hue harmony. That is not mere coincidence. Manufacturers take their cues from color experts, who, at the end of each year, proclaim next year’s pigment proclivities. In a dramatic, New Year’s Eve-style countdown, The Pantone Institute, a world-renowned color authority, announced their color of the year for 2025 to be (drumroll…) Mocha Mousse. It’s a warming, comforting brown imbued with the richness and delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee. Pantone’s executive director, Leatrice Eiseman, had this to say about the Institute’s choice: “Underpinned by our desire for everyday pleasures, PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mousse expresses a level of thoughtful indulgence. Sophisticated…

It probably comes as no surprise that out of the wide variety of content we share on our websites (home tours, how-tos and more), floor plans are the most popular. It’s fun to imagine all the different forms a home can take, and, as made apparent here, log and timber homes take on quite the variety of shapes, sizes and uses. From cabins that barely spill over 1,000 square feet to timbered hillside lodges with grand wrap-around porches, the following plans have our online readers buzzing. loghome.com/madison Square Footage: 1,463 Bedrooms: 2 Baths: 2 Full The Madison By Honest Abe Log Homes What Makes it a Favorite This ranch-style plan keeps the main living areas in conveniently close proximity, filling them with natural light from the cathedral ceilings and wall…

Maryland natives Nancy and Scott Graeves already owned a large log lake home in the charming mountain town of Oakland when they found their dream two-acre lot on the other end of Deep Creek Lake. From their home base in Brookville, Maryland, two-and-a-half hours away, the couple loved escaping to the state’s largest lake, where friends and family often joined them. So despite the fact that they loved their log home, the Graeves simply couldn’t pass up the lovely lake frontage upon which they could build what they really wanted. “We’re in the mountains,” Scott explains, “so to find flat lakefront — a cove lot — we were very lucky.” So began their process of designing their dream vacation home. At first, Scott and Nancy commissioned local designer Doug Storck…

“On September 25, 2004, the Paulsen Family began their adventure on Ely Island.” That was the message we inscribed on a large, tablet-shaped stone on our first visit as brand-new landowners of the site of what would become our family’s unique cabin retreat. Building on an island hadn’t been part of the original plan. But there we were — on a beautiful, craggy point in a quiet cove on an island, accessible only by boat, in extreme northern Minnesota. Five hours north of our home in Minneapolis, “Ely Island” (pronounced “Ee-lee”) on beautiful Lake Vermilion has become our treasured family summer escape. The lake and land are glorious and largely unspoiled — rocky and wooded with eagles, owls and loons inhabiting coves, landings and perches. We had been looking for…

OUR TWO-ACRE ISLAND PARCEL is essentially a large, rocky outcropping, dotted with pines. The design emerged from our desire to emphasize outdoor living, keep construction costs low and have relatively easy maintenance. Each of the three main spaces serves dual purposes: The Wash House is where we bathe and change, but also where we hunker during scary storms; the Bunk House is where we sleep, hang out and socialize; the Kitchen House not only meets every need for cooking but additionally serves as a quiet work area during non-meal hours. The outdoor spaces act as the glue that binds it all together and ensure that our cabin experiences include lots of time outside (occasionally scooting from one cabin to another in the rain!). The cabin gives a special feeling reminiscent…

It was a pleasant summer day in 2018 when Keith Burgess decided to spend it boating with his daughter and her family on Cheat Lake in West Virginia. Little did he know, it was an outing that would change his life, because, just down the road, Janet Drain also had agreed to join her daughter for a day on the boat. As is local tradition, after some time out on the open water, boats from across the lake pulled into “Party Cove,” an area where the vibe perfectly matches the name. “I wasn’t into boat hopping. So, I’m just sitting there, and here comes Keith floating up,” recalls Janet. “We started talking, and he told me he is a plumber. I shared that my last name was Drain, and the…

When you live amidst the hustle and bustle of New York City, it’s natural to want to get away from it all every once in a while. If you’re Rob and Melissa Lewin, that getaway comes in the form of a picturesque timber home nestled into the Finger Lakes Region of upstate New York. “We wanted a place that would contrast with where we live every day,” explains Rob. “Our brownstone in Brooklyn is unique and historic, but it can feel dark and dreary. In this home, we wanted spacious, bright and casual, but still refined.” To achieve the open feeling they desired, the Lewins worked with the team at New Energy Works that has offices in Farmington, New York, and Portland, Oregon. “We live more than 100 miles away…

After kitchens, bathrooms can be one of the hardest-working spaces in the home — and therefore the trickiest to design (or remodel). Plumbing must safely coexist with electrical, maximizing storage is a must and on top of all that… it should still feel inviting and relaxing. And, if you’re like many of our readers, you’re probably trying to create a home that will age gracefully with you — bathrooms especially. Enter: wet rooms. In this trending bathroom layout, the shower and tub are integrated into one room where everything is designed to well… get wet. This design strategy is not a new concept, but it’s certainly making a splash again thanks to homeowners’ focus on finding the intersection of accessibility and luxury. So, whether you’re building new or planning a…

BUILDING A CABIN ON ISLAND PROPERTY is a challenge in many respects, but each constraint can yield an elegant solution. Workers in northern Minnesota are accustomed to negotiating the lake in order to build on remote properties. Contractors, carpenters, plumbers and electricians easily shuttle back and forth in motorboats from the county park just a 10-minute boat ride from the island. Carl, one of the local barge operators, hauled major building materials and construction equipment to our cove on his open barge — quite a sight! Barging costs are high, so we planned carefully to minimize trips: one for light excavation and septic, plus two more for the building process itself. A narrow construction path from our cove to the building site provided the route for a small skid steer…

As conservators of a mile-high-plus property just outside Denver, the owners of this woodland getaway treasure their three-acre domain set amidst massive granite outcroppings and stands of pine and spruce. One day, while out trekking across the property (such surroundings invite exploration, of course), the owners came upon quite the find: the crumbling remnants of a small outbuilding. “We enjoy mountain living and want to share it with our guests. Along with my interest in goldsmithing, I needed a studio. To accommodate both, the goal was to remodel the outbuilding,” the homeowner says motioning to a grassy slope where a storybook cottage now stands. “It’s hard to believe there was once a dilapidated little building right here.” The original handcrafted structure, circa 1930, was beyond salvaging. “It had to be…