A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
Take a moment to review a selection of images from some of our many custom log homes and post and beam homes. While we don’t sell the plans for these homes, we can certainly design a log home, a post and beam home, a timber frame home, or a conventional home inspired by any of these homes. Simply click through the slide show and enjoy!
EXTERIORS
The Balance and Proportion of Inspired Forms
Too often, homes are designed from the floor plan up. A plan is conceived and an attempt is made to put a roof over it. Sometimes it works, but other times the result is imbalanced, and in many cases downright problematic: oversized or undersized dormers, chimneys in the middle of valleys, roofs shedding snow into awkward areas.
By working in three dimensions from the outset, we not only work on floor plan relationships that are logical and functional, but we conceive the entire architecture of your log, post and beam, or timber home as a coherent whole. We use roof pitches that make sense for the home and the building site. We strive to balance elements in proportion with each other and with the whole. We make sure that the design not only works inside, but is inspiring to view—from all angles. We want you to be filled with gratitude and awe every time you drive up the driveway. Our goal is to create log and timber architecture that continues to inspire you for a lifetime.
INTERIORS
Balancing Function and Creativity
Logs and timbers are blessed with their own unique character. By choosing log sizes that are proportionate to the role they are to fulfill, and by using them judiciously in interior spaces, we can design rooms that not only meet the functional needs of your family, but possess an inherent timeless beauty.
Log homes have often been criticized for being dark and uninviting inside, or for being incompatible with modern living concepts. Long ago, we set out to discard these old myths and create log and timber interiors that can have both a rustic character and/or a bright and contemporary feel—a style we call “rustic contemporary.” Log architecture can be both timeless and flexible, traditional and eclectic. It can mix modern materials and character logs, whether it is spacious great room, an open kitchen design, or a luxurious master bathroom. Not all of the log home interiors we design are for everybody, but we make sure the log home we design for you meets YOUR unique needs.
POST AND BEAM
Flexible Planning and Inspired Designs
In some ways, logs and heavy timber lend themselves most naturally to post and beam homes. The flexible floor planning and large spans they allow result in a log home architecture that truly stretch one’s imagination. The limiting geometry of simple rectangular forms gives rise to an unlimited variety of circular and other geometric configurations in both the floor planning and the exterior appearance of your home.
Blending the beauty of full round logs with more traditional timber joinery also can yield some beautiful unique forms. We have been very lucky to work with clients who celebrated us “thinking outside the box.” We have created more complex geometric shapes and even leaned walls out at angles to create unique spaces. By using logs as posts, we have been able to place one-of-a-kind character logs in special places in the home that inspire both occupants and visitors day after day. Post and beam log and timber homes also create opportunities for trees and branches that are bent or twisted to be used in creative ways and for log artisans to truly show their craft.
KITCHENS
Good food and a warm kitchen is what makes a house a home
The Kitchen is the heart of any home. It is often the room in which we spend a good portion of our waking hours. And not only does it provide us with sustenance, it is usually the place where we interact most frequently with family members. Kitchens are not only the place for preparing meals but where we connect with others. They are the spaces where plans are made, homework taken care of, and our values of healthy living unfold.
Kitchen Design is more than just picking out good-looking cabinets. It is about reflecting on how we live, and how this critical space can support us expressing our lives in the most meaningful way. It is about looking at how our meal preparation functions and how this this interacts with others so we can create an environment and order to allow this to unfold purposefully.
Because we want to make sure you understand the overall look of your kitchen before committing to a particular cabinet style, we produce 3D walkthroughs designed for this purpose. They are not used to show a particular cabinet style (although we could certainly do that, if desired.) They are to help you get a sense the three dimensional space and relationships to adjoining rooms.
The key steps in kitchen planning occur in initial conversations up front. It is after we have fully explored where we are starting from and where we hope to go, that we can develop a fully functioning ‘operations center’, then execute it with style. Enjoy an array of kitchen images in the Kitchen Gallery.
BATHROOMS
Bathrooms in a few of the Homes we have Designed…
The bathroom can be an expensive room in your home. Thoughtful design helps create spaces well beyond what is spent on fixtures and finishes. It is also a place where you can have fun and create playful spaces. You will see in one of the images below, we located a soaker tub in the Master Bedroom instead of the Bathroom. The bedroom can be a warmer space in both temperature and texture and can allow one person to enjoy a soothing soak while another relaxes in bed or near a fireplace.
And showers: now here is where you can really get creative. With multiple jets, dual shower heads, benches, steam generators and so on, there are so many directions a design can go. I like to recess nooks into the tiles sized and located by the tile spacing itself. I explored many of the aspects of bathroom design back in 2002 in an article I wrote for Log Home Living magazine. Download the article, “Planning the Perfect Bath”.
As with any room, the key steps in planning occur at the beginning. A well thought out bathroom can truly be a jewel in your home. Enjoy the wide array of kitchen designs below…
