My Idea Notebook goes everywhere that I go! It usually stays in the car, but I always have it handy should I need a measurement, a color, or a description for someone who’s helping us make this home a reality — such as a bank lender, blueprint designer, or cabinet installer. Or, if my friends & relatives have a question or make a suggestion on the fly, then I just grab the Idea Notebook and add it to my collection of great ideas.
Our Master Bathroom & Spa Shower Plans (…Plus 15 Of The Best Doorless Walk-In Shower Ideas!)
Doorless shower ideas for people who hate to clean glass shower doors! Yep, our master bathroom has a doorless walk-in shower. See why we decided to jump on this new idea in bathroom design. Plus LOTS of doorless shower designs — to help you plan and design the walk-in shower of your dreams!
Building A New House? Never Want To Move Again? A List Of Universal Design Features Your Home Needs! [Must-Haves For Aging In Place]
A list of Universal Design new home features you should consider BEFORE building or remodeling your house. Plus reasons to consider “aging in place” in the home of your dreams! I encourage you to give these Universal Design principles a lot of thought before building or remodeling your house!
Bathroom Design Tools, Standard Sizes, And Measurements For Bathroom Items
See standard Shower sizes & dimensions, Toilet sizes & space requirements, bathroom Sink spacing issues, Tub placement & sizes, and overall Bathroom Room Sizes for a full bath, small bath, half bath, and water closet / powder room. Plus, ADA bathroom requirements and online tools to save time & money designing a bathroom.
Log Home Kits: 7 Things To Think About Before You Build From A Log Home Kit
Thinking of building your new log home from a log cabin kit? Here’s what you need to know BEFORE you start exploring log home kits!
Everything You Want To Know About ChoiceDek And MoistureShield Composite Deck Products
Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies (AERT) is the manufacturer of ChoiceDek and MoistureShield composite decking materials. I’ve spoken with ChoiceDek and MoistureShield reps several times now. Here’s what I’ve learned about these composite decks. Good stuff!
History And Examples Of Craftsman / Arts & Crafts Style Log Homes
Read about one of the first log homes built in the Craftsman or Arts & Crafts style here. Then examine pictures of actual log homes built to incorporate many of the same features. In effect, these Craftsman style log homes are log home bungalows!
Important Tips Before Placing Rugs On Hardwood Floors
Thinking about putting rugs on hardwood floors? Wondering what type of rugs and pads should be used on wood floors? Here’s what I’ve learned firsthand and from experts.
Before You Buy A Front Door For Your New Log Home… Some Reasons To Consider Composite Doors (Or Fiberglass Doors)
Why would you put a non-wood door on a log home? Because you can’t tell the difference – see for yourself! 13 reasons to choose fiberglass doors/composite doors.
Cleaning Leather Rugs: How To Care For And Clean Cowhide Rugs & Other Animal Skin Rugs
If you have cowhide rugs or other animal skin rugs, you’ll find these DO’s & DON’ts for cleaning leather rugs helpful! Plus tips for using rugs as wall art.
Top 30 Reasons To Appreciate & Enjoy Log Home Living
Considering buying or building a log cabin home? Log home living isn’t for everyone. How many of these top 30 reasons to live in a log home appeal to you?
Fireplace Design & Placement Ideas To Help You Answer The Question: Fireplace Or No Fireplace?
A tribute to all the fireplaces we never used… and the one we’re putting in our new log home. Fireplace design & placement ideas that helped me…you too!
Old Log Homes: Pros And Cons Of Living In Old Style Log Homes
Dream of living in a log home? There are lots of reasons that old log homes can be a joy to live in, but they can also be the source of frustration and headaches. Here are the pros and cons of living in an old log home.
Rug Tips: A Rug Buying Guide To Help You Make The Best Choice
Need some rug buying advice? A rug expert shares some helpful rug tips to guide you in choosing the best rug for your needs. These rug buying tips will help you pick the right rug patterns, rug shapes, rug materials, and rug types for your individual needs.
Honest Abe Log Home Kits: See How Honest Abe Builds Log Homes
We went to an Honest Abe log raising and learned the following random tidbits about how Honest Abe builds log homes.Some of these things we specifically asked about, others were simply gems of info that they revealed to everyone at the event. I figure if I found these things interesting, then someone else might too. So I’m sharing them here.
Choose A Wood Heating System For Your Home, The Environment Will Thank You
Considering a wood heating system for your home? Here are the reasons why wood burning home heating can be a positive change for you as a homeowner, as well as for the environment.
New Home Design & Must-Have “Necessities”… If Money Were No Object
If money were no object, which posh amenities would be on your wish list? Here are the things that Jim & I have talked about including in our dream home…
DIY Driftwood Hearts That You Can Make (…Or Buy)
Driftwood hearts are random pieces of tree branches that happen to form the shape of a heart. Add some string, and you have a creative piece of art or a gift for a loved one. Here are some driftwood hearts that you can make yourself, or buy them on Etsy!
Should You Remove Snow From Your Roof Or Not?
Do you really have to remove snow from the roof of your log home? Do some roofs fare better with the snow than others? For example: metal roofs vs shingle roofs. Here’s what you need to know about roof snow removal for your log home.
Log Home Financing Doesn’t Come Easy These Days – Banks Are Balking At The Last Minute
I told myself that I wasn’t going to be negative — especially about any one company — when it came to talking about all the hoops we’ve had to jump through in order to get our log home financed. But let me just say this: We’ve had a change of heart about a couple of […]
New Home Building Costs: Things That Affect The Price Of Your New Log Home
There are a number of factors which can ultimately increase (or decrease) the costs associated with building your new home. Some things to keep in mind…
Top 10 Most Expensive Houses For Sale In The U.S. (2 Are Log Homes For Sale!)
Check out photos of 10 of the most expensive homes for sale in the U.S. Two of them are log homes for sale with strikingly different characteristics and a 53,000-square-foot difference between them! One is in Colorado, and the other is in Wyoming. View photos and details here.
How To Finance Your Log Home
Log home lending is different for some banks than taking out a mortgage for a tract house or other conventional housing structure. Knowing what avenues to take when seeking log home financing will make your goals of obtaining a mortgage for your log home an easier, happier journey.
How Draw Schedules Affect The Financing Of Your Log Home
One of the biggest hang-ups in the process of finding a bank to finance our log home was the ‘draw schedule’. The draw schedule is that unique timeline that spells out exactly when the logs themselves will be paid for, when the next installment of payments will be doled out by the bank, etc. It became difficult to get the bank and the log home company to agree on when the actual money would exchange hands. Here’s how it went for us.
How To Choose The Right Doors For Your Home
A collection of facts about doors that will come in handy when choosing the placement of your interior and exterior doors, plus tips that should help when deciding which type of doors to buy.
The Best Way To Store Leftover Paint
After 6 years our leftover interior house paint is dried up and has to be thrown out. The guy at the paint store seemed to think, if stored properly, it could have been re-used after 6 years in storage. Here’s how he recommends storing leftover paint.
Log Home Financing (Or Lack Thereof) Halts Our Log Home Construction Plans
We qualify for the loans, but there just aren’t enough log homes that have been sold recently around here for the banks to use as ‘comps’ in order to determine a fair appraisal value for our proposed log home. They’re coming in way lower than we can build this log home for. And the banks won’t budge.
Building Or Remodeling A Kitchen: What Does It Cost?
According to The National Kitchen and Bath Association and The Home Improvement Research Institute, here’s what people spend for things when they’re remodeling their kitchen… …
Photos & Ideas For Creating Unique Window Art Inside Your Home
Try to find creative ways to display everyday items in unusual ways along the windowsills of your home. Here are dozens of other ideas for creating fun window art inside your home.
Window Art: Fun Ways To Display Interesting Items On Your Windowsills
In my new log home, I plan to create fun (yet simple) displays on many different windowsills throughout the house — as a form of art and casual home decor. Here’s how to turn a windowsill into a work of art.
Share Your Own Log Home Stories Here…
Are you in the process of building a log home?Or maybe you recently built or moved into a log cabin and would be interested in sharing some unique or interesting stories about your log home experiences……
The Latest Kitchen And Bathroom Trends
There is so much variety in the products available to us today, that it is difficult to stay abreast of all the latest changes in bathroom and kitchen design, as well as the trends that are shaping the future of kitchens and baths. Here, I’ve summarized a number of kitchen and bath trends that I’ve noticed while reading through home magazines, newspapers, and online reports in recent months.
Reasons This Old House Is The Best Magazine For Log Home Owners
It’s hard for me NOT to re-subscribe to the 3 log home magazines I’ve been subscribing to. I mean, we got so much great info from them during that first year of the subscription. But now, we’re craving more than these magazines seem willing to provide. If you’re contemplating resubscribing to a log home magazine, I’m here to tell you, you may want to check out This Old House magazine instead. Especially if you’re already living in your log home… chances are, the log home magazines won’t have much to offer you at all.
Looking For Green Log Home Products & Building Supplies?
Here’s a great list of environmentally-friendly green log home products and suppliers. So, if you’re trying to make your currently log home more green or you’ll soon be building your very own green log home, here are some companies that will make your life easier!
Concrete Log Homes: An Unusual Type Of Log Cabin
If you’re comparing the characteristics between concrete log homes and traditional log homes, it’s fair to say that with log homes made of wood, you have to worry about mold, rot, insects, and fire — over time. But with concrete log homes you do not. Nor do you have to apply stain to the home’s exterior every few years. And, since you don’t have to chop down any trees for concrete log homes, concrete log homes are also considered to be environmentally-friendly.
Log Cabins On U.S. Pennies And Stamps
Despite the fact that the Log Cabin Society of Michigan has been trying for the past 10 years to get a log cabin featured on a U.S. postage stamp — no no avail — the U.S. Mint has decided to put a log cabin on the U.S. penny!
Celebrity Log Homes: Pictures Of Log Cabins Owned By Celebrities
Check out which celebrities own log cabins… Some of the following celebrity log homes are considered vacation homes or part-time residences… but how many celebrities actually live in just one home year-round anyway?
All These Delays & Changes May Actually Be A GOOD Thing…
It’s been about 2 years since we started the process of building our log home. We had the land picked out, the bank picked out, the GC picked out, the builder picked out, the logs picked out, the floorplan designed the way we wanted it, and we even started clearing the land. Then why isn’t our log home done yet? Why haven’t we even raised the first log yet?
Outdoor Dog Furniture For Your Log Dog
Log home owners with dogs may be interested in incorporating some “log” features into your dog’s lifestyle too. For example, outdoor dog houses, porches, barns, and beds for dogs. Check ’em out…
Indoor Furniture & Accessories For Your Log Dog
If you’ve got a log home and a dog, then you might be interested in some fun furniture and accessories that both you and your dog will enjoy. Here are some indoor pieces…
Fun Decorating Ideas For You AND Your Dog In Your New Home
We’re always looking for more fun gadgets and features that can be incorporated into our log home that will appeal to our dog — and us. Here are some fun ways to incorporate dog-friendly things into your own log home.
See What Your Log Home Would Look Like With Different Colors Of Stains, Chinking, Decks & Trim
Weatherall has a fun — and FREE — program you can download to see what your log home would look like with different color schemes. Yep, change the stain color on the logs, the deck, the trim work. Change the color of the chinking — if any. You can even change the style and color of the roof. Download Weatherall Color Viewer here.
How To Make Basement Columns, Support Poles And Pillars In Your House Look Like Real Trees
The look of exposed trees brings a bit of nature indoors. And who doesn’t want to bring a little outdoors in, right? Especially in a log home! Here’s how you can create the look of real trees inside your home — particular around pillars, columns, and poles located in the basement, near stairways, and around kitchen islands & bars.
Pictures Of Rustic Columns & Poles Inside Log Homes …Some Are Real Trees!
If log homes are your thing and ‘rustic’ is your game, then you’re going to love these pictures of REAL tree accents and the use of rustic looking logs — or heavy timber — inside a log home. You’ll also see photos of fun ways to incorporate trees and heavy timber logs into the EXTERIOR characteristics of your log home.
Instructions For Building Your Own Log Home Using Linear Logs Or A Log Home Kit
Log cabin kits that include machine-cut logs can be purchased from a number of different log providers. If you want to build your own log cabin, then check out these tips for getting DIY instructions from the experts, log raising events, and some books to guide you through the steps.
Rug Shopping: The Best Online Sites For Area Rugs and Throw Rugs
I recently started looking for fun rugs for our new log home. Here are my favorite places to browse for area rugs online… for a home or log cabin.
Personal Highs Matched With Regional Lows
The first official sign that construction is about to take place on our new log home site: the posting of the Building Permit! But it was a day of highs and lows, thanks to a series of tornadoes that hit in Williamson County the night before.
Williamson County TN Building Permits & Fees: What You Need To Know
We got our Building Permit today. Who knew the cost for a Building Permit in Williamson County TN could be so much?… $9,177! It’s mostly due to the county’s Privilege Tax. And boy do we feel privileged to live in Franklin, TN!
Abraham Lincoln’s Log Cabin And Farm Land For Sale
Abraham Lincoln’s farm land is up for sale to raise money for a new log cabin and visitor’s center. Small parcels of the 4-acre tract will be sold to the general public. The monies raised will be used to restore the log cabin that is located on the property.
Log Homes In Florida… Good Or Bad?
Do you advise future homeowners in Florida to build a log home, as opposed to a traditional stick-built home? What do you think… how well do log homes hold up in Florida?
