To answer this all-important question, we held our 7th Annual Floorplan Design Contest. (Sort of the Oscars for log homes.) We asked the experts who design homes—log companies, architects and designers—to send us the best of the best from their designs. And then, we asked more experts to choose the 10 designs from this stellar group that they liked the best. And if that wasn't enough, the editors chose our favorite plan out of this lot. The result? Five inspiring and gorgeous floorplans in two categories—less than 2,500 square feet and 2,500 square feet and up—that you're going to love.
So without further ado (drum roll please):
Less Than 2,500 Square Feet
Wyoming, Lodge Logs The Bridger, Bridger Mountain Log Homes The Totems, Henry Yorke Mann Architect Lakeside Cottage, Walden Log Homes Echoing The Past, Alpine Log Homes
2,500 Square Feet and Up
The Cohutta, Fireside Log Homes Knop Residence, Baker + Hogan + Hoax Architecture & Planning Land O' Lakes, Alpine Log Homes MLH037, Montana Log Homes Aspen Ridge, Murray Arnott Designs
THE JUDGES |
Originally from Kansas, Dave Argo has spent the past 20 years living in the Colorado Rockies working as an architect on residential and commercial projects in mountain resort communities. Since founding his firm, No Name Architects, in 1994 (located halfway between Aspen and Vail), Dave has focused his efforts to provide personalized design services to clients interested in building high-quality, custom log and timber homes. One of the handcrafted log homes designed by his firm appeared in the March 2004 issue of Log Home Living. Joseph Augitto owns Archibello LLP in Minocqua, Wisconsin, and has been providing architectural services deep in the Northwoods for nearly three decades. Through his firm, he focuses on energy-efficient log and heavy-timber residential designs as well as commercial projects. He designed the home featured on the Log Home Living July 2004 cover. Jerry Locati graduated from the School of Architecture at Montana State University in 1984, and has focused his professional practice on work in the western United States ever since. His residential and alpine design firm based in Bozeman, Montana, specializes in using native sustainable materials that come from the regions where they?re implemented. Jerry?s numerous award-winning designs often incorporate log construction techniques as well as log elements. Greg Steckler started building log homes in 1978 after spending five years as a residential appraiser and building inspector. By 1990, with 35 log homes completed and his company, Log Rhythms Inc. launched, log home design became his focus of attention. In 1998, Greg acquired Log Homes on the Internet (www.lohti.com), and now he divides his time equally between residential and Internet design projects. |
To read the full story on the 7th Annual Design Contest, check out the March 2005 issue of Log Home Living.
Story by Rachel Machacek Illustrations by Chris Darmon