How a Contemporary Log Home Pulls Off Classic Cabin Style

Timeless details and a streamlined design combine with the warmth of this enduring all-wood home.

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Hammerbeam trusses with a king post are centered over the entryway and are the only elaborate truss found in the home. Stone pillars stand sentinel at the front, defining the extensive covered porch. A mudroom connects the garage to the main home.

Written by Karen Marley

Photography by Kris Miller

When Keith and Linda Gaspari began the home design process with Hochstetler Log Homes, they were presented with a choice: Did they prefer a timber frame with stylish trusses or a simpler cabin-style structure? For them, the decision was obvious.

“We always wanted a log cabin in the woods,” Linda says.

What ensued was the construction of a woodland dwelling that looks every inch of its log cabin heritage. Stone wrapped pillars? Check. Distinct timelessness of a green metal roof contrasting with the toasty hues of a kiln dried, white pine log exterior? Check. A natural wood interior highlighted with rustic features? Double check.

As if plucked from an archetype vision of a sumptuous, classic post-and-beam log home, Keith and Linda’s 3,055-square-foot residence is built on a tradition of form, function and love of wood — the trifecta of cabin perfection.

“Post-and-beam is a more straightforward form of construction,” sales and design consultant, Doug Coen of Hochstetler Log Homes, says. “It relies on a simplistic formula of ridge beams, rafters, wall ties and a solid wall system.”

Except for a hammerbeam truss detail centered over a generous front porch, the cabin has no ornamental joinery or trusses. Every timber is structural for an efficient use of wood. The main girder system is constructed of 8-by-4-inch Douglas fir, free-of-heart center beams spaced 4 feet apart.

The home’s aesthetic is its structural pureness, an honest presentation of natural beauty, durability and elegance. Most of the interior walls are built from white pine boards, while machine milled D-logs add dimension to the laundry and half bath. All have a natural stain emphasizing the wood’s inherent qualities. And in this cabin, wood reigns supreme. There’s not a speck of drywall to be found, and hardwood floors run throughout the entire home with hickory featured on the lower level and white pine in the loft.

“Everything is stained the same shade, but different reflections in the varying wood species make some parts appear darker than others,” Linda says.

All that wood contributes to efficient temperature regulation. For Keith and Linda, the woodland setting was prioritized over orienting the home to maximize passive solar heat. Even more shade is added with the exterior overhangs and three covered poured-concrete porches: one along the home’s front facade, one off the master bedroom and another next to the dining area. Yet, the house stays toasty. The exterior siding is constructed with Hochstetler’s tongue-and-groove system with two gaskets between each log to seal it tight.

Linda exclaims, “The wind can blow 50 miles per hour, and you don’t even know it unless you look outside!”

The cabin feels cozy even with volumes of open space. Think of an old-style log cabin with contemporary concepts. The roughly 10-by-12-foot entry introduces the great room, a vast space hovering around 520 square feet with additional areas off the side for the kitchen and dining area. On the opposite side is the entry to the first-floor master suite. The great room’s vast vaulted ceiling culminates 22 feet overhead at the peak ridge beam. The floor-to-ceiling fireplace, built with Eldorado manufactured stone in rough-cut “Autumn Leaf” (matching the exterior pillars), adds the essential cabin style. Renewal by Andersen windows frame the fireplace while showcasing the forest’s beauty.

A proper cabin has a loft, and this one opens to the great room below. Full-log railing and spindles add rustic touches. The loft area provides an open flex space, two more bedrooms and a bathroom, which are also under a vaulted ceiling ranging from about 8 feet at its lowest point to over 12 feet at its highest.

Traditional style with contemporary functionality also describes Linda’s decor preferences. She selected fixtures and lighting with traditional appeal, like the Tiffany-style glass lamp in the living room and clawfoot bathtub in the master bathroom. In the great room, leather furniture and frontier artwork complete the look.

The kitchen boasts custom cupboards built by local Amish craftsman and painted thyme green for a soothing color contrast. “My husband wanted natural wood cupboards, but I insisted on green. He loves them now,” Linda says.

However, Keith did get his way with stained knotty alder for the bathroom cabinets and kitchen island. The granite countertops — a conglomeration of blacks, browns and tans — elegantly capture the home’s spectrum of wood colors in the stone.

“Keith and Linda were driven by their love for a log home,” Doug says, “and this is one of the most beautiful homes I’ve seen.”