As a young couple in their 30s, Phil and Ashley DeAngelo know they’re in a rare age bracket when it comes to log home ownership. Yet once they decided to build a home together, they knew no other material or method would do.
“It just felt right for how we were growing as people,” says Phil. “A log home is strong and stable, old-school and built to last. It’s a place that fits when you are settled and rock solid in your life and beliefs.”
With their sights set on the future, they began exploring the possibilities, using a variety of resources. “It was this magazine where we first saw the McKay plan by Hochstetler Log Homes, and we just fell in love,” Phil recalls. “I called Hochstetler, and they quoted me a number, but I said there is no way we can pull that off.” However, doubt quickly turned into determination. “We began learning about finances, buying rentals and started a company,” Phil explains. “It wasn’t a question of ‘if’ at that point, but rather, ‘We have to figure out how to get there.’”
Success didn’t come overnight. Getting from dream to move-in day took seven years, filled with ups and downs. One of the highs was working with Joseph Hochstetler during the design process. “We had some non-negotiables: Ashley’s was the loft, and mine was the two dormers with the big window wall,” Phil explains. As a truck driver by trade, Phil had plenty of time to think through their vision. “We would talk while I was driving, and she would draw it out on a napkin, then we would add to it,” he says.
Joseph shares a few more of the alterations the couple made to the McKay: “They modernized the style a bit, adding gable ends on one side to bring in more light and create an open, spacious feeling.”
They also shifted the floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace to the center of the wall so that it could be enjoyed from every vantage point in the shared common areas. Next, they swapped the location of the two guest bedrooms in the loft with the main-floor primary suite. “Being a younger couple, they wanted their primary suite upstairs, so they could have their own space to get away and relax,” Joseph explains.
Lastly, the couple expanded their square footage while staying within budget by adding a basement with a spacious mudroom, laundry room and workshop. “Hochstetler pulled off our design perfectly — absolutely perfectly,” says Phil.
Of course, every building journey has its challenges. After a hiccup with their initial contractor, the couple found themselves frantically searching for a new builder. “We were in the middle of a blizzard, and our house was filling with snow; all our materials were sitting in the mud. It was tough,” Phil recalls.
But Hochstetler came to the rescue when Joseph recommended a relative to finish the job. “I called up this guy named William, and he said, ‘I’ll be there tomorrow,’” Phil recalls. “He finished the house with his son and a helper within three months.”
It was a happy turn of events, but far from the best part of the story.
“We had talked through our future and hadn’t planned on having children,” Phil explains. “But we looked at everything and said, ‘What are we doing all this for … building this house?’”
Within three months of move-in day, they welcomed their daughter, Giovanna, into their new log home. Fittingly, the first people to meet her were William and his son. “They were staining the logs when we arrived home from the hospital,” recalls Ashley.
Now, Phil has a new goal in sight: continuing the DeAngelo tradition of log home living for his daughter. “I’ll be doing this whole process again for her when she is 20 years old,” he says with a laugh. “She just doesn’t know it yet.”
Home Details
Square footage: 2,800 (including basement)
Bedrooms: 4
Baths: 3
Log Provider/Designer: Hochstetler Log Homes
