A Lakefront Log Home in Northern Wisconsin

A lakeside log home in Wisconsin takes decor inspiration from the Adirondacks.

Master_Bedroom.New_11868_2024-02-08_09-20

Twig railings highlight the entry balcony. The home mixes vertical logs salvaged from the property with other wood.

Photos by Lori Woldt

Melanie Rummel recalls childhood summers at her grandparents’ home on Wisconsin’s Lake Katherine were a magical time. After she and Mike were married, they wanted to re-create this experience for their children. They bought 10 acres with 400 feet of frontage on White Sand Lake and began planning their own log cabin retreat. “We wanted a very classic, traditional Adirondack style reminiscent of the lodges built in the early 1900s,” Melanie says. “The home had to have character and the appearance that it had been added onto over time.”

To better acquaint herself with the Adirondack style, Melanie studied the works of rustic-furnishings authority Ralph Kylloe, notably his book Adirondack Home. To firm up the look, the Rummels hired Sobek Architects. “Melanie and Mike had a vision and were very focused,” draftsman Marc Leveque explains. “This was important since the Adirondack-style can be a bit elusive, as it has a minimal formal orientation, and its continuity is in its non-continuity,”

Gary Sobek designed the two-story home with walkout basement to have a long, narrow footprint so almost every room had a view of the lake. Melanie decided the one room on the forest side would be the master bedroom. “I spend more waking hours working in our home office than I do in the bedroom,” she points out. “It only made sense the office would have the better view.”

The exterior was to have several different finishes, including chinked rustic half-log siding with knots, board-and-batten and hand-hewn cedar shake shingles. These were applied to a conventionally built structure, creating the illusion the home had been built in stages. The interior would be drywall with vertical log accents.

When Log Home Supply delivered the logs, they were too uniform. “Melanie came to us and explained she wanted something more authentic looking,” co-owner Ron Stezenski recalls. “She pointed to a stand of trees and explained they were the size and rustic shapes she wanted. We cut the white pine, bark-on logs to her specifications and delivered them to the site.”

Once there, the 10-inch logs were split in two. One half was used as a portion of the exterior siding; the other half was installed in the walkout basement.

As the Rummels began interviewing builders, it became apparent most of them didn’t grasp what the couple was trying to accomplish. “They seemed to be determined to use a uniform, milled log,” Melanie says. “Then we met Steve Stehr. I explained to him the essence of the project, and he began offering suggestions. That is when we realized Steve got it. He could help us bring this vision to reality.”

And he did, assisted by talented craftspeople from the area. “The home really pays homage to my experiences growing up spending the summers in northern Wisconsin,” Melanie says. “I feel a great sense of pride in being able to pull this project together and create a true period home.”