A New Style for an Arkansas Log Home

A 20-year-old home imports an English accent to Arkansas.

Terry and Jan Price added 3,000 square feet to their home,
primarily by enlarging the primary bedroom and including a sunroom off it. The new part added symmetry to the original L-shape, and they were able to find 6-inch logs that matched the originals.

Written by Roland Sweet

Photography by Roger Wade

Styling by Debra Grahl

Not long after Terry and Jan Price moved into their new Arkansas log home, Terry was transferred to England. The couple spent 12 years abroad but held on to their stateside home.

“We had opportunities to sell it,” Jan says, “but we felt we just wanted to keep it for when we came back. When we did, it was like we had been here all along.”

Even so, they brought fond memories of their time in England and wanted to incorporate reminders into their Arkansas home, as well as upgrade the structure itself to reflect how they now wanted to live.

They undertook a major transformation. It began with an addition. The Prices had built their five-bedroom Arkansas log home in 1995, using milled, 6-inch cedar logs. They loved the wood so much that they applied log siding to framed partition walls to provide a full-log look throughout.

They even added character logs for more wood. After they moved in, Terry, an avid gardener, addressed the landscape, including building a pond to enhance the view of their 28 wooded acres.

While they were in England, their son Kirk, who lives in a log home next door, cared for the place. The Prices visited summers and at Christmas, when their entire family would gather at the log home to celebrate.

After their overseas stint ended, Jan and Terry returned with a new vision for their Arkansas log home. It included enlarging the master suite and attaching a sunroom. The couple also added new doors and windows.

“We did a lot of things that were cosmetic, that just needed to change with the times,” Jan says, noting, “We did nothing to the house while we were away except to keep it maintained.”

The Wisconsin company that provided the original logs had long ago gone out of business, but the Prices found a perfect match for the addition from Satterwhite Log Homes in nearby Longview, Texas. Specialty builder Brooks Montgomery of Rogers, Arkansas, was able to match the new to the old seamlessly.

Altogether, the home gained about 3,000 square feet. With more room to furnish, Jan and Terry set about updating the Country-style interior. While abroad, they had acquired furniture with their log home in mind. Much of it was custom-made. A standout example is an elaborate baronial bed, which they had hand-carved in Romania.

They returned to Arkansas with two shipping containers filled with furnishings to replace most of their existing items. “It put a whole new look on the house,” Jan points out. “It’s kind of an Old World look now. We figured we could make it work because there’s so much about the rustic look that ties in to Old European.” The Prices also repainted and antiqued kitchen

The Prices also repainted and antiqued kitchen cabinets, attached new hardware and installed new countertops. They replaced a reproduction vintage stove from the House of Webster with an Aga cooker like one Jan enjoyed using in England. It fits perfectly with the new kitchen look. Terry’s extensive landscaping centers on an English-style garden, which thrives in the Southern climate.

“He tried to design it according to some of the gardens we had in England to put a different flavor on an Arkansas home,” Jan says. “He made it look like we’ve lived here forever.”

Colorful plantings add vibrancy to the setting. That sense also pervades the interior, where Jan confidently added bolder splashes of red, especially for upholstery in the great room.

“It really warms up the room,” she says. “We’ve had people visit who’ve never seen the inside of a log home, and they say it just looks so cozy.”

As different as their furnishings might seem for a log home, the Prices made one concession to convention. They replaced their great room lighting fixture with an antler chandelier, to reflect Terry’s fondness for rustic touches and to tie in with the caribou mount that now graces their Arkansas stone fireplace. Jan and Terry were more than satisfied with their log home before they left for England. Their tastes evolved, however, and their home reflects that change.

“We loved England and we love this home,” Jan says. “That’s why we decided, why not bring part of that to this house. The look is timeless.”