A Unique Retirement Log Home in Oregon

By K.T. Anders Photography by P. Clayton Thompson Ah, retirement. For some, the "golden years" are a time to slow down and take it easy. For many, though, it's just a slight jump from "go-go-going" to work to "go-go-going" on trips. What better way to celebrate this freedom, thought California natives Terri and Byron Kirchart, than by hitting the road in their shiny new RV? They would leave behind their condo in congested Orange County and explore every landmark and park from coast to coast. That, however, was before they saw Sisters, Oregon. "We'd already bought the motor home, but I was in Portland for my job and we fell in love with Sisters," says Terri. "I like the outdoors and my husband and I love the log home idea." Once they found a wooded site there with gorgeous mountain views, it was settled. The Kircharts parked their RV and exchanged their cross-country travel plans for log home floorplans. Terri knew just what she wanted: something homey with a "mountain lodge" feel. "Something like the Waltons had on television," she says.

Design Ideas

Here are some of the unique design choices that turned the Kirchart's project into a truly unique home:

• Placing the kitchen, master bedroom and sewing room in the back of the house to enjoy the spectacular view.
• A guest room upstairs towards the front of the house to allow for privacy- and so noise wouldn't filter downstairs to the master bedroom.
• Incorporating four heating systems to keep the 4,000-square-foot log home warm.
• A mission style theme, which is reflected through angular furniture and clean-lined architecture.
• Creating a custom hardwood floor from a variety of woods?cherry, white and red oak, walnut, pine, and ash?in a random pattern.
• Using two different types of river rocks to face the 29-foot fireplace, which houses a double flue to accommodate the fireplace in the bedroom behind it.
• Root-based support logs for the staircase?as if trees are grown right inside the house.
• Carving bears and fish into the wood staircase.
• A handy mudroom connecting the house and the garage.