The Log Home Floor Plan Blog

Their name may be “mud,” but mud rooms should not be dismissed like the dirt beneath your feet.  When planning a new log or timber home, including a mud room may turn out to be one of your smartest design decisions.  Here are some things to consider when planning your mud room:

Placement.  Yes, your mud room should be adjacent to a well used, informal entryway, but what if you have more than one of those?  If a walk-out basement is part of your log home plan, consider a mud room on the lower level in addition to one on the main floor.

Plumbing.  If your mud room shares a wall with the kitchen or laundry room, incorporating a small bathroom - or at least a sink - is a great way to ensure that dirt, pollen, and irritants like poison ivy are left at the door.  Accessible plumbing also facilitates perks like a dog washing station or potting area.

Flooring.  Perhaps the most important finish choice for a mud room is the flooring.  Durable and easy-to-clean should be your floor-shopping mantra, and eschew any material that becomes slippery when wet.  Rubber flooring is a great choice for mud rooms, and some homeowners swear by indoor-outdoor carpet.  In a rustic log home or log cabin, natural stone or matte-finish tile are serviceable choices that may also fit the home’s décor.  If your mud room will use the same highly polished wood or tile as the kitchen, consider a rubber anti-fatigue mat to keep the area slip-free.

Seating.  A place to sit down and take off boots is a must.  A bench is a great solution and can do double duty if there’s room underneath to keep those boots out of the way.

Storage.  A combination of open and closed storage spaces allow easy access to shoes, for example, while providing a hiding place for seasonal items behind closed doors.  Lockers or open cubbies are popular storage choices that allow each family member to have his or her own space.  Wall-mounted hooks are great for frequently used items that need to be grabbed on the run.

Schedules.  Since the mud room usually serves as a family’s main entrance to the house, it’s a great place to keep the calendar.  A bulletin board or white board is also a great way to keep everyone “in the loop” as they come and go.

The mud room may turn out to be the most-used - and hardest working - area in the house, so a little advanced planning will pay off in the long run.

PrecisionCraft’s custom log homes can be found all over the United States, in Canada and abroad. From a rustic log cabin home in Pennsylvania to an impressive timber frame home in Colorado, PrecisionCraft’s experience extends beyond high quality products and award-winning designs; these beautiful homes can be found across the United States amid majestic ridge-lines, lively lakes, and rolling foothills.  PrecisionCraft’s clients greatly value the company’s depth and range of experience. Learn more about PrecisionCraft’s experience designing and building log homes below:

Custom Homes Video: View this log home video highlighting eight of PrecisionCraft’s unique homes. From a spacious, timber frame home in California to a modern log home retreat amid West Virginia’s rolling foothills, this video gives you the opportunity to explore why PrecisionCraft is an award-winning log home company. Watch other log home videos in PrecisionCraft’s Log Homes Video Center.

Custom Homes Map: This map highlights PrecisionCraft’s homes across the United States. Every red dot is a custom PrecisionCraft custom home!

Log Homes by State: Explore PrecisionCraft’s experience statewide. Although every state page is not yet available, we are working to showcase our log home experience in your area! These state pages were just added this week:

• Building Log Homes in New Jersey: With rolling foothills, splendid mountain views and glacier carved lakes, New Jersey’s countryside is a natural attraction for second homes.
• Log & Timber Frame in Pennsylvania & New York: Explore the quiet countryside of Pennsylvania and New York for your mountain home retreat.

Also, get a glimpse of PrecisionCraft’s design, manufacturing and build experience in these great locations:

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Idaho
• Maine
• Montana
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wyoming

View these state pages, Canada and more at: http://www.precisioncraft.com/regions.html.

Mountain Architects, PrecisionCraft’s design arm, announces the release of a new home design. Using the French countryside as inspiration, PrecisionCraft’s talented team of architects combine hipped roofs (also known as French Hips), narrow overhangs, delicate stonework and a mix of uniquely shaped windows, creating a one-of-a-kind design.

Log Home Floor Plan with Custom Timber Frame Accents

Together, square logs, stately timber frame and stone walls create a dramatic entry. While the exterior speaks to the casual, romantic charm of traditional countryside estates, the layout is open and inviting. Get more information and explore the Chaumont’s floor plan at http://www.precisioncraft.com/loghomeplans/FrenchCountry/Chaumont.html. After viewing the Chaumont design, discover more than 100 design variations at the Log Home Plans Gallery.

Log Home Living announces the winners of its 12th annual Floor Plan Design competition. See all the winners in the April 2010 issue (now on newsstands).

PrecisionCraft’s Montclaire floor plan is named winner in the “Over 4,000 Sq. Ft. Category.”

“Expansive, Yet Inviting. The Montclaire plan is about more than mere size. Rather than allow the space to wander, the plan staggers and compartmentalizes rooms effectively, leaving openness where it makes sense but providing several semi-secluded niche rooms to optimize the use of the home. Highlights are the hearth room adjoining the kitchen and the sitting area of the master suite, with its own fireplace. The covered patio, also with a fireplace, is the kind of touch that enriches a larger home. In addition, the home presents a thoroughly modern look by integrating square-log walls, custom timber frame elements, eye catching stonework and shingle siding to create a balance that prevents any one building element from overwhelming.” ~Log Home Living, April 2010

2010 Design Winner: Log Home Plan | Montclaire Custom Wood Home

PrecisionCraft’s custom designed home in Government Camp, Oregon is named winner in the “Energy-Efficient Design” Category.

“Livability, plus Sustainability. Submitted for LEED’s Platinum certification, the Ryan Home plan reveals the ability to design and build a full-log home that is both energy efficient and full of distinctive character and style. The rooms are grouped sensibly around the core great room, but extras like the den and bar accommodate the owner’s lifestyle. Among the green design features are extra-large roof overhangs and windows designed to let in the sun during winter and keep out the high summer sun. In addition, the home takes advantage of tight-fitting log connections and a building system that incorporates structural insulated roof panels to achieve an R-value of 52.” ~Log Home Living, April 2010

2010 Design Winner: Custom Log Home Design | Mountain Style Home

A North Carolina couple falls in love with PrecisionCraft’s award-winning Crested Butte floor plan. Modified to fit their land and architectural style, this handcrafted log home meets their every need. A true second home retreat.

Crested Butte Floor Plan | Modified with Handcrafted Logs

Mountain Architects - Custom Mountain Homes

Custom Designed Handcrafted Log Home | North Carolina

Waterfront Log Home with Expansive Great Room Windows

Reminiscent of the old-style cabins of our American forefathers, this Appalachian style home features beaver tooth corners, long, covered porches, warm hued stone and rustic, metal roofing. Based on the Blue Ridge floor plan, this home is a stunning mountain home retreat in Colorado. Traveling to every client’s build site, PrecisionCraft’s professional stacking crew installs the log and timber structure on the foundation. From fabrication to installation, PrecisionCraft ensures top quality and excellent structural engineering value.

Blue Ridge Log Home Plan | A Custom Log Home Design by PrecisionCraft

Appalachian Log Home in Colorado | Luxury Living & Log Homes

A Mountain House Designed by PrecisionCraft Log Homes

Many people spend years searching hundreds of different log home & timber frame floor plans; ones that showcase a specific style, layout, or size. For this Idaho couple, their search focused on finding a floor plan that would complement their build location.

In their pursuit for a floor plan that would highlight their one-of-a-kind view, Kelly and Marie fell in love with Mountain Architects’ Laurette Chateau timber frame home plan. The couple felt that the massive timber window “framed their view like a picture” while the large wraparound deck and multiple patios made outdoor living easy. See pictures of this finished timber frame home below:

Timber Frame House | Inspired by the Laurette Chateau Plan

~Custom timber frame home design by Mountain Architects

Custom Timber Frame Bar with Steel-Brushed Barn Wood

~Distinguished mountain architecture & design

Timber Frame Great Room: Custom Timber Frame Trusses

~State-of-the-art log & timber manufacturing techniques ensure top structural value for your home.

Timber Frame Home Designed for a Beautiful, Mountain View

~Learn more about the custom log home design process.

For a limited time only, log home enthusiasts can explore the custom design process before they commit to building their log home! Mountain Architects, the log home industry’s most renowned architectural firm is giving their “clients-to-be” the opportunity to consult with an expert designer before making a commitment to build. Learn about the home design process and get a sneak peak at what your home will look like. For more information, call 800-729-1320 or visit Complimentary Design Consultation.

Recently, Homebuyer Publications, publisher of Log Home Living magazine contacted Jim Young, President of PrecisionCraft Log Homes & Timber Frame for his advice to future log home owners on buying land.  This interview, packed full of good land buying tips, is featured in Log Home Living’s 2010 Annual Buyer’s Guide.  Get the uncut interview at www.LogHomeBlog.com.

Rustic Handcrafted Log Home in Idaho

Log home enthusiasts worldwide will love PrecisionCraft’s final Inspired Living story.  With a 360 degree view of the Lemhi Range, access to Idaho’s finest rivers and headwaters, and a style reminiscent of an old mining town, this handcrafted log cabin home blends modern design with true rustic living!

Over the past few months, PrecisionCraft has presented its Inspired Living stories, real life examples of clients turning Mountain Architects’ design concepts into extraordinary log homes. This month, PrecisionCraft takes you on a tour of its final Inspired Living home, a beautiful handcrafted log cabin home nestled in the Lemhi Range just outside Mackay, Idaho. Get the full story behind this rustic log cabin home.

Find more design inspiration in PrecisionCraft’s award winning Log Home Plans Gallery.  Here you will find PrecisionCraft’s featured Client Variations; examples of how their clients have taken a Mountain Architects’ plan and customized it to make it their own.  Now that’s Inspired Living!    

Learn more about building log homes in Idaho or view a map of PrecisionCraft’s homes!

Last month, PrecisionCraft announced its new Inspired Living feature sharing real life stories of how Mountain Architects’ new design creations come to life.  This month, the award winning team shows how one log home plan, the award-winning Woodhaven, inspired three separate couples to build their dream homes; each customized to match a different lifestyle, architectural taste and budget. 

Read the full Inspired Living story and try out PrecisionCraft’s customized Comparison Tool to see side by side comparisons (photos and floor plans) of each featured home. 

This Inspired Living feature begins with an Idaho couple, Sandy and Dennis.  For years, this couple dreamed of building a log home.  But, it wasn’t until they found PrecisionCraft’s Woodhaven plan that they knew it was time to make that dream a reality.  And, with children, grandchildren & a large extended family living within driving distance, they knew their home’s design had to fit their specific, family-centered needs.

Then there is Carol’s story.  Inspired by the same Woodhaven floor plan, Carol worked with Mountain Architects, PrecisionCraft’s design firm, to design a home that combined the rustic look and feel of a traditional log home but with a modern twist.  From a restaurant style kitchen with moveable pieces, easy-to-clean cement floors, and a lower level designed to host parties and entertain guests, every room in her home has an underlying purpose.

Lastly, there is Dave and Penny.  This couple wanted a home that would stand out; an authentic, handcrafted log home.  Dave and Penny worked with their designer to customize the Woodhaven, room by room, paying close attention to how the logs came together and where stone accents were incorporated. 

With an inspiring floor plan and PrecisionCraft’s skilled team of architects, engineers, log & timber manufacturers and builders, each couple started at the same place but ended up with a one-of-a-kind log home, specifically designed to match their own architectural style and budget.

“This is the kind of thing our clients want to see, says Mountain Architects’ lead designer, Matt Franklin.  “Real life examples of how their designer can modify a floor plan to match their needs, from simply altering its layout and size to integrating a completely unique combination of log and timber.”