Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Log Home House Tour! Come on in!

 Normally our house is so overtaken by toys that I don't like people to just stop by.
However, this past weekend I hosted a brunch for new moms to twins, and after a solid twelve hours of cleaning (you know, the type of cleaning where you scrub floors by hand and clean light switches and window panes) I decided to take a few pictures.  I was positively giddy to have such a clean house, just for a day.  I even hid a good number of toys in closets (and outside!), and I felt like I had a grown up house for a short time. 
 I love our house.  Paul and I designed the floor plan ourselves.
It's small but feels so homey :-)

We also did some of the work ourselves - Paul built the countertops and we did all the painting and staining.

A view of the loft -

This is Pierce's room - and no, it's not normally this clean.  And I'm not sure his bed has ever been made before...

The twins' room -

A view inside the loft.
I'm a big reader!

Master bedroom -
 We also have a guest room but I didn't think to take a picture of it.
 Someone brought me this calla lily to the brunch.
Isn't it beautiful?
If I plant this outside is it one of those things that will come back next year?  Anyone know?
Well, by the time this post publishes, there will be piles of dog fur on the carpet and raisins smushed into the hardwoods again.  But it was so nice, just for a day, to feel a sparkling house.

55 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Lisa, Your log home is so welcoming. I love the loft with the bookshelves, especially.

Jenny @ Practically Perfect... said...

It's gorgeous! I love your home!

Chris said...

You have a lovely home Lisa.

How wonderful to live in a timber house. Just looks so warm.

Myya said...

Gorgeous absolutely GORGEOUS! I love the details. I especially love the beams that come together and look like a half circle... does that make sense?

My house only lasts for a few minutes too, oh how to bask in the awesomeness of it though!

That calla is beautiful, I've never seem one so vivid. As far as I know (which doesn't account for much in the plant world) callas fo come back ever year & the multiply too I think.

Jill said...

Lisa, your home is absolutely beautiful! I love everything about it. You and your husband did a great job. Thank you for sharing a another piece of your life with us. Yes, the cally lily will grow if planted outside.

Jeremi said...

i've always loved the log house look and yours is incredible!! the wood is beautiful.

i've hidden toys too : ) ha -- isn't it amazing that a totally clean house lasts such a short while with kids around?

i'm not sure on the calla lily ~

Cat said...

Your house looks beautiful. I don't know how you find time to do all that you do! I know your brunch was a huge success :-)

Unknown said...

I love your home! The color of the wood is beautiful.

Texan said...

Your home is so pretty! I love log cabins! It certainly doesn't seem small to me! I love small homes and if we ever build again, we are so going WAY smaller! Yours looks super you guys did a great job!

Michelle said...

What a gorgeous house! Love log homes and your floorplan is excellent.

Nancy said...

I'd love to fall asleep under those beams every night. I do my once-per-year cleaning around July 4th. I should have taken photos.

About the calla -- you'll need to dig the bulb every year if it's not hardy in your zone. Google it. :)

TexWisGirl said...

wow, lisa, it's beautiful!!! GORGEOUS woods! and i love all the windows and open-ness.

Sally said...

Love it!! It's a home well loved, and beautiful. I wish we lived closer, and could swap out books; it seems we both have tons!! :)

Have a wonderful day!!

Leontien said...

ohhh can i come live with you!!??? I love log homes!!!

Thanks for sharing
Leontien

Cami said...

WOW Lisa. Lets house swap for just a week. ;) Your house is gorgeous...absolutely gorgeous!! I bet you could rent it out for a week for a nice chunk of change!

That book shelf is incredible, too :) So many amazing books, I'm sure. Gorgeous flowers, too :)

Thanks for sharing a little piece of your life!

Happy Tuesday!

<3-Cami from Serendipitious Life

Chatty Crone said...

Oh my goodness Lisa - your 'grown up' home is gorgeous! I love the open look so much. Beautiful.

Samantha said...

LOVELY home..I'm crazy about it!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

HI Lisa, Thanks for showing us your gorgeous home.. I LOVE it... I especially like that 'open look'.. When we bought our home, one thing which 'sold' us on it was the large Great Room with 3 sliding doors which opened out onto a wrap around deck... The Great Room is a combo living/dining area... We loved that open feeling...


Thanks again. Your home is beautiful...
Hugs,
Betsy

warren said...

We are in the floor plan design stage of building a cabin of some sort on our land. Gosh it's a wild ride. Your place looks wonderful! I hope we can be so lucky!

camp and cottage living said...

I love seeing other cabin owners homes. Thank you for sharing. Don't feel bad about the toys. I don't have any children at home anymore but I've managed to replace toy clutter with craft clutter!!
I love your floor plan and all the custom touches you've added to your home. It's obvious it was built with a lot of thought and love.

Reena said...

Your home is lovely, Lisa, inside and how the outside comes in!

Unknown said...

Beautiful home...love all the books!

Mary said...

What a beautiful place! That loft looks so cool. A perfect place to read a book :)

Misty said...

i LOVE it! it's exceptional!

Unknown said...

hooray for a clean house if only for a moment! funny how it feels so much easier to breathe :) love the log cabin. our house is a cottagey wanna be version of one. ha!

Tanna said...

Your home is beautiful! (don't you wish it would stay clean after you work that hard? I wouldn't mind the cleaning so much, if it would last!) I have had calla lilies come back year after year. I'll bet you can enjoy it again. =) blessings ~ tanna

Betty Manousos said...

thanks for allowing us to see your beautiful house.

what a lovely loft!

hope your day is off to a great start!

betty

Maria said...

You have such a warm and inviting home!

Anonymous said...

So charming! I'm not a fan of wood, but you make it look great!

Sonya @ Under the Desert Sky said...

What a beautiful home! I love your reading/desk area!

Ginny Hartzler said...

Oh, I was just so excited to get this tour of your home, it is GREAT!!! there are so many log cabins around here, both real ones and the modern ones, too. I have a whole post to do on them. Your house is spacious, bigger than ours. And I love that big deck!!! And the huge tall ceilings!! How do you come to know so many other moms with twins? Do you have some kind of support group or something?

Anonymous said...

I love your house, it's awesome! Can I move in? I want to live in the loft.

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh, your bookshelf! I love it!!!

Lex the mom said...

That is one gorgeous home! Thank you for inviting us in! I love wood but the husband isn't crazy about it.

Calla lilies are a perennial plant, they do come back every year & even multiply, but you have to be in a warmer zone. I just found this info http://www.callalilyshop.pacificcallas.com/planting.htm.

I'm not sure what zone you're in, but if it were me, I'd keep them in a planter & bring them in for the winter months. They are too beautiful to lose. ;)

Sweet Virginia Breeze said...

Love your home! I wish I had an area like your loft where I could store all my books.

Cyndy Bush said...

What a beautiful home! I love it.

Angela said...

I love your house! You and Paul did a great job designing it! We designed our house too! It's a colonial. I would love to have a grown up clean house for more than a day! I can't seem to get it done anymore. I have in the past but not lately. Everyone tells me that I'll miss the legos on the floor and in my shower but I'm not sure about that! lol

Have a Great Day!
Angela

Alicia@ eco friendly homemaking said...

Your home is just awesome! I really like your master bedroom and how impressive that you all designed it and did so much of the work. What a labor of love. It turned out so beautifully!

Grumpy Grateful Mom said...

Oh my goodness! I love your home too! It's beautiful and so homey. I have always loved that log cabin feel and I'm much happier when my home is clean too...I'm looking at my living room now...hmph.

Chicken Wrangler said...

You have a lovely home!

My Mad World said...

I have always loved your house!! It was nice to get to see a little more of it. My husband and I both are dreaming of a log house for our 'final' home. lol

You did a great job designing it and with all that hard work on painting and staining. Beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Your home has always looked beautiful and organized when we visit. Just think, you and Paul created this wonderful home from a stack of logs and an empty piece of ground. We are proud of you two. Carol

Liz Mays said...

Your house is beautiful and so full of coziness. :)

I love walking around just staring at my home when it's completely clean. Hmmmmm....wonder when the last time that happened was....

MMAR said...

WOW!! what a beautiful home!! Love it!

Doris Sturm said...

What a lovely home you have, Lisa! It feels like a vacation home - just wonderful and cozy! It must be so much fun living there p especially with the dog fur and raisins ;-)

I've never seen a purple Calla lily before! All I know is that they are very hardy. I had one die all the way back because I didn't take it inside during the winter (I live in South GA where it does not snow) and it came back, bigger and greener than ever...Mine's full of blooms right now - it loves it in the pot on the front porch in partial shade. I don't have enough room inside the house, or else it could live in here! Mine is white!

I enjoyed the tour of your lovely home :-) Thank you!

Doris and Gizzy!

p.s. here's a Calla Lily Guide if you're interested:
http://callalilyguide.com/calla_lily_care.html

le Chef said...

I have always adored log homes, and yours is beautiful. I've given up on having that pristine home until after the kids leave. Even as teens we get all sorts of stuff squished into the floors.
Enjoy every second of living there!

Jen said...

Wow! Your home is gorgeous!! I love it!! I wish my house could stay clean for longer than an hour.

Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan Too said...

I love your house! All those books are the best!!!

Joy @ Joy Of Desserts said...

You have a beautiful log home which you can be proud of. It looks cozy and inviting.
If you have roots, yes, you can plant it. They like shade and part shade (at least here in hot So. Cal.), but some varieties are temperamental and don't have leaves/flowers every year. They'll go dormant and you'll think they are dead, but will come back the following year. They are extremely hardy. Mine take the 120 degree heat in the summer and below freezing nights in the winter. One of our friends in Nor. Cal. has white ones and they grow and grow and grow like weeds and flower each year.

Essential Mama Baby said...

Wow, what a beautiful house you have! And it really looks very neat!
I have only one daughter and my house is always covered with toys. I can only imagine how is like when you have 3 boys!
Stopping by from Blog Frog( "Let's follow each other" discussion) and following you!

Bonnie K said...

We too have a log home that we designed to fit our needs and worked on ourselves. It is a good feeling isn't it? I love your cabin! The colors and the floorplan are perfect. I appreciate the tour. Your blog is wonderful. Thanks for stopping by mine.

GardenOfDaisies said...

Your log home is gorgeous! I love that wall of bookcases!

Mike Okuley said...

Hi Lisa and family!

Your Jim Barna Log Home is what we would like all of our log homes to be, a place full of love and fun!

I was delighted to talk with Paul this week regarding some questions he had, and I hope I was able to assist.

As the Virginia representative of Jim Barna Log & Timber Homes, I would be delighted to assist any of your "bloggers" with their own authentic, log home. They may contact me at mike@pineycreekfarm.com or by phone at 540-586-7272. Our website is www.pineycreekfarm.com.

Blessings to you all.

Mike Okuley

Debby@Just Breathe said...

Love it! Thank you for telling me about the tour. I have dreamed about living in a log cabin most of my life. You are blessed. Do we retire at the beach or in the mountains. Wouldn't it be nice to do both!

Unknown said...

Do log homes get more dirty than normal ones? Or were you just being especially thorough?