April 2018 Edition
Childhood Memory Inspires a Log Lodge on Illinois Family Farm
Heritage Lodge emerged from a memory.
“As a child and teen, each summer I attended church camp at a nearby rustic lodge,” said Heritage Lodge owner Jill Peter. “That experience translated to the desire for the rustic look and feel of a log lodge of my own. And I knew I didn’t want to build just any house on my farm.”
As a longtime subscriber to log home magazines, Jill knew what she wanted her log lodge to look like. She even had specific ideas about the floor plan. She just wasn’t sure who was going to help translate her childhood memories into the structure of her dreams until she met Honest Abe Log Home Dealers Mike and Tonia Coulter, owners of T&M Log Homes, at a 2015 log home show in Kansas City, Missouri.
“My son and I talked to several dealers about logs, plans, building systems, etc., but Mike and Tonia seemed to know just what we wanted, and we felt an instant connection to them,” Jill recalled. “Then we discovered that Tonia’s family and our family are in the same business, and my husband, Mark, knows her family well.”
Jill said the Coulters were “great to work with,” and it wasn’t long until they helped Jill customize Honest Abe’s Bellewood plan into a 3,750 two-story house with a full finished basement.
“Some modifications to the Bellewood included shed dormers, a wrap around porch and the angled 1,000-square-foot garage attached to the house by a laundry room,” Jill said, adding that because the lodge would be available to rent for overnight lodging, a bathroom was added to each of the five bedrooms.
To make the lodge even more inviting to guests, the main floor has an open floor plan, three of the bathrooms have walk-in showers, and the 1,016-square-foot upstairs loft features a roomy reading and conversation area with virtually unobstructed views of the Illinois countryside.
The Peter family built a custom lodge designed and manufactured by Honest Abe Log Homes. Heritage Lodge is enjoyed by the owners and also rented as a retreat, hunting lodge or family vacation home.
Sizing down to a home between 1,100 and 1,600 square feet can be an exciting time with the right home design, a little preplanning and a lot of imagination.
For many the decision to build a log home was made years before they actually began the process to make a long-held dream a lifetime reality.
See why the owners of Heritage Lodge, their personal guests, hunting parties and rental lodgers find this rural Illinois retreat so appealing.
You’re Invited to Our Honest Abe Events
Our free log raisings, home tours, open houses are opportunities throughout the year to learn more about log and timber frame homes.
The Bellewood Plan
Honest Abe’s Bellewood plan has been modified fo create houses of all sizes. This plan was used as the basis of Heritage Lodge, which is featured in this issue. Click the photo above to enlarge the plan, and explore a gallery of photos at of another family’s interpretation of the Bellewood plan here…
Bacon and Gorgonzola Cornbread Sliders with Chipotle Mayo
Create a delicious, hearty meal using Lodge Cast Iron products.
Log Home Tour, Log Raising, Barn Sale & more!
There’s a lot going on in May in the small community of Moss, Tennessee, where Honest Abe is headquartered. Mark your calendars now so you won’t miss May in Moss!
Tour this new 10″ round log home.
