The Riley Home
Log cabin in Mayfield, Ky., is once-in-a-lifetime project for long-married coupleBy Claudia Johnson, Director of Marketing, Honest Abe Log Homes
Building a home is a once-in-a-marriage deal, according to Lucinda Riley, who along with husband Richard completed their Honest Abe log home last year.
“Richard and I always had a dream of living in a log home,” Lucinda said. “We had lived in a nice conventional home for 30 +/- years. There was never a discussion of building a conventional home. It was either stay in the home we had always lived in or build a log home.”
To learn more about log home construction, the Rileys attended an Honest Abe Log Raising in 2012.
“We loved everything we were shown,” Lucinda recalled. “Darlene Dawson was the first person to call us and help us get the ball rolling. I guess it was Darlene’s enthusiasm that helped us to choose Bear’s Den and Honest Abe Log Homes.”
Lucinda said she and Richard looked at and “played with” different house designs for many years before they actually met with Darlene Dawson and husband Rodger, owners of Bear’s Den Log Homes.
“I kept coming back to the one we settled on as my base foundation and reworked the floor plan to suit our lifestyle,” Lucinda said. “It is just funny how it works out, but we both agreed on the log style and pretty much everything else that we picked out. Our tastes are very similar.”
The Dawsons traveled to Mayfield, Ky., where the Rileys’ new log home was to be located within two miles of the couple’s existing home.
“It was like being with someone I had known for many years from the first time we met Richard and Lucinda and sat at their kitchen table talking about their vision, their dream,” Darlene said. “Honest Abe designer Melissa Copas worked with the Rileys and Bear’s Den to draft custom plans, finally putting their dream to paper.”
To build the 2,945 square foot, 8×8 D-log home the Rileys chose Glenn and Kenny Perrin of H.H. Log Sales, who, like the Dawsons, are Honest Abe Independent Dealers.
“I cannot put into words what a special group of men built this home,” Darlene said, explaining that Richard Riley also worked on construction and finish. “This home was a labor of love. It is different; it’s a home that has created special memories from the first shovel of earth.”
Although construction could not begin until a 1960s-style house was demolished and a number of trees were cleared, Lucinda has positive memories of the actual building process.
“I think we would rate our construction experience very high,” she said. “Glenn Perrin and his crew allowed us to be a part of every aspect of the construction of our log home. They seemed to truly care about our thoughts and wishes. We would (and do) recommend them to anyone considering building a log home and can’t say enough good about Glenn, Kenny and crew!”
Darlene expressed equally strong feelings about Bear’s Den’s collaboration with H. H. Log Sales in creating the Riley’s home.
“Glenn was my rock, my thinker and a special person that has touched my life forever,” said Darlene, who praised all of Perrin’s work on the project, specifically pointing out the intricate gable customizations that give the house its distinctive look. “The Rileys chose a combination heavy timber and conventional roof system with 8” round porch posts, and Glenn customized the web trusses on the gable porch lines.”
With three bedrooms and two and a half baths, the house features rich, solid walnut trim and doors throughout. Local craftsmen created the cabinetry and flooring, and the Rileys completed some of the finish work themselves.
Click the picture above to scroll through a tour of the Riley Home.
Click here for more photos.
“If I had it to do over, yes, we would still make the same choices that we did,” Lucinda said. “There are a few things as far as design goes that I would have changed, but it is hard to think about everything until you live in the home.”
“We farm,” Lucinda said. “Richard comes home very dirty! I wanted him to be able to enter through the garage into the utility room, strip off his dirty clothes and walk right into the shower. I also wanted our closet to be close to or a part of the utility room. This keeps him from tracking tons of dirt all over the house.”
Lucinda may not want the dirt in the house, but there’s no denying she and Richard are proud to be among the generations who’ve farmed the land covered by it. The log home they’d imagined for a lifetime is only a couple of miles from Richard’s parents, and all three of the Riley children make their homes within five miles. Last summer their daughter was married on the porch, and the home is often filled with the laughter of grandchildren.
“Lucinda and Richard had vision of a home that would create new family memories, and they have started that vision,” Darlene said. “The Rileys are wonderful people, I’ve been blessed that God let us cross paths.”
