Making the Cabin Our Own
by Donna Newton
My husband, Larry, used to build little cabins as a boy. We have several small cabins on the farm that he has built over the years. So he has always wanted a log home. I have always loved log homes as well.
Our 72-acre farm is In Hancock County Kentucky, just a few miles from Cloverport, my home town in Breckinridge County.
Our cabin is a modified version of the Livingston floor plan of Honest Abe Log Homes. It’s 2,062 square feet, including loft area and upstairs bedrooms and bath. Our plan was to downsize to a smaller home. That didn’t exactly happen.
After completing construction of the cabin shell from Honest Abe, we acted as our own contractor. We had the electric, plumbing, insulation and HVAC all done by different professionals.
We did all the sanding, staining and sealing of all the interior walls and ceilings, as well as all the hanging of each ceiling board. We went with the rafter system, and we love the cathedral ceilings. We wanted an open concept with entertaining family and friends in mind. We are both happy with how easy it is to heat and cool.
We laid all the tile and hardwood flooring and sanded and sealed the upstairs floor, which is created by the ceiling of the first floor.
The exterior, we stained and sealed ourselves and built the exterior handrails. We did all of the chinking between logs interior and exterior.
We had additional help from various family members. We enjoyed the journey and learned so much along the way. I think there are always things you would do differently looking back, but this is home and we love it.
Dallas Powers was our Honest Abe Independent Dealer. He was wonderful and helped us so much with any questions we had about anything from nails to stain and different things to use to help build our home.
The house faces a small lake and we love being here. We have full length porches on the front and back of our home. It’s just peaceful and relaxing to be at home in any season of the year. We love the laid back homey feel of our cabin.
It’s our dream home. There’s a great sense of accomplishment doing so much of it ourselves. I would do it again. It was a great, fun journey.
Editor’s Note: The Newtons shared photos of their home in two seasons. Click on any photo to launch the slide show.
