New Kentucky Cabin Ideal for Country Living
by Claudia Johnson, Honest Abe Log Homes
John and Jessica Carney’s new home by Honest Abe Log Homes near Springfield, Kentucky, is a traditional log cabin with dovetailed and hand-hewn square logs.
“It’s just a simple house we made a home,” Jessica says of the 1,500-square-foot,five-room house, which also has a full-size basement.
The cabin has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a mudroom and open kitchen, dining area and living room.
“We used the Honest Abe Newport plan to customize our layout to be more open,” Jessica explained. “We just moved a few windows and a few other things to make our home perfect. We wanted the center of the house to be a gathering place for family and friends.”
Making Design Choices
Navigating the Carneys through the designing and building process was Honest Abe Independent Dealer Ronnie Bagwell, owner of Central Kentucky Log Homes.
“Honest Abe was recommended to us by a friend, and Ronnie was excellent,” Jessica said. “He answered all our questions.”
The Carneys say they’d always loved the hand-hewn look, so they opted to have each of the 6×12 square logs hewn. This process is not done by a machine at Honest Abe. Rather, a skilled craftsman uses a vintage tool called an adz to hew every log by hand. Front and back porches are 8’ wide and 50’ long.
“We use the porches just like our living space inside,” Jessica said. “We love sitting outside and enjoying them.”
Country Life
Both Jessica and John were born and raised in Washington County, Kentucky, and are pleased with their cabin, which they moved into in April 2017.
“The Lord has blessed our family with 11 acres on a river, where we love raising our boys, John Dalton, 15, and Lance Thomas, 11,” Jessica said. “We have two dogs and four cats. We love the country life of gardening, hunting, fishing, photography, ATVs and hiking.”
The Carneys say their building experience was exceptional and was made so by their contractor, Troy Spaulding.
“Troy was amazing!” Jessica said. “He made construction fun, and he was accommodating. He even built a ramp for our older Great Pyrenees dog so she could be in on the fun of building. He fed the dogs treats and tolerated all questions and the visitors we had. His crew was on time, clean and courteous.”
Little Things
The dogs were not the only creatures with special treatment by Spaulding.
“In the boys’ closets he built shelves that are also steps into a secret room above their bathroom,” Jessica said. “They have a light and their ‘hideout things’ up there.”
Like most parents, the Carneys realize their time with their sons at home is fleeting, and that’s why there’s an unusual bit of “art” on their bedroom wall.
“While our home was being built, our youngest son, Lance, was playing outside in the mud,” Jessica said. “He decided to leave us a special gift – his handprint in our bedroom. We left it and clear stained over the handprint so we could keep it.”
The Carneys say they love their home and are glad they chose to work with Honest Abe’s team to realize their dream.
“The Honest Abe company is exceptional at what they do,” Jessica said. “Yes, we would do this again – just the same.”
Jessica provided photos of the Carney home before it was finished, after they’d moved in and during their first snow. Click on each photo to enlarge.
