16 | LOG HOME LIVING | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5 Stay the Course Perseverance rewards a Rhode Island family. Large round logs topped by board and batten establish the home’s dramatic profile. The design incorporates several faux rooflines to break story by ROLAND SWEET photos by GREAT ISLAND PHOTOGRAPHY up the mass and create visual interest, while log posts extending from the corners to the upper level link it to courtesy of REAL LOG HOMES the log walls below. F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5 | LOG HOME LIVING | 17 ABOVE: Personality enlivens the kitchen, notably the silkscreened geological survey map set into the stove backsplash and the two cedar posts at the breakfast bar that Jason and his grandfather cut from a swamp in Maine. The map and other kitchen items display the home’s Big River Lodge logo. OPPOSITE: The 37-piece chandelier in the great room was custom designed by Old California Lantern Co. to fill the overhead space. The spacious sofa allows the whole family to gather without crowding each other. 18 | J ason Arabian longed for a log home ever since he was a teenager a nd boug ht every log-home magazine he could find. His dream persisted into adulthood until, 10 years ago, he and Lynne began the actual process leading to their log home. There were a few setbacks, but finally, in December 2013, the couple and their two daughters moved in. “It’s so different a house than I would’ve built 25 years ago,” he acknowledges. For one thing, Jason had hoped for handcrafted logs. Even after he learned they LOG HOME LIVING | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5 were “beyond my means,” he still wanted logs of substance. He found the right look with eastern white pine logs milled full round to 10-inch diameters. Anything smaller “looks like toothpicks,” he says. “When you’re spending this much on a house, you want to see the logs.” His vision for the home extended to its setting. Located just three miles off busy Interstate 95 near West Greenwich, Rhode Island, the couple’s seven-acre property borders state land on two sides and is surrounded by 35,000 wooded acres. He admits it didn’t look like much when they bought it, but he saw its potential. Indeed, friends who told him the property was underwhelming now concede it’s a gem. A modest ranch house came with the property, although Jason was interested only in the land and considered tearing it down. Instead, the family wound up living there until their log home was built. That proved a fortunate decision because of delays in starting construction of their new home and because when it did start, Jason conveniently lived right next door to the job site. The major hold-up was the property’s high water table F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5 | LOG HOME LIVING | 19 and wetlands restrictions. It took four years, for example, to get approval for their septic system. “By then, we didn’t have the funding to continue,” he says. The project stalled for four more years. When they began designing their home, the Arabians envisioned a livable layout that showcased the logs. Their plans began with the three-car garage. It turned out long and deep (50 by 29 feet), so they added a second level, which eventually became a 20 | LOG HOME LIVING | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5 guest apartment. But now it was taller than the house, so they lowered the garage and raised the house to make it more dominant. They added peaks to give the front elevation more character, and introduced board and batten for the second level for color and contrast and to reinforce the home’s country look. “My goal was you’ve got to see the logs first, then the board and batten second,” Jason explains. “Those are the two dominant elements. Then the stone and the roof. Folks advised me to get a metal roof, but with a metal roof, that’s the first thing you notice, not the logs.” Another reason for choosing round logs, Jason notes, is to enjoy them on the inside. He balanced them with drywall to make them stand out without seeming overwhelming. After combining features they liked from many floor plans and adding their own requirements (master bedroom on ABOVE: Jason designed the spacious master suite so the bathroom and closet can be shut off from the sleeping area, allowing him to rise early and get ready for work without waking Lynne. Painted drywall mixes with log beams and tongue-and-groove. TOP RIGHT: The roomy master bath features an open shower, bench seats and a television set. the main level, big dining room for entertaining, inviting foyer, second-floor catwalk), Lynne created CAD drawings to submit to companies for cost estimates and advice on how to flesh out the bones with log features. The couple ultimately favored Real Log Homes, a New Hampshire manufacturer whose local dealer, C.M. Allaire & Sons, was also an experienced log builder. The plan called for a home with 3,500 square feet on the main and upper levels. Their unfinished basement encloses 2,000 feet, and the garage and guest apartment add another 3,000 square feet. “It works out to 8,100 square feet,” Jason says, “but our livable space is about 3,500.” The project got off to a rocky start, literally, as truckloads of rocks and dirt were needed to stabilize the site. Jason rose before dawn most days to check on the site, do some work, then shower and head to the office. Often he’d come home and do more work. “I was dirty everyday,” he says proudly. He cleared the land, did the excavation, framed interior walls, hung drywall, installed tongue-and-groove with a friend, and stained the logs and board and batten. “I must have spent six weeks looking at color samples for the b-and-b to get exactly what I wanted,” he recalls. Jason enhanced the home’s character by using wood from chestnut trees next door blown over by a hurricane for the fireplace mantel. He and his grandfather traveled to Maine and cut down spruce trees for the staircase railings and cedar trees for the stair posts and to accent the breakfast bar. After years to get the project off the ground, construction took only eight months. “We were determined not to spend another Christmas in the ranch home,” Jason says. “We moved in on December 15.” Because the home is located in the Big River Conservation Area, the family dubbed it Big River Lodge. Jason designed a logo that recurs throughout the home. “It’s kind of fun,” he says, “and adds to the home’s personality.” After holding on to his dream for 25 years and finally realizing it, Jason says, “I wake up sometimes and can’t believe I’m here. I never want to leave. This place is so different. It’s a house with a lot of fun and functionality. We spend so much more time together. This home has brought our family even closer.” ` F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5 | LOG HOME LIVING | 21 1 2 3 4 HOME DETAILS Square Footage: 3,233 Log Provider: Real Log Homes (800-732-5564, realloghomes.com) Builder: C.M. Allaire & Sons (800634-4838, cmallaire.com) 22 | LOG HOME LIVING | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5 f loor plan To avoid wasting overhead space in the upstairs bedrooms used by daughters Rachel and Rebecca, each includes its own loft, built over a closet. One has spiral stairs, the other a ladder. 3 BEDROOM WIC BATH OPEN TO BELOW 5 1 OPEN TO BELOW LOFT PLAY ROOM The play room features a vintage barn door, and links to bedrooms via a catwalk viewing the great room and foyer. UPPER LEVEL WIC DECK M BATH BEDROOM GREAT ROOM 5 DINING ROOM 4 MASTER BEDROOM FOYER OFFICE KITCHEN PANTRY 2 MUD ROOM PORCH The master suite enjoys its own wing opposite the daughters’ upstairs bedrooms. It’s convenient to the office. MAIN LEVEL GARAGE The open kitchen enjoys a view of the dining and living room, and looks through to the deck. It’s also convenient to the walkin pantry and garage. F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5 | LOG HOME LIVING | 23