A Rustic Half-Log Home in Wisconsin

Photos by Scott Amundson

Simulated river rock is used as facing for the walkout basement.

Most people who choose half-log homes do so to modify the log look, usually with drywall. Not so for the owners of this home, located on 6.2 acres with 250 feet of lake frontage in northwestern Wisconsin. They wanted wood from floor to ceiling and in between.

A support post for the loft, for instance, is a hand-peeled tree trunk, complete with flared base. Another example is the handcrafted-log frame around the passageway between the living room and the dining and kitchen areas. There’s also log trim around the windows and round logs for the deck.

“We selected a darker stain, which we find gives the logs a honey glow when they reflect the radiance of a blazing fire,” says the owner.

Large windows in the prow of the open great room add plenty of natural light to balance the dark stain of the eastern white pine half-logs.

Half-log construction involves building a home conventionally and then splitting full logs to affix to the inside and outside of the framed, insulated walls. But this home has a full-log look, using dark-stained eastern white pine logs from Golden Eagle Log & Timber Homes to establish the rustic mood of a long-ago North Woods lodge.

“That was the look we wanted to create,” the owner explains. “We selected a darker stain, which we find gives the logs a honey glow when they reflect the radiance of a blazing fire.”

Besides wood, the home relies on simulated river rock for the fireplace and other interior accents, plus as facing for the walkout basement. Glass is another prominent element. Oversized windows create a great-room prow that enjoys a view of the lake.

The home is a modified version of Golden Eagle Log & Timber Homes’ Prow V model, which comprises 1,512 square feet on the main level and a 488-square-foot loft. It’s built over a basement, which adds another 1,824 square feet of living space for a family room, two bedrooms and two bathrooms for guests. The couple put off building their home for many years but are glad they finally took the plunge.

“The beauty and warmth of a log home,” the owner says, “cannot be duplicated by anything else."