If a luxury log home is your goal then your quest actually begins with both photos and floor plans. Many of our customer have spent years reading log home magazines and looking at photos on the internet. For this article I would like to feature one of our luxury log homes and explore room sizes with you.

The Montana log home plan is our model for today. This plan is very appealing with the gable wall of windows, stone fireplace, wide dormer and handcrafted log roof system.

This log home plan features two floors of living space with the option of finishing the basement.  Two large egress window were added after it was finished to allow light and the mountain views to flood into the full basement. Including the basement, the total square footage for this home is 3,444 square feet. The rooms include 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, great room, open loft, laundry room, family room, storage room, and office (the last three areas being incorporated into the finished basement plan).

When I first began looking at floor plans room sizes were an enigma to me. I didn’t really know the difference between a 10×10 room size and a great room of 22×28 in the Montana.  To me they were just numbers on a page. But these numbers dictate if that corner china cabinet will fit where you are planning to put it, if a full living room suit can fit into the great room, and if that king size bed will be moved into the new house.

I have found it very beneficial to link dimensions to rooms that I already have. The dining room addition on our current log home is 20×20. OK, I know that my six person dining room table, a set of wicker furniture, a pellet stove, and my piano fit in this room comfortably with a nice open space in the middle. The center section of our home is 20×60. Within these confines fits the dining room, kitchen with two islands and a large free standing pantry, and the living room furniture. So linking sizes to rooms you already possess is the best way to gain an idea of how large, or small, a room will really be. So the great room of the Montana is two feet wider and eight feet longer than my dining room.

Click to Enlarge Montana First Floor Plan

Now a Foyer or Grand Entry. This area is a must to some homeowners if they do not want people entering into the great room. Foyers are also impressive. To other people like me, a foyer is not necessary. I would rather give more space to other areas of the home and have the front door enter into the great room. Besides I love for people to get to see my high cathedral ceiling and stone fireplace.

Moving towards the dining room and kitchen area we can see from the photo that this is an open area.  The edge of the loft is visible over the kitchen. The dining and kitchen area are part of the overall great room. The breakfast bar on the back of the island provides a few extra seats when more company comes to visit.

Now let’s move on to the bedrooms. This plan is designed with a simple rectangular shape. The two bedrooms are situated on each side of the hallway with the master suite on the end of the log home. There are log purloins that support the loft which are visible in the ceilings of the bedrooms, hallway, and second bath. The bedrooms are almost the same size. Measuring against the rooms in our existing home, a queen size bed, dresser, and night stand should fit into them fine. I may take one of the bedrooms and turn it into a first floor office/den in the future. I might consider adding two feet to the width of the log home to give more space in these bedrooms, but we’ll wait on that change at this point.

Considering the loft plan, we begin with the loft located in the center. There is a solid wall on the right side of the loft. This design shows me that the loft will over look the great room but not the master suite. The master suite will share the same ceiling height as the great room. Also, and this is my favorite part of this level of the home, there will not be any rooms over the master bedroom so no NOISE from overhead. I hate trying to sleep while someone bangs around upstairs.

Click to Enlarge Montana Loft Plan

For the basement level basically we take the first floor plan and start drawing in what we want. I know the family room will be located directly under the great room to take full advantage of the windows we just cut in. There will need to be a furnace/utility room and a storage area somewhere. Also I would like to add an office and playroom for all the toys which seem to be part of our existence right now. I might even seek in another bedroom for guests.

This large log home is an excellent example of a luxury log home. The wide mountain views are visible from all three floors of the home. A lot of space is devoted to the great room, but not an overwhelming amount to where we will feel like we rattle around in there. I love the cathedral ceiling over the master bedroom and the spaciousness of that master suite. And adding some rooms that are needed for the dynamics of our family, i.e. play room, game room, etc. make this plan match the needs and wants of our family.  If you have any questions about room sizes or reading floor plans be sure to email us. We would be happy to help.

Cowboy Log Homes