The first tangible step in building your new luxury log home is your set of log home floor plans. Plans are just that, a road map, that bares out your thoughts and desires. I remember the thrill we felt when the canister containing our first designs arrived. We were elated as we pried that lid off and rolled these simple cabin plans across our table! Somehow all of the months — and years — of planning materialized that foggy spring morning.
Having a quality set of log home designs to work from, in both the planning and construction phases, is vital. When a builder or homeowner wants to skip the design stage or does not want to finalized details (such as window size and placement) in the preliminary design stage then be prepared for a lot of frustration during the build and disappointment in the finished home. That is how important the designs are!
The first step is to choose a floor plan that is somewhat similar to what your ideals. Then begin marking changes on the flat floor plan. In this stage there are no parameters. Move walls at will. Make rooms smaller or larger. Or even be bold and consider completely deleting spaces.
The most common changes to luxury log home designs are doing a mirror image reverse of the floor plan. We also have a lot of customers add or remove the open loft. The third most common adjustment to a plan is the addition of specific spaces. A custom space could be a walk-in pantry, master suite sitting room, or safe- room (hideaway room).
A gourmet kitchen is a huge focus for most owners. The open kitchen feel is gained by removing interior walls. But with the reduction of partition walls there less wall space for cabinets. This is where a well outfitted pantry can be vital. Pantry space should include shelves, drawers of various sizes, a step ladder to reach the higher shelves (the high cathedral ceilings in log homes allow for lots of “up” storage space), and even a deep freeze. Adjustable shelving is a plus while wire shelving allows you to see what is on the shelf from the underside.
Another must in most luxury log home floor plans is a first floor laundry. Sometimes the laundry and mud room areas are combined. In our floor plans you may notice that mudrooms are usually located in a breezeway between the house and garage. Ideally, a mudroom should also have a door to the outside. Hooks of various sizes, a boot caddy and seat located under a window, and a utility sink allows the homeowners to contain the outside dirt to this area.
A library is the last custom space that we need to consider here. Some owners plan to use the open loft as an office/ library. On paper it looks like a good idea, but it may not be. While we love the aesthetics a loft affords, we have found our loft space to be noisy! All of the sounds from our first floor seems to float right upstairs. If part of the loft needs to be quiet then it might be best to wall off part of it and make a separate library/office room.
Luxury log home plans need to reflect the areas and spaces that are important to you. The arrangement of rooms is just as important as exterior features. I can’t stress enough how vital it is to the entire build of your home to go ahead and make final decisions in the drawings stage. Get involved. If you don’t like something tell us before the construction drawings stage. And above all, dream. Dreams are what transform a standard floor plan into a luxury.