When Lori and James Proctor couldn’t find their dream home in Colorado, they quickly devised a Plan B: They bought a 20-acre parcel just outside Golden and had their dream log home built for them.

 

James and Lori Proctor’s 5,400– square-foot log home, located just outside Golden, Colorado, faces south, the better to capture stunning views of Pike’s Peak. The porch encircles almost the entire house, which has five bedrooms, four full baths and two half baths.

A log home was their first and natural choice, given the property, which offers stunning views of the Continental Divide and Pike’s Peak. “It’s a beautiful spread,” says Tom Worley, director of sales and marketing at T.J.’s Wood Products, the Bailey, Colorado-based company that built the home’s log shell. “When you look at it, you hear the theme music from Bonanza playing.”

The home’s exterior has three stunning features: the imposing, prow-like roof line; the shell crafted from 14-inch, honey-colored Engelmann spruce logs; and a stone chimney that rises 40 feet from the ground to the roof. “That is one tall house,” Worley comments, adding that its height made construction a challenge. “It’s very difficult when you stack logs that high,” he says.

The house encompasses 5,400 square feet on three levels, while most log homes average 2,000 to 3,500 square feet. And, as one of only about 10,000 log homes in the entire country, it’s rare, too.

The logs are held together in the traditional way, with corner saddle notches. Durable polymer chink is sandwiched between the logs. Worley says the shell took three months to build; the entire house was completed in nine months.

Inside, the home is traditional, yet not stuffy or old-fashioned, and is filled with modern luxuries such as radiant-heated floors and smart-house technology. It is anything but rustic.

Custom Touches: Rather than start from scratch, the Proctors chose to customize one of T.J.’s model homes. High on Lori Proctor’s list of creature comforts: a giant walk-in closet and a bathtub with a view of the mountains.

The 252–square-foot closet was a must for Lori, an attorney with a heavy travel schedule. “It is isolated from the rest of the house, so I can return home and let my luggage explode while I enjoy the rest of the house,” she says. The master bath, complete with whirlpool tub, walk-in steam shower and radiant-heated floors, offers Lori a similar welcome home.

“The master bath is pretty fabulous,” she says. “After a long week on the road, it’s great to come home to.”

A stylish kitchen with plenty of workspace was also a must-have. The kitchen opens to the great room and dining room, making it ideal for entertaining. The kitchen is outfitted with Electrolux appliances, including a double oven and electric range and griddle, and has an expansive island with seating.

To help further with entertaining, the Proctors saved space on the walkout ground floor for a 75-bottle wine room. “It’s cool even in summer,” James says.

A Natural Look: Indeed, the interior logs dictated the color palette for the home. Accent wood — the stair railing, floors and bookcases — is stained a dark cherry wood, which complements the logs’ rich honey hue. Furnishings, in dark woods and leathers, also let the logs’ natural beauty shine.

To keep the log look special and add the slightest contemporary touch, the couple chose drywall and paint for a few rooms including the master bedroom, which is painted in sage green and mocha brown. “A lot of people want the logs everywhere,” James says. “We really didn’t.”

The couple furnished the walk-in first floor with existing pieces from their Houston home; they also used an existing dining-room set. New to the home are the oversize dark brown sofa and comfy chairs in the great room, and, surprisingly, a coat tree for the foyer. “We forgot to put in a coat closet,” James admits sheepishly.

James and Lori Proctor moved into the five-bedroom home, their primary residence, on Christmas Eve 2009. “It’s been great living in it,” James says, noting that visitors often comment on the house’s expansive feeling.

Lori agrees. “The whole house feels to me like a warm, welcoming lodge,” she says. “I often forget I’m not on vacation.”

Achieve this welcoming log cabin look with the following items: