North of Minneapolis, where the
roads turn to dirt and the horizon gets thick with
trees, Randy and Cheryl Herschman found their own little
bit of the big woods. Their seven acres swell with
poplar and river birch, ponds and prairie grass. There
is no neighborhood around it, no sidewalks or streetlights
or speeding cars, just the moon at night and a quiet
wind each day. They found the plot in 1992 and knew
that no conventional home would do here. "We have
ponds all around us and woods right up to the house," says
Randy, curator of a wildlife art gallery in Minneapolis. "Deer
run by all the time. We always wanted a log home, and
we knew this land was perfect for it."
Randy and Cheryl immediately began
drawing plans for a simple log home. A large front
porch, complete with oversized bentwood chairs would
welcome family and friends. Through the front door,
a great room would extend to the left and a big kitchen
to the right. Along the back of the house, two bedrooms
and two baths would overlook the expanse. Due to
Minnesota's harsh winters, they included a four-season
porch off the great room, with walls of windows to
draw in the winter sunlight at a time when it is
in short supply. They wanted to enjoy winter fires
in both the great room and on the four-season porch,
so they planned a see-through, fieldstone fireplace
between the rooms.
To their cozy house, the Herschmans
added an upstairs loft, expanding the space with two
more bedrooms, a sitting area and another bath. They
designed the whole thing around room after room of
heirloom furniture. Randy's grandmother's hutch and
an enormous antique icebox had to fit somewhere in
the house. A cherished round dining table would mean
they'd be adding an alcove to the kitchen.
"It was a lot of work. We wanted
to keep the house as small as possible," Randy
says. "Cheryl drew it and drew it again and then
redrew it."
Finally, with their plans complete,
the Herschmans turned to Northwoods Log Homes of LaPorte,
Minnesota, for custom blueprints. "We specialize
in taking a particular design from a customer and doing
custom plans to fit their characteristics," says
Bryan Kerby, operations manager for Northwoods.
Bryan is a third-generation log home
builder, following in the footsteps of his father and
grandfather. Because most of the company's homes are
based upon custom designs, Northwoods has a catalog
of more than 800 houses, with 150 readily available
for customers to peruse.
The Herschmans worked with designer
Wayne Bauer, who "helped interpret their wants
and needs," Bryan says. "When we got to the
construction, he served almost as their general contractor-consultant,
handling onsite issues."
The Herschmans chose 7 1/2-inch native
Minnesota white pine logs, dried naturally for a year
in the Northwoods log yard. Northwoods mills all logs
to a perfect round and sands them smooth. The company
provides all the logs necessary for the inside and
outside of the house, along with floor planks and window
and door trim. More than 500 logs make up the Herschmans'
walls. Even the 2-½-car garage is all log. "It's
so pretty that we actually held a wedding shower out
there," Cheryl says.
Another 406 smaller logs, some 4 inches
in diameter combine to form the trussed roof system.
The trusses replace the traditional attic, something
made possible through a five-layer ceiling and roof.
Native, knotty pine paneling forms the ceiling. Above
it are two layers of staggered rigid foam insulation
followed by plywood and shingles. With an estimated
R-40 energy factor, very little heat escapes during
frigid Minnesota winters. Besides the beauty of exposed
architecture, the truss system provides a fringe benefit
in a smaller home: higher ceilings make even the smallest
rooms seem larger and more spacious.
During the building process, the Herschmans
decided to add a tiny room over the first-floor laundry
space. "That wasn't in the original plans, but
Northwoods was really willing to roll with the punches," Randy
says.
Construction lasted six months from
pouring the foundation to move-in. "Wayne drew
the plans and served as the foreman," Randy says. "I
was going to try to be general contractor myself. But
he was pretty good at working with the plumbers and
electricians; he kept the wheels going. That's one
thing I would recommend: have somebody general contract
for you. I thought, "How hard can it be?" Well,
it's hard."
Once in the house, Cheryl took over,
decorating it herself. Throughout the home, she provided
country details including grapevine wreaths, flower
baskets, handmade quilts and braided rugs.
Cheryl's favorite space is the four-season
porch. "We wanted a bright room for the Minnesota
winters, a place where we would be warm, knowing that
we could look outdoors at the deer and ducks," she
says. "We had a buck standing in our yard and
looking right at us the other day. "It's all just
perfect."
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