Considering the characteristics of your land, think about the type of basement you want to have. Is the slope of your land best suited to a daylight basement or a slab foundation? If you want a basement, but the land isn’t right for a walk-out, consider the placement of a bulkhead door. Once you establish the overall plot design you can then move onto the actual home design. It’s usually easiest to start with a standard design and make the necessary changes to achieve your desired look and feel.

Try to keep in mind that there needs to be support for lofts and roof structure. For your plumbing, it is a good idea to locate bathrooms and kitchen areas on the same side of the building whenever possible. Lining up (“stacking”) your bathrooms is also a good idea, and can cut down on having to box in around pipes. Even numbers (such as 16’, 20’, 24’, 28’, and 32’) are more cost effective for lumber usage. Keep these numbers in mind when determining the size of your house, as well as the individual rooms. You may expect to live in your new home forever, but there may come a point where you wish to sell your home in the future. When making custom choices, keep the resale value in mind. For example, a three-bedroom, two-bath home is a good resalable standard.

If you have any questions about designing your new log home, please feel free to contact your sales representative, who would be pleased to walk you through the process.

You can also check out our Advice from the Experts section or visit the Log Home FAQ's section for more information about log homes.