Log Home Living, August 2000
"Inn Style"

There are two creeks near Pat and Jack Wilson's place in Owensville, Missouri, and it's the second one that cuts right through the middle of their 135 acres of wooded hills and green pastures. But while the creek divides the property, the land represents the merging of two goals: owning a bed and breakfast and living in a log home.

      They called it Second Creek Farm, and in some ways, the Wilsons had been working toward it for most of their lives. . . Several years ago, the couple tested their devotion to the log look when they applied a log veneer to their stick-framed home in St. Louis. The Wilsons found the perfect spot at a onetime farm with two ponds, situated almost midway between St. Louis and Kansas City, and just a short drive to wineries, antique stores, and other tourist destinations.

The common area and focal point is the great room, with its high vaulted ceiling and a walk-around balcony on the second floor overlooking the massive stone Rumford fireplace, similar to the one Thomas Jefferson commissioned for his Monticello home. Though logs remain the primary building material, Jan Donleson - Hearthstone distributor & architect, wanted to carry the stone look beyond the fireplace by injecting a series of stone columns into the first floor. Pat thought a hint of drywall would add an airiness to the ambiance. To meet the various aesthetic and structural goals, Jan had to do some creative engineering.

First, he suggested a timber frame for the great room to create the spans he wanted for support. He also thought that the first story should be framed conventionally, and the exterior and interior walls finished with a log veneer. The veneer served a dual purpose: First, it camouflaged the stick frame; second, it eliminated settlement problems that might have risen with full logs as they tried to settle. Finally, the plans called for true log construction on the second floor - essentially stacking a log home on top of the first floor!

Downstairs, the kitchen has an old-fashioned feel, but features contemporary appliances. Early on, as the floor plan began to expand to meet their requirements, Pat realized she had to give up her visions of a snug little cabin. But she found a compromise by creating a variety of gathering places in the common areas, where guests could peruse the Wilsons' collection of old books, spend an afternoon playing poor on a reproduction table or gather to comment on the myriad antiques and furnishing the Wilsons have collected over the years. Today, Pat says, "Some people come in and think it looks more Western and rustic and some people come in and say it's a cozy log house, so I guess I found the balance."