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 HOUSE
OF A LIFETIMEBACK Story by Teresa Wolff Photography by Roger Wade Few people in their early forties can say they own a beautiful log home free and clear. Glenn and Angie LaBar proudly make just such a claim, however. They nurtured their lifelong dream with careful planning and frugal planning. Glenn, an Air Force major and New Jersey native, was stationed in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in the early 1980s. "I drove out to the Granite Reservoir area," he recalls, "and I knew this was where I would build the home in which I would retire." Wyoming is also where he met Angie. After they were married, the couple returned from a duty station in North Dakota to Angie's home community and began planning for their new log home, 25 miles west of Cheyenne in the Medicine Bow National Forest. Though Angie anticipates working several more years at the Wyoming Department of Employment, they built the home with their retirement in mind. "During the early years of our marriage, we lived in apartments and slowly began the purchase of furniture, all the while considering if it would fit into our new log home," Angie says. After 20 years of apartment living, they also were tired of white stucco walls and wanted logs for the interior walls to add a warmer feeling. They tried to use as little drywall as possible, although, Glenn says, "Angie did convince me we should have at least one white wall."
The home was built of naturally tapered, hand-peeled lodgepole pine and Engelmann spruce. Its design was driven by the landscape and climate of the area. The original floor plan the LaBars considered had the staircase in the middle of the great room. Because they wanted a clear view of their surroundings from any room in the house, they moved the staircase to the side, resulting in the need to raise the cathedral ceiling to allow for sufficient space to use the stairs. In addition to the main living area on the first floor, which includes the great room, kitchen and dining alcove, the home was constructed with two side rooms on each side of the home. One of these serves as a guest room. The west wing opens off the covered walk from the three car garage with an attached workshop and also contains a mud room and laundry facilities.
The staircase and banister railing in the master bedroom were crafted by Log Knowledge. Brad explains that typically the scribing and notching of railings and staircases are done at the site so they can be molded to the shell. The second-level deck on the north side of the home off the master bedroom serves to create a dramatic entrance, as well as providing a covering for the entry below. The LaBars' 5-acre lot was square enough to accommodate the style of the home they selected. Because the home was built with only a crawl space and not a basement, minimal grading was required prior to construction. The only major concern with the property was related to the building of the garage. "Because of the slope of the property on the west side of the home, the west wall foundation for the garage is almost a full 5 feet below the log construction, instead of the standard 30 to 36 inches," Brad notes. "We could have built the garage less expensively where the slope or grade is more natural, but we wanted the windbreak that the garage would provide to the home while still maintaining the southern exposure of the home for the view and winter solar gain."
When it came to furnishing their home, the LaBars chose a contemporary style, featuring overstuffed couches and an array of Turkish rugs purchased when Glenn was stationed overseas during Operation Desert Storm. Inlaid oak flooring and terra cotta tile complement the logs. Adorning the walls are paintings of idyllic country scenes by Terry Redlin, a favorite of the LaBars because of the different lighting seen in the pictures depending upon the direction from which the paintings are viewed. Country folk accessories, including Angie's collection of whimsical rabbits, complete the décor. A "Trekkie from way back," Glenn is fascinated with astronomy and space travel. The view from the southern facing deck is a perfect vista for his star-gazing hobby. "From here I can see the great red spot on Jupiter and the white spot rings of Saturn," he notes. "I can also see the 30-year great storm on Saturn." Throughout, the LaBars' log home exudes a sense of peace, perhaps one that comes from the comfort of knowing they own it outright. "Somewhere in these logs are all of the hamburgers I flipped while in college," Glenn says. "I have been saving for this home even from those early years, and pinching all those pennies has been worth it. -- |
The
LaBars chose Log Knowledge Inc. of LaPorte, Colorado, to build their
home because they like the look of the handcrafted full-round log
and were impressed with the quality of the craftsmanship. "When
you use the logs for the interior walls, the major expense to be
considered is the additional foundation work to be done to carry
the weight of the walls on the footing," explains Brad Burgat,
president of Log Knowledge. "As a counter balance in the expense,
however, is the ability to use the interior log walls to support
the second level floor and roof.
The
loft bedroom suite affords a view through the south-facing prow
front. Skylights built into the ceiling allow the LaBars to enjoy
the starry sky at night and add light in the day. The bathroom and
closet area adjacent to the bedroom were constructed with a dropped
wall to provide adequate ventilation in these normally closed areas.
To
further protect the home from the weather at such a high altitude,
the builder included fungicide and ultraviolet protection in the
exterior stain. Pozzi windows with a Fluropon multicoat finish were
installed to minimize maintenance. The LaBars planted blue spruce
and ponderosa pine saplings and 6-foot blue spruce trees as natural
windbreaks.