"When we started to think of the reality of ever going to
Montana" Ben says, "we knew we would just never use it. So we drew a circle on a map within an hour of Aspen and said, "If were are going to do this, we are going to do it within this circle.'"

The Munroes found the subdivision where they would eventually build their cabin through Ben's real estate appraisal business. Since the couple did not yet have a floorplan for their home, they designed the house to utilize the land's natural features.

To take advantage of the gently sloping hill, Kristi, who was in charge of the design, opted for a walkout basement. This decision made the main floor easily accessible to the carport and driveway. Upstairs, a loft overlooks the majestic views of the mountains and the Ruedi Reservoir below. Outside, a patio, covered porch and expansive decks bring outdoor living to every level of the couple's log home.

Although the square footage of the home is average, at 2,036, the home sleeps up to 12 people comfortably. Since this would be a vacation house, Kristi added a sleeping loft, open great room and first-floor master bedroom, anticipating many visits from friends and family. She was especially happy that she could include her long-awaited fantasy bedroom.

"I had always visualized a bedroom opening with double doors to the great room," Kristi says.

And that's not all that Kristi and Ben got. They also were adamant about not having view-obstructing trusses in the great room. To obtain an open area, the Munroes wanted a rafter system. This specification led them to their log home company, Log Knowledge in LaPorte, Colorado. "There were certain stipulations that we had, and we sent out a form to 20 log companies asking them to fill out the questionnaire," Kristi says.

Along with the roof system, Log Knowledge also offered exactly the species of log that the couple wanted: hand-peeled Engelmann spruce. "Each log is the full length of the house," Ben says.

Typically, in a handcrafted home, the characteristics of each log are left intact, including the natural taper, knots and bumps. Before shipping the logs to the site, the crafters at Log Knowledge hand-peel and erect the logs in their logyard. One of the advantages of prefabricating the log shell in their yard is having a large log inventory immediately accessible. Every log is carefully selected, notched and fit to the prior log. The logs are then tagged, disassembled, loaded onto trucks and shipped to the owner's site. This process allows reassembly of the log shell onsite to take only a few days.

Handcrafted homes come in two basic types, chinked and full-scribed, says Jon Fogelson of Log Knowledge. In full-scribed construction, the logs, connected with a sealant, rest on top of each other to form the log wall.

In chinked-style houses, a 3/4-inch gap, where the electrical work can be run, is filled with chinking material on the inside and outside of the home. The Munroes opted for the chinking and hired Elk Mountain Chinking on New Castle, Colorado, to apply the material. "Stephen Burns of Elk Mountain was an artist," Kristi says.

Modern chinking is a flexiable material that adheres directly to the log. Because of its make-up, chinking will move as the logs shrink and settle, leaving no gaps. Chinking seals the logs and better insulates the house - plus, it keeps out unwanted pests. Stephen used a machine to apply the chinking material onto the logs. He then meticulously spread the material with a trowel and tooled it into the gaps. He believes that the use of a high-quality material applied by a professional applicator results in a well-chinked home. "If I'm going to put my name on it, I'm going to be proud of it," he says.

Having built homes in Aspen for 15 years prior to starting his appraisal business, Ben acted as the general contractor on this project and had all of his subcontractors lined up to do much of the mechanical work. "I served as the general contractor, and Log Knowledge provided a foreman to come and set the shell," he says. "It's unbelievable how these guys can work those logs!"

Once the log shell was erected, the Munroes were able to apply the finishing touches to the home. They added a wood-burning stove placed on a sturdy slate hearth pad in the living room. But instead of installing typical baseboard heating, they upgraded to radiant floor heat. The efficient radiant heat warms the basement level as well as the main floor. With all of the warmth from these two levels, the loft did not need a separate heat source. "It's still a small cabin, we just decked it out well," Ben says.

Ben is particularly proud of the beautiful pine staircase that he built himself. The couple hauled their own logs onto the site using a winch hooked on the back of their Jeep. It took Ben three months to build the staircase, not including the months it took to hand-turn each spindle.

Kristi added her own personal touches to the cabin with custom hand-painted and raised tiles. Kristi, who owns Kristi's Kollection, became frustrated years ago when she was not able to find the perfect tiles for her home. Instead of settling for any design, she began making custom tiles herself.

In each of the bathrooms, she created different themes - including an aspen grove; deer, elk and moose; and trout - and decked them out with her hand-painted wares. In the kitchen, she lined the soffit above the cabinets with raised tiles featuring bear, sheep, deer and elk.

The line of tile complements the custom stained cabinetry. Glass-front doors highlight what's inside. "Kristi has a lot of hand-painted dishes to show off," Ben says.

Thanks to the thoughtful design and personal touches, the Munroes and their guests will continue to enjoy the log vacation home on a grand scale. --

Package Price: $55,000 (log shell only)
Square footage: 2,036

Log Producer: Log Knowledge (formerly Majestic Log Homes)
Antler chandelier: Ken Ward
Cabinetry: Rankin Construction and Woodworking
Canoe: American Traders
Chinking: Elk Mountain Chinking
Doors: Speciality Woodworks
Kitchen table, dining room table and chairs and master bedroom bed: Blue Sky Furniture Co.
Loft Furniture: Frontier Log Furniture
Masonry: Tom Skutuey
Porch gate door: Tauakira
Wood-burning stove: Vermont Castings

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