Rustic charm, rural luxury

Leslie Navaroli says she can sit and stare at her living room ceiling for hours. The huge pine logs form a cathedral ceiling she finds remarkable in its natural beauty, strength, and engineering.

The Navaroli family used to live in a conventional house in central Massachusetts, one hemmed in by neighbors and divided into a warren of drywall-enclosed rooms.

Today, they live in a new log home on two acres of semirural property. It's open inside and to the outside as well, comfortable and cozy as a fur-lined slipper and sturdy as a fort. "It has character, but it's simple," Mrs. Navaroli says.

Not, of course, as simple as the humble log cabin of American history and folklore, not by a long shot. But if the log-home industry has come a long way from the one-room cabin of Abe Lincoln, it still in a sense is built on America's rough-hewn spirit and love of natural surroundings. Except that today's log-home buyers are looking to combine rustic charm with all the comforts of a custom-built luxury home.

The Log Home Living Institute in Chantilly, Va., estimates that there are more than 500,000 modern log homes in the United States and Canada and that more families live in log homes today than at any time in history. In the US, log homes account for 7 percent of the custom-home market.

Aesthetics have always been a big part of the log home's appeal, but increasingly so are size and comfort. The contemporary version of these well-engineered homes, often fitted together with tongue-and-groove joints, sell anywhere from under $100,000 to $8 million. And even in standardized versions, they come as large as 5,000 square feet.

David Allaire, president of Real Log Homes in Mendon, Mass., says things have changed a lot over the 30 years he's been in the business. When he started, customers selected from pre-drawn plans. You picked one, or you didn't build.

Then, about 15 years ago, technological improvements paved the way to greater customization.

"Bring us your plans," is how today's construction generally works, says Mr. Allaire. He spent hours assisting the Navarolis, who arrived with plans in hand.

The couple found that every inch counts, and to get what they wanted on their budget - including radiant heat and a two-car garage - they had to slice six inches off the foyer.

Detailed involvement in the planning typifies log-home owners, who often hope to make a personal design statement.

"You're intimately involved in this process," Navaroli explains. "It's a journey, not a turnkey operation."

And it's a journey that takes patience. Some consumers don't want to take on the whole array of decisions involved in building a type of home they may be unfamiliar with. Fixing problems is more complicated than replacing a couple of two-by-fours. The exacting engineering contributes to increased costs: Log homes typically cost about 10 to 15 percent more than comparably sized conventional homes.

Perhaps these factors explain why many log-home owners are affluent and well-educated. They like to commune with nature but not necessarily live in backwoods seclusion. Their homes are often in resort regions or within commuting distance of urban areas.

"You don't have to turn your back on society to enjoy this lifestyle," says Anne Marie Kupferer, executive director of the Log Home Living Institute, an organization of log-home owners and enthusiasts.

According to the latest figures, Colorado is the most popular place to build a log home, followed by New York and North Carolina. In Maggie Valley, N.C., there's even a gated log-home development called the Smoky Mountain Retreat, where people can rent homes for a week to see if this type of home suits them.

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