Big Logs, Cozy Cabin

Bigs Logs, Cozy Cabin
By Gretchen Bergen
Photo By Byron Hetzler

Big logs are what people notice when they walk into John and Rachel Anderson’s cabin a few minutes west of Fraser, Colorado. “Anything that distracts from the logs does them a disservice,” John says.

Hand-peeled, standing-dead logs averaging 16 inches in diameter (think extra-large pizza), and cathedral ceilings give the house a wow factor. But a down-to-earth design makes the 4,500-sq-ft cabin feel cozy and welcoming, whether John and Rachel are here alone or with family and guests.

An ample foyer leads into a living-dining-kitchen area where windows showcase the pine-studded mountains rolling up to the Never Summer Range. Soft northern light glows against the cinnamon colored log trusses. A buff moss rock fireplace and covered porch round out the rustic details, while red carpets and other warm accents add a richness to the interior.

Don Skare and Mark Bjerken, co-owners of Chillcoots Construction, built the Anderson’s home with a team of all-local contractors and artisans. Don sums up the home’s appeal as cozy. “When you walk in the door you see this large living area, but even with the big vaulted ceilings, it doesn’t get lost.” The cabin’s style is chinked versus full scribe in keeping with the old-fashioned cabin look the Andersons loved.

Avid skiers, John and Rachel had been bringing their family to Winter Park, Colorado for years. Living in Dallas, the couple decided their frequent visits to Colorado warranted building a vacation home -- a place they could share with friends and family. Though they had remodeled homes in the past, this would be their first new building project.

“Our friends thought we were crazy to build a house from so far away,” John laughs.   “But we told them, ‘You don’t know our builders.’”

John continues, “We were committed to using local people to do as much as possible. And we knew it was important to have contractors who were experienced in building in a subzero climate.”

Daily telephone calls and progress reports kept the Andersons involved. But when the log shell went up, they knew the moment was too good to miss.

John and Rachel watched as Grand Lake Log Homes erected their cabin log-by-gigantic-log on the foundation. Cathy Hobbs, secretary/treasurer of Grand Lake Log Homes, says by using whole logs, they preserved the natural characteristic of each tree. “Nothing is just machine finished or factory made,” Cathy says. “It is all done by hand as we peel, cut, scribe and fit each log into the building.”

Builder Mark Bjerken says the Engelmann Spruce logs, harvested from nearby forests, make the Anderson house so unique. Since they are already dry, the logs don’t shrink. “So settling is minimal,” Mark says. “And standing dead is getting harder and harder to find because it’s a limited resource.”

Besides oversized logs, the Anderson home has one of the smartest floor plans around. Architect Jim Pool designed the upstairs with cathedral ceilings to capture the light, but was careful to maintain the warm family feeling the Andersons wanted.   A walkout basement, hidden from view when you drive up, provides plenty of room for guests without compromising the cozy cabin feel upstairs. A same-grade entry makes the home easy to access.

With three bedrooms downstairs, there’s plenty of room for the Anderson’s grown children and their families. And a bonus room above the garage means there’s always room for more. Other details downstairs include a home theater system and extra long bathtubs. Plus, a second set of washers and dryers to alleviate the last-minute laundry crunch before departure.

Meals at the cabin are casual, with everyone pitching in. Rachel says it was important for the kitchen to have room for multiple cooks. “But I didn’t want to take away too much space from the living area.”

The simple Shaker-style kitchen, designed by Black Diamond Kitchens, has knotty alder cabinets with a cinnamon stain and black glaze to accent the logs without competing with them. Black Diamond Kitchens owner Jim Barna says, “We exposed the logs only in select areas to keep the cabin look the homeowners loved.” Open bookshelves and beadboard paneling give the kitchen a homey, lived-in feel.

“Groups can gather around the island, which is a perfect addition to a home designed to bring family and friends together,” Jim Barna says.

Builder Don Skare handcrafted the concrete island, adding dark charcoal pigment to wet cement for a dramatic effect, and finished it off with a clear sealer. “The island really stands out with their open floor plan,” Don says. “I like how you can look across the room and see lights reflected on the surface.”

Another smart design move situates the master bedroom a few steps away from the foyer. When the couple comes up for the weekend, they aren’t trekking all over the house. Builder Don Skare says the master bedroom has a close proximity to everything. “But when you shut the door, you have the solitude of being in your own wing,” Don says.
Theresa Cinocco of Distinctive Design Concepts helped Rachel with the interior. “Rachel wanted the house to be cozy and very family oriented.” Theresa says. “And she already had many pieces she wanted to incorporate into the house.” Designing around these pieces helped create a home that expressed the couple’s personality, Theresa says. “Instead of becoming a rubber stamp mountain rustic home.” The beautiful interior made the Anderson’s cabin a natural pick for the 2004 Grand County Parade of Homes.

When possible, furniture does double-duty, Theresa says. Like the distressed green bench beside the fireplace that holds puzzles and games. A mission-style table works well for dining or playing cards. And bookshelves on the stair landing, inspired by the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver, make the most of hard-to-use space.

Rachel describes the furnishings as casual, comfortable and warm. “Rustic, but not too rustic.” With two grandchildren and one more on the way, she wanted furniture that was durable. “We were careful not to add anything that couldn’t take a lot of abuse.”

“Lots of people use this house,” Rachel says. It’s where the Andersons gather with family for the Fourth of July, ski weekends and other holidays year round. The cabin pulls them together from across the country: Texas, Georgia and Virginia. Son David and wife Marian live in Dallas and have a daughter, Sophia, and a baby on the way.

The Anderson’s other son Justin and daughter-in-law Sherrie reside in Gainesville, Georgia, with baby Allie. And the Anderson’s two daughters, Rebecca and Laura, live in Fairfax, Virginia and Waco, Texas. A recent career change moved John and Rachel to Denver, where John is the chief medical officer for Catholic Health Initiatives. Now, only a two-hour drive away, the couple uses the cabin more often.

Family and friends make entries in a leather-bound book on the foyer table. Niece Bethany composes poems about her stay that John and Rachel always look forward to reading. The book has become a record of cabin memories, and a tribute to the Anderson’s spirit and generosity. But John and Rachel say it’s just pay back. Rachel’s parents had a lake house in Austin, Texas, John explains. “So we had a place to go and get away when we were newly married and didn’t have much money available.”

The winter wind might blow, but inside the cabin stays warm as toast. Builder Don Skare says the heating system is the best of both worlds. Complete Heat combines in-floor radiant heat with an air system. “So you have one thermal mass that stays warm, but when

Architect Jim Pool says large logs help keep the house warm. “A log doesn’t have all that much insulation value, but once you heat up the interior space you use less energy because of all that warm thermal mass.”

Outside the wooded lot has a dry creek bed running through it thanks to the artistic endeavors of landscaper Mike Dytkiewicz who wanted to channel water away from the house with a natural mountain flare. A covered front porch, flanked by flowers in the summer and decked with wreaths in the winter, is perfect for family photos.

John and Rachel say they were very pleased with Chillcoots Construction. “To this day they still call,” Rachel says. “Their attention to detail amazed us. Everything was done with such care.”