Log home years in making.
Couple had a big hand in building dream house
When Mark and Phyllis Blodgett built their dream home, it was a step-by-step process that took a full three years.
They say they did it on a budget and did much of the work themselves — including designing the home.
But to look at the finished product, no one would guess there were any budget concerns or the home wasn’t finished by top-notch professionals. The 2,000-square-foot half-log home in the Town of Vernon has beams and siding that have a beautiful wood grain and a glossy sheen. Their great room fireplace was built with cultured stone and reaches to the top of the room’s 20-foot vaulted ceiling. The home is positioned so that its large windows let in lots of light and give the homeowners great views.
“First, in the spring of ’91, we bought the land and paid that off over a year,” said Phyllis. “Then, in the summer of ’92 we dug the hole and had the foundation built and we capped it off. It was that way for about a year, too, before we got more money together to start building.”
In spring of ’93, they had the shell of the home put up, then began working on the interior. They were able to move in with their children , Tyler and Lindsey, by December 1993.
“We made sketches on graph paper and we had Wilderness Log Homes build it. It’s built with half logs, box car siding and cultured stone,” said Phyllis.
Before there was even heat in the home, the couple worked in it every spare hour they had, often with their then-young children in tow.
Each piece of siding in the home was stained by Phyllis and then nailed in place by Mark. He is an associate principal at Mukwonago High School. She is a critical care nurse at Wheaton Franciscan.
“Everything that is painted and stained, I did,” she said and added that her husband also added all the insulation and installed all their cabinets with the help of a friend.
“The walls are rated R-32,” said Mark. “We designed it so that it’s sealed up as tight as possible, and we used heat-saving measures as much as we could.”
The home is so unique in the way it’s insulated that it was featured in a 10-page spread in the 1999 Annual Buyers Guide of The Country’s Best Log Homes.
Once the couple finished the home and moved in, they furnished it with pieces Mark built, as well as furnishings they acquired at garage sales or got from neighbors and then refinished. They also bought a few new pieces.
“I put the green table in the hallway together,” said Mark. “The legs are from an old kitchen table and I made the rest.
“I did the same thing when I made the red table that’s in an area off the great room. We also have a hutch in the great room that I made in high school. I had given it to my mom and after she passed away, I took it back.”
They recently talked about their home and all the sweat equity they added to it. Q. Did you both always love log homes? Phyllis: When we were dating, I had already started a little folder with houses, fences and gardens I liked. Log homes were in there. Mark: Years ago I lived in a little drafty log cabin nearMenomonie . ... The floors were all uneven. That’s when I got the bug.
Q. How is your home laid out? Phyllis: The first floor has the great room, the kitchen and breakfast nook, a half bath and the master bedroom/bathroom. We also have a three-season porch that leads to the deck, which wraps around two sides of the house.
The second floor has a TV room with an office area, a full bathroom and two guest bedrooms. The guest bedrooms were originally our children’s rooms. I also created a sewing area in a dormer on the second floor, and we have a full basement with a rec room and a laundry room. Our house is connected to a 31⁄2-car ga-
rage.Q. How did you decorate the guest rooms Phyllis: afterI your redid childrenTyler’s room moved in out? denim blue. I shopped the house for things that went together. I still have his teddy bear on the bed.
This room used to have stenciled cowboys on the wall and a stick from the woods was his curtain rod. Now it’s more of a patriotic theme.
Lindsey’s room was lime green and pink, and I went with Tiffany blue walls. I have a trundle bed in there and still have her white furniture. It’s garage sale stuff.
Mark made the mirror for her dresser and I spray painted it and added new hardware. Q. What’s your style of decorating? Phyllis: I like to mix textures. In the kitchen, we have a rock wall and lace curtains. I like the contrast. When I want to make a change in a room, I shop the house to find pieces I can use. Q. Is the porch original to the house? Phyllis: When the house was built, the builder installed the logs for the frame of the porch and Mark added the deck. Then 10 years ago, Mark extended it by 10 feet.
Q. What kind of wood did you use in your home?
Mark: The half logs and beams are southern yellow pine inside and outside because it was cheaper but it has a beautiful grain. The boxcar siding on the ceiling is regular yellow pine. Q. What kind of flooring did you add? Phyllis: In the kitchen and the great room we have ceramic tile with a terra cotta finish. We have carpeting down the center of the stairway to the second floor. I didn’t want the stairs all carpeted or all just wood. I wanted that contrast. The bedrooms and TV room are also carpeted . Q. Have you made changes to the home since you built it? Phyllis: Yes. In the living areas where we have drywall on interior walls, we added a textured finish about four years ago. In the kitchen, we had a laminate countertop and we changed that to granite. We also added a new backsplash. Now it’s travertine with a decorative center.
Mark: When we moved in, we first hung an orange trouble light around the beam in the kitchen for light. Then we got a chandelier that later broke. Now we have an antler chandelier.
Q. What kind of furnishings did you add?
Phyllis: We wanted a lodge look. In the great room, I wanted a camel-back sofa with bun feet. We have lighter-colored pieces throughout the house because we like the contrast. You couldn’t put this furniture in any other house.
In the great room, we also have a wide side chair and a hassock in the shape of a bear. That was my first Mother’s Day gift.
Some of the accent pieces in the kitchen and great room I got on missionary trips. I have a runner from Guatemala and a wood bowl from Haiti on the table. I also have a piece of artwork above the kitchen sink that is from Haiti and was made from an oil drum, and there are wooden bowls from Haiti in the great room. I think they fit in because they’re rustic and earthy. Q. How would you describe your lot? Mark: We have less than 2 acres and we have a corner lot. The house is built on an esker, which is a north-south ridge with a gentle slope to the south. The house is built on the hill and is positioned solar north and south to take advantage of as much sunlight as possible.
Q. You have a lot of trees. Did you plant any of them? Mark: We planted 200 pine trees. Q. Can you describe your fireplace? Mark: When we designed it, we patterned it after a fireplace at Telemark Lodge (in Cable). It’s a wood-burning fireplace that has a high-efficiency fan that blows hot air into the house. The hearth is a large piece of stone, and we added a log mantle. Phyllis: We never pay for wood because we have so many trees on our property.
Q. Where did you live before you built this home?
Phyllis: We rented an upper flat in West Allis from my parents after we first married and until we built this house. Do you, or does someone you know, have a cool, funky or exquisite living space that you’d like to see featured in At Home? Contact Fresh home and garden editor Nancy Stohs at (414) 224-2382 or email nstohs@journalsentinel.com.