Explore the Log Cabin Design Process

For so many of our clients, their log homes are the culmination of a lifelong dream. In many cases, that dream involves some degree of one-of-a-kind touches that make it truly all their own. That’s why we make custom options available on every single one of our cabins. To show you what a few of those options are and what the planning stages feel like, we’re highlighting our log cabin design process in today’s blog.

At Gingrich Builders, we have over 45 years of experience in crafting custom log homes throughout the state of Pennsylvania. We offer more custom choices to our clients than ever before when they design with us. Keep reading to take a first-hand look at the unique options for log cabin design when you work with Gingrich Builders!

log cabin design with porch

Design Your Own Cabin with Us

Clients often call us or visit our showroom with a ton of energy and excitement, but don’t know where to start or know what their options are. The process to design your own cabin is meant to be inspiring, exciting, and convenient. Here’s what it looks like for most people and the steps they follow:

  1. Send Us Pictures You Like (Optional) — If you’ve been dreaming about a log home for a long time, you may have a whole portfolio of inspiring images saved. We often ask potential clients to send us their favorites (whether we built the cabin or they found the pictures somewhere else online). This can be a great jumping off point to identify what you love about these particular cabins and what is a must-have for your design.
  2. Select a Model to Customize — Often but not always, the log cabin design process starts by choosing one of our 22 popular models that you like best. While you will certainly be making plenty of custom modifications, this can be a great way to start with a foundation that you know you like!
  3. Decide on the First Floor — The next step to design your cabin is to decide what you want on the main floor of your house. Whether you want a first-floor master or no bedrooms on the main level, your preferences are an option. In addition, you can choose to add separate office space or a music room, or simply enlarge your great room with a fully open floor plan.
  4. Finalize the Second Floor — After you complete your first-floor layout, you’ll move onto the second floor. Depending on your log cabin design, your second story may be nearly as large as the first floor, or it might be simply a modest loft. Once again, you can arrange bedrooms, bathrooms, extra rooms, and closets to create a space where you love living.

    See 5 of our best loved log home floor plans!
  5. Design Your Outdoor Living Spaces — Since log homes are so commonly built in nature, outdoor living spaces are often an important part of their design. This is one of the most popular places in your home to expand or customize. You can turn a modest porch into a full wrap-around porch, or transform a solitary deck into an expansive outdoor living space. This all depends on what you want to do with the space and how much time you plan to spend outside.
  6. Add or Customize a Garage — Some of our plans come standard with garages while others do not. This is another large and important feature that you can’t ignore when you design your own cabin. Keeping your cars, trucks, ATVs, boats, and more out of the elements is never a bad idea, so if you want a garage we can design it to match any model. In addition, you can also expand or customize the garage as well. One of the most popular touches involves attaching the space to the home with a breezeway.
  7. Add Windows — This is where the log home design conversation becomes more nuanced and focused on more intricate details. Adding additional windows across the home can introduce more natural light and more gorgeous views of nature into your home. The great room in particular can be incredible when fully furnished with a wall of windows.
  8. Finishing Luxury Touches — One of the final steps to complete your design involves customizing your kitchen, bathrooms, and other living spaces. While the outside of your home may be rustic, you have access to all of the modern touches and amenities for the interior. Whether that’s stand-up tile showers in the bathroom or solid surface countertops and custom cabinets in the kitchen — it’s all a possibility!

    See log home kitchens and find inspiration!

These are the main things we discuss with you when you design your own log cabin — however, this is just the tip of the iceberg. If you’ve been dreaming of your own cabin, we encourage you to reach out!

design your own cabin with custom kitchen

A Key Note About Cabin Kits

When you work with Gingrich Builders, we walk you through the entire process from brainstorming ideas, to finalizing the designs, and to building your home. Truly, we are a turnkey log home builder.

However, if you’ve been shopping around and doing your research, you may have noticed that there are a lot of companies that offer custom log cabin kits and even promise the ability to custom design them. While that may be a fine solution for some, we want to caution you about what these services provide and what they don’t.

When you choose a log home kit, you are buying a series of materials and blueprints, and you’ll need to find one or more contractors to build it all for you. That essentially puts you in the role of a construction project manager, having to manage several crews to build your home. Compare that to the Gingrich Builders process, where all you need to do is work with our team to design your own log cabin — and let us handle the rest!

Start Your Log Cabin Design with Us

If you think this is a step you’re ready to take, our team would love to talk with you. At Gingrich Builders, we make log cabin design comfortable and collaborative. If you want to get started, we encourage you to fill out a contact form or give us a call!

Share This:
Free Custom Log Cabin Consultation

    Quote